Perhaps the most frustrating part of putting on a couple spare pounds– the double chin. The most common reason for a double chin, also known as submental fat, is excess weight. But you don’t have to be overweight to have a double chin (as we round faced ladies know all too well). In fact the condition can be caused by something as simple as aging, or even genetics.
Everybody wants to look their best, but not everybody can, or wants to undergo a surgical cosmetic procedure to achieve their desired appearance. Not everybody can afford it, either. So we search and search for natural “remedies” for afflictions we dislike, and we try those natural methods first. If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and wished you could snap your fingers and remove your double chin, unfortunately even plastic surgery doesn’t work that way. But there are natural methods, and non-invasive procedures that can help! So keep reading to find out what the 8 most effective double chin zappers are!
1. Facial Exercises
Facial exercises, or sometimes called facial yoga is a bit time consuming, perhaps. But is it worth it? Well, there’s not much scientific evidence to support that facial exercises get rid of a double chin, but what there is a lot of is feedback from actual individuals. This feedback is in the form of videos on YouTube, articles, personal blogs, Instagram accounts- in other words people have tried facial exercises for the elimination of a double chin, and it’s worked for them! Now they want to help others who used to be in their shoes. Below are six of the most common facial exercises that target the submental fat region:
-Ball Exercise
For the ball exercise, you’ll need a tennis ball or something of the sort. Place the ball under your chin, and press your chin down against the ball. Repeat this movement 25 times each day.
-Straight Jaw Jut
This time tilt your head backwards, and look up at the sky. Push your lower jaw outwards and hold the jaw jut for 10 seconds. You should feel a stretch under the chin. Repeat this 10 times daily.
-Kissy Face
The kissy face exercise is self explanatory. Tilt your head back as in the previous exercise, and look upwards at the ceiling. While doing so, pucker up and pretend you’re kissing the ceiling. You should feel a nice stretch. Bring your face to a relaxed position, and repeat this step 10 times daily.
-Tongue Stretch
Sit up straight and look straight ahead. Now stick out your tongue as far as you can. Lift your tongue up towards your nose, and hold the position for 10 seconds. Repeat this exercise 10 times daily.
-Neck Tilt
Looking straight ahead, tilt your head to one side and hold for 10 seconds. Then tilt to the other side and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat these movements 10 times daily. You should feel a good stretch!
-Neck Stretch
Sit up straight and tilt your head backwards. Press your tongue to the roof of your mouth and hold for 10 seconds. Bring your head back to normal position, and repeat this exercise 10 times daily.
Remember, as with everything that shows results, you need to do it consistently.
2. Regular Exercise
When you exercise, your body uses more energy and burns more calories and fat. Cardio and strength training, along with HIIT are great fat burning exercises. A regular exercise routine yields countless health benefits for the mind and body. Regular exercise reduces the risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. It also clearly decreases your chance of having a double chin. An exercise routine can help tone all the problem areas on your body, and that includes your face. With weight loss comes a thinner more chiseled jawline.
3. Diet
Even if you’re exercising regularly and doing your facial exercises, sometimes those things alone are not enough to cut your double chin. Diet is extremely important in so many different ways, for different parts of your body.
Sodium is present in all salty foods and even sweet foods as a preservative. A proper amount of sodium is essential for the body to balance fluids, send nerve impulses, and make muscles contract. The recommended sodium intake for adults 50 and under is 2,300 mg, and lower for adults over the age of 50. Excess sodium can be detrimental to your health. Aside from contributing to higher risk of stroke, high blood pressure and heart failure, it can also cause edema- or facial swelling.
When you consume too much salt in your diet, your body retains to water because it needs to stay hydrated. This water retention causes swelling in the face, hands, and feet. It can completely change your appearance, and make your face look puffy adding a double chin.
A good balanced diet is super important for all functions of our bodies. Eating healthy foods helps improve our skin, hair, organ function, and keeps us at a healthy weight. It’s important to incorporate tons of veggies, fruits, grains, and healthy fats into your diet to conquer the double chin.
4. Posture
We’ll bet you haven’t really thought of posture as having anything to do with a double chin. Well think again! Poor posture can weaken the muscles of the chin and neck. Over time, as the muscles are not used properly, poor posture contributes to skin losing its elasticity and resulting in a double chin. Stop slouching, straighten out those shoulders and neck and keep your head looking straight ahead.
5. Non Invasive Cosmetic Treatment
For a long time, liposuction was the only available cosmetic treatment offered to patients to eliminate the double chin. Recently, dermatologists and cosmetic aestheticians came up with a non invasive cosmetic treatment. It’s called Kybella, and it is an injectable. It’s the first and only injectable double chin treatment on the market today.
The injectable destroys fat cells in the treatment area under the chin. The patient receives about 20 injections in one treatment, and requires several treatments.
6. Cosmetic Surgery
Liposuction is a cosmetic surgery offered to patients to remove double chin. Liposuction typically only requires local anesthetic and not actually having the patient go under general anesthesia, like a face lift would. The doctor cuts an incision in the treatment area and sucks out the fat through a tube. With this procedure, the patient can expect about two weeks of swelling and bruising.
Other options are a face lift and a neck lift. The recovery time is the same as with liposuction.
7. Massage With Vitamin E
Vitamin E oil helps to nourish and tighten skin. Break a few capsules of vitamin E and massage into the neck and chin area. Make sure that you massage upwards from the bottom. Do this daily.
8. Lose Weight
Finally, if you are overweight none of these tips and tricks will help get rid of a double chin. The best solution is to lose excess weight and get into better shape. Getting into good shape will reduce chances of developing health problems like heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. And all of these health issues are much more important than a double chin, and should be the priority!