Can Botox help lift sagging jowls? We are all aware of the wrinkle-reducing effects of Botox, but its benefits go much further than that. When administered strategically in the jaw and neck, it can affect the lower face by reducing the appearance of minor sagging skin and jowls.
Although Botox can lift jowls, its effectiveness really does depend on the extent of the sagging. If you have large drooping jowls then Botox is unlikely to give you the results that you desire. In such cases, you really would be better off considering a surgical procedure.
Botox reduces sagging jowls by tightening and lifting the jaw area. This pulls back the excess sagging skin that creates jowls in the first place.
Facial fillers are a top treatment choice for eliminating jowls as they can be used to rebuild the structure of the face whilst rebooting the skin's natural supply of hyaluronic acid and smoothing the jawline.
How many units of Botox do you need for jowls? Injecting 20 to 30 units of Botox per side, right where the muscle meets the jawline and contracts, can recontour the face as the jaw gradually narrows.
The Procedure
During this procedure Botox® injections are used to tighten and redefine the jawline and provide a lift to the neck area. Small doses of Botox® are injected into the lower jaw and down the side of the neck along the lateral neck muscles.
Neck lifts are widely considered the most effective treatment for jowls, but the surgery has a long recovery time and carries the most significant risk of complications. The most common complications are scarring and infection. Neck lifts are also very expensive compared to other treatment options for jowls.
While a loss of elasticity can start happening in your late 20s depending on your genetics, Shafer says that it's especially common in late 30s to early 40s patients. “This is most often when patients start looking in the mirror and noticing that their skin is not as 'tight,'” he explains.
Injections can lift your jawline and transform the appearance of people with receding chins. A hyperactive mentalis muscle contributes to a weakened and blunted-looking chin, and Injection acts on nerves to relax muscles and prevent them from contracting.
Relaxation of depressor muscles in the lower face with botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) can create a lifting effect and dramatically improve jawline contour and resting facial expression.
For a more efficient and proven way to tighten jowls and neck without surgery, there are several noninvasive cosmetic treatments available. Some of these treatments include injectable fillers, botox, Kybella, and radiotherapy.
You should avoid injecting botulinum toxin into the frontalis muscle, which is the muscle that raises your eyebrows and arches your forehead. You should also try to not inject botox into several other facial muscles, such as those that allow you to smile or chew.
Wrinkles begin to form, while the tissue in the midface starts to sag. This often causes fat and tissue to collect around the jawline, forming jowls and saggy skin.
What causes saggy jowls? Saggy jowls, simply put, are caused by a loss of elasticity in the skin of the lower face. This is typically caused by a decrease in the body's own collagen production, which typically starts to develop in patients who are in their late 30's or early 40's, though it can develop earlier.
Jowls happen as we lose elasticity in the skin with age and the skin below your chin or jawline drops, says Dr Rita Rakus of the Dr Rakus Clinic in Knightsbridge. “As we age, almost everyone will experience this sagging chin. Sagging jowls occur when your skin becomes thinner and the elasticity of the skin decreases.”
Using a patented device, researchers have shown that jowl massage by mechanical stimulation of the face can trigger biochemical mechanisms that lead to skin remodeling in the aging face. To be reminded that time is indeed undefeated, one just needs to look in the mirror.
Even if you do lose weight evenly, there is no guarantee that your skin has sufficient elasticity to tighten up underneath the chin as you slim down, which could leave you with empty, sagging skin where the jowls used to be.
Exercising the neck, chin, jaw, and other facial muscles can lead to subtle changes in your face, including sharper cheekbones and a more prominent jawline. One study found that performing regular facial exercises over the course of 20 weeks led to fuller cheeks and a more youthful appearance.
Energy-Based Treatments
RF skin tightening combined with RF microneedling is highly effective at diminishing the appearance of sagging jowls.
They can develop due to a loss of elastin and collagen (proteins in facial tissue). As these proteins deteriorate, the face loses firmness and tightness, causing the skin to sag. Smoking and overexposure to sunlight can also cause damage to facial collagen and elastin.
Botox Weakens the Muscles
The same thing can happen to the muscles in your face: "If used regularly, over a prolonged period, without interruption, eventually the muscle will atrophy from lack of use," says the legendary dermatological surgeon Patricia Wexler, MD.
Possible side effects and unwanted results include: Pain, swelling or bruising at the injection site. Headache or flu-like symptoms. Droopy eyelids or crooked eyebrows.