34F, 5’3”, 120lbs - soft jawline could be genetic/shape of submental area, can I sharpen it? (Photos)

Question

At a loss. 34F, 5’3” 120 pounds and my jawline and the way it just sort of falls into my neck seems to be genetic but if I slide my jaw forward like I have an underbite it looks really sharp. So confused what my options are, is it a recessed jaw issue, just the way the submental muscle is, or actual fat that can be refined.

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

Ultherapy  is a non-invasive procedure that lifts the neck, chin and brow, and improves lines and wrinkles on the upper chest. As we age, collagen breaks down, resulting in loss of skin strength and elasticity. For tissue tightening, Ultherapy  is ideal for the lower face and neck and we often combine it with CO2 laser or Morpheus8 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.

Best, 
Dr. Karamanoukian 
Realself100 Surgeon

Eric M. Joseph, MD · Answer

Since you are so young, I would not recommend a terribly invasive procedure for your neck. And examination would be necessary to determine your candidacy for neck liposuction to improve your jawline. Please consider meeting with a reputable facial plastic surgeon who provides computer Imaging so you could see what to expect after surgery. I hope this helps. Sincerely, Dr Joseph

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

Understanding facial aesthetics is not easy or straightforward.
Facial aesthetics, especially in young people is primarily determined by bone structure.
It is facial skeletal structure that gives each person their unique facial appearance.
It is facial bone structure that computers use to identify individual people Through security systems.
What determines who is considered attractive and who is not is therefore determined by bone structure and soft tissue coverage has less to do with it.
Soft tissue coverage tends to be much more consistent from person to person.
What makes us unique is in the end, skeletal structure.
 Issues related to the lower 1/3 of the face and neck are therefore related to the mandible.
When the mandible is lacking in size and projection, the soft tissues don’t have an ideal foundation to rest on, and this causes all of the issues you describe.
The chin is only one small region of the mandible.
The chin is referred to as the mentalis in Latin. 
And your case your mentalist projects adequately, but the body of your mandible is slightly insufficient for ideal facial aesthetics. This is the genetic component. It’s also why your jawline looks better when you push the mandible forward. 
I’m guessing that you have a mild overbite dental occlusionOn your profile picture, your upper lip has more forward projection than the lower lip.
Lip position is related to dental position.
You don’t have an abnormal fat distribution.
You don’t need liposuction.
The definitive treatment for a smaller mandible is generally too involved into invasive for most people to choose the correct surgical option.
This leads people to look for softer gentler solutions which tend to be soft tissue oriented.
Because these treatments don’t address the primary problem they typically leave unsatisfactory outcomes.
To see the impact of having a large mandible, you can look at pictures of George Clooney or Carmen Del’Orafice. 
Understanding this part of the face is fairly involved and you may find different people will have different opinions, including different treatment, options and solutions.It is to some degree subjective and I’m simply expressing the way I see things and the way I understand it
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD

34F, 5’3”, 120lbs - soft jawline could be genetic/shape of submental area, can I sharpen it? (Photos)

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34F, 5’3”, 120lbs - soft jawline could be genetic/shape of submental area, can I sharpen it? (Photos)

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Everything you need to know about Chin Liposuction

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