What Can I Do to Firm Up my Jaw Line Without a Face Lift?

If your jawline is starting to sag after facelift, you may have at least 4 options:


ulthera - noninvasive way to tightening the skin via collagen production.  This modality is different than laser.  It uses ultrasound to transmit heat to the deeper layers of the skin.  In response to the injury from the heat, the skin creates collagen..

liposuction - liposuction is especially helpful if your sagging is due to fat deposits.  Laser liposuction has the advantage of tightening the skin at the same time.  In our practice, we offer SlimLipo.

fillers - these can smooth the transition between the chin and the jowl, particularly if the jowl is due to loose skin.  Even filler placed in the cheekbone area can redrape the skin, softening jowls.

laser and light - IPL or ablative laser treatments treat the surface of the skin (in contrast to Ulthera, which treats the deeper layers).


Talk to your doctor to see what would be best for your particular situation.  

Morpheus 8 is a non-invasive skin and soft tissue tightening treatment that is consistently amazing in our patients. We use the Morpheus to exact fractional induced RF into the skin or tissue in order to tighten collagen and stimulate contraction of the tissue. For acne scars, it is quite useful to build collagen in patients who have atrophic scars but is not very productive for ice-pick scars which require TCA Cross. For tissue tightening, Morpheus is ideal for the face and neck and we often combine it with CO2 laser or Ultherapy to further enhance results. Chemical peels and skin resurfacing should be done at least 5 to 7 days after, but can be performed earlier, depending on treatment severity. Avoid exfoliating skin treatments before Morpheus and expect a period of 2-4 weeks for skin contraction to set in.

Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

For a more defined jawline to strengthen your profile (and help prevent the dreaded jawline "jowl" sagging), we use injectable fillers like Revanesse Versa - a filler known to limit swelling and give subtle, soft enhancements - or Radiesse. Using a cannula to limit pain and swelling, we inject on the bone in strategic points to get more lift and shaping, resulting in a more contoured lower face and defined, structured jawline. I would suggest getting a formal evaluation with a facial sculpting expert. Best, Dr. Emer

A physical examination by an experienced board certified plastic surgeon is the best way to determine the most suitable treatment, however you may want to look into injectable fillers, like Juvederm. Fillers can recontour your jawline with a simple injection treatment. Results last for several months to over a year, depending on your physiology. Another option is laser skin tightening, which can stimulate the production of collagen and elastin to firm up the skin along your jawline. This may require several sessions to achieve your goals, but it is worth a try if the treatment is suitable for you.

You can consider the Liftique procedure
which uses radiofrequency energy to tighten skin non surgically.  A strong
radio frequency treatment will firm up these areas nicely with out surgery.
 Laser sometimes in combination with the Liftique procedure will also
help. 

One of the newest non- invasive treatments that has been a huge success at my office is the 3-D Collagen Firming Laser. It firms, lifts and tightens face and/or neck while stimulating new collagen. It's painless and requires no downtime!

By firming up I assume you mean a stronger more visible jawline. Unless you a lot of loose skin a facelift alone will not do this. In some cases liposuction just under the jawline can create a slight concavity that makes the jawline more prominent. This obviously does not work in every patient. The only other options are jaw surgery, jaw implants and to some degree injectable fillers.

My response to your question/post does not represent formal medical advice or constitute a doctor patient relationship. You need to consult with i.e. personally see a board certified plastic surgeon in order to receive a formal evaluation and develop a doctor patient relationship.

This can be approached from several different directions separately or together depending on what is the reason for the jawline skin looseness, for lack of a better word.

The first thing I would suggest is to have skin tightening done with a noninvasive modality like IPL SkinTyte or with Thermage.  After 2-3 sessions the improvements can be significant.

The other approach is to look at why the excess skin is there to begin with.  Is there a significant amount of volume loss in the midface?  If there is soft tissue, fat or bone loss in the upper and midface, the skin just descends because it lost its support.  Dermal biostimulating fillers, like Sculptra may be the way to go to provide more volume for both the structures above like the temples and cheeks, as well as fill in defects in the jawline.

Both Sculptra and Skintyte induce new collagen formation in the dermis, helping firm up the skin.