I’ve talked a lot about acne scars, pigmentation, saggy skin and the like. It’s time to go over something non-skin-related for once: double chins. Did you know that double chins don’t necessarily appear from excess body fat? For some people, obvious double chins can be an effect of ageing. As we age, our skin loses collagen and elastin. These two substances are the primary drivers that hold our skin taut and firm. The skin under our chin that was once sharp will slowly sag, revealing what we call a “turkey neck”.
If you’ve ever tried to lose weight through diet and exercise, you’ll know that fat under the chin is one of the hardest areas to get rid of. This is because sometimes we simply can’t — in medical terms, loose saggy skin is called buccal fat. Everyone has buccal fat — the only difference is how prominent they are due to factors like genetics; which explains why even some slim individuals have very obvious double chins. But not to worry! Like I always tell my patients: when there’s a will, there’s a way.
This way out is through one of my favourite procedures: the threadlift.
Those not new to aesthetics would know that one of the most popular procedures in Singapore is the nose threadlift. With just the placement of a few sutures, patients are able to get a sharper and smaller nose bridge in less than an hour with almost zero downtime. Well, you’d be pleased to know that this fantastic invention can also be extended to double chins.
Before threadlifts were extended to our noses, they were primarily used as an anti-aging procedure to lift sagging tissues and reposition facial volumes to restore our facial contours. Overall, what patients gained was a more youthful and rejuvenated look. With double chins, fine, dissolvable threads are placed under the skin of the neck to lift and pull away sagging skin and neck fats. Think of it as a scooped up, upwards action. I use threads with barbed hooks for a better lifting effect. Over time, as the threads dissolve, they stimulate the chin area to generate collagen — patients will find that apart from getting a sharper chin, they also get overall skin rejuvenation and improvement in their wrinkles.
For delicate areas like the chin, I tend to use Silhouette Soft threads as they tend to give better results and do not require as many threads.
This procedure is suitable for anyone who wishes to:
This procedure is a lunchtime procedure that takes about 30 minutes. Most patients can resume their normal activities almost immediately. But I would advise to stay away from vigorous exercise, facials or massages for 2 weeks or so to let the threads settle in place.
For clarity, the process will go something like this:
The number of threads used will depend on the patient; but I usually advise going for a conservative amount to avoid looking unnatural.
Yes, apart from doing threadlifts, there are other options for the double chin. Most people will benefit from threadlifts, but some might see better results with body contouring options like HIFU and Injection Lipolysis. These treatments are designed to treat small areas of fat. Depending on your expectations, I usually recommend combining both threadlifts and a treatment like HIFU for optimum results.
The threadlifts work by providing an immediate moderate lifting of soft tissue. Once the skin is tightened, HIFU melts any unwanted fat at the chin area. And there you have it — a 2 in 1 effect.
What will NOT work, however, are things like neck creams and massages. What they do is reduce the appearance of saggy skin and wrinkles without targeting the subdermal fat at all.
I hope this article gave you an idea of how aesthetic treatments for double chin is like. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line and I will try my best to respond.
Address:
1Aesthetics, Medical & Surgery
#14-90 The Central Tower 1
8 Eu Tong Sen Street
Singapore 059818
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