Will Kybella give me a chiseled jaw line?

Thank you for your question. You’d like to know if Kybella can reduce fat under the chin in order to achieve a very taut and chiseled jawline and chin.First some information about myself — I am a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and a Fellowship-trained oculofacial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, practicing in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years. A large part of my practice is focused mainly on facial aging, and enhancing the appearance and definition of the jawline and chin is a part of that, so I can certainly give you some guidance on this modality.In my practice, the first step towards helping patients achieve a more crisp-looking jawline is to determine whether there is a presence of excess fat under the chin. One of the issues that was brought about by the introduction of Kybella is the perception that everything undesirable about one’s chin is due to excess fat, which is simply not true.The appearance of one’s chin is influenced by a variety of factors. One of these factors includes the position of the hyoid bone, which is the bone under the chin. When the hyoid bone is low, it shortens the angle between the chin and the neck, which causes the jawline to look less defined. Other factors also include skin tension — whether or not there is relative laxity of the skin — and skin thickness, in addition to excess skin.When I first examine someone, I look at all the aforementioned factors: skin quality, skin tone, and their overall anatomy in general. When patients insist on removing as much fat as possible to achieve this very tight and defined look, I try to make them understand that fat isn’t completely the enemy here. In fact, a certain amount of fat under the skin provides a youthful quality to the skin.Before the introduction of lasers in the field of cosmetic surgery, many of our colleagues believed that if you aggressively suction away fat, skin will retract and contract and lend more definition to the patient’s features. Many patients received good results with this type of approach, but in cases when too much fat was removed, the skin looked irregular, rippled, and aged. There is certainly some importance to leaving a thin layer of fat under the skin in order to have a smooth and natural look. If you look at younger people, you’ll notice that one of the things that make them look youthful is this nice plump volume that their skin has.Kybella is a deoxycholic acid that basically digests fat. It is FDA-approved for use under the chin, but of course, doctors can use it for off-label purposes as well. It is important to point out that there has been some hesitancy among many of my colleagues who have had experience using this material, mostly due to the fair amount of inflammation that occurs after the treatment. It is also important to know that Kybella requires multiple treatments.There are other modalities that can address the chin and jawline. There are options such as liposuction, which can be done with a syringe and can reduce and improve the jawline, which can be done in one treatment that takes less than an hour. There is also a non-surgical fat reduction procedure that makes use of a laser. In this procedure, the skin is heated in a way that allows the laser to penetrate through the skin, reduce the fat, and cause some skin tightening — and that’s done with or without superficial ablation. With all these alternatives, I often wonder where Kybella fits in all of this. It may be possible that Kybella is simply used by practitioners who cannot or do not offer the other modalities.Before moving on with any treatments, I advise you meet with a qualified and experienced surgeon who can offer you both non-surgical and surgical options. A proper evaluation is crucial. For example, sometimes a patient feels like they just need some excess fat removed from under the chin. As part of my evaluation, I will often lift the skin for them to see whether the issue really is excess fat. Many times, when the skin is redraped, the patient will see that their chin suddenly looks better and that they’re more of a candidate for a facelift rather than liposuction under the chin or Kybella. It is certainly important to establish this first.Another thing to remember is when you talk about that chiseled jawline you see on celebrities and in films, you have to understand that most of the time, these actors or models are chosen because they already have a genetically crisp or strong jawlines that register well on camera. In some situations, it’s simply due to strategic lighting effects and makeup. So it’s important to understand that yes, we want to try to aspire to look our best, but we can’t all necessarily look the same. We have to look the best we can, with what we have, for ourselves.I hope that was helpful and I wish you the best of luck.

If you do have a little fat under your chin, you would probably be a good candidate for Kybella, which not only dissolves fat but also can slightly tighten the skin. This could result in the sleeker looking jawline you desire. Whether this would be sufficient to give you the results you want is impossible to determine without an in-person consultation. You may also require skin tightening with Thermi or even benefit from facial liposuction. Please find a board-certified dermatologist with expertise in Kybella injection, who can evaluate your anatomy and determine the best treatments for you.

It is difficult to give you a recommendation without seeing a picture or examining you in person. It is possible that Kybella is exactly what you need to get rid of that little bit of extra fat and define your jaw line. However, some patients are not candidates for Kybella and would get better results from liposuction or a neck lift. I recommend you consult in person with a board certified plastic surgeon so they can recommend what is best for you.