What’s Up With a Double Chin?

Overall, you’re happy with your weight. But when you glance in the mirror, you can’t help but see a bit of extra fat below your chin. It  seems that no matter what you do, you’re stuck with your double chin, and you don’t like it. In the past, the only way to get rid of excess chin fat was surgery. Fortunately, these days there are non-surgical options available.

What Causes a Double Chin?

Although people often associate a double chin with being overweight, that’s not the only cause of one. In some cases, a double chin, sometimes known as submental fat, can develop because of your genes. If mom or dad had multiple chins but were relatively slim, the odds are very likely that you’ll have some submental fat as well.

In other instances, a double chin might not be due to fat. As you know, as you get older, the skin loses some of its elasticity. It starts to sag and droop. One of the first areas to show sagging and droopiness is the chin and neck area. So not only does a double chin make you feel self-conscious, it can also add a few years to your appearance.

Can Diet and Exercise Help?

Whether diet and exercise will help get rid of extra chins depends in part on the cause of the fat in the under chin area. If you’ve got fatty deposits beneath your chin because of your genes and are otherwise at a healthy weight, dieting won’t necessarily help to banish the fat in the area.

The same is true of exercise. Remember, you can’t spot tone or target particular areas when you exercise. Being active several times a week, whether by taking a brisk walk, running or participating in a sport, will help you burn fat and build muscle all over. But you can’t tell your body “focus on the chin!”

That said, if you are overweight or have a significant amount of weight to lose, increasing or starting an exercise routine and monitoring your diet might help you get rid of a double chin. But you’ll also be likely to lose weight and fat from all over your body, not just from the chin area.

How Can You Get Rid of a Double Chin?

So if diet and exercise won’t help get rid of under chin fat, what can you do? You have a few options.

A more invasive choice is chin liposuction, or the surgical removal of fat from the under chin area. The results from chin liposuction usually appear quickly after surgery and the fat that’s removed is gone for good. Depending on the state of your chin and neck area, the surgeon might also perform a neck lift at the same time as liposuction to smooth out the skin and reduce sagging.

Of course, there are drawbacks to liposuction and surgery to correct a double chin. You’ll need to set aside a few days or a week for recovery afterwards, for one thing. You’ll also most likely need some sort of anesthetic, perhaps even a general anesthetic, during the procedure. That can increase the risk for complications or some sort of reaction.

A Slimmer Chin without Surgery?

Luckily, nowadays, surgery isn’t your only way to effectively get rid of under chin fat. You can also try Coolsculpting, using the CoolMini applicator. The CoolMini applicator is specially shaped and designed for use beneath the chin.

Coolsculpting gets rid of unwanted fat by freezing it. Exposure to very cold temperatures destroys fat cells so that the body naturally flushes them away. Unlike liposuction, there’s no need for an anesthetic during treatment and no incisions are made. You’ll be awake during the hour-long treatment and you will be able to read, do work or relax in front of Netflix.

Afterward, there’s no downtime so you can get back to your regularly scheduled life right away. Typically, treatment with the CoolMini eliminates about 20 percent of the fat in the chin area. You might want to schedule two treatment sessions to get the full results you’re after. Results usually start to appear a few weeks after the treatment. Typically, final results are visible within two months.

Once Coolsculpting has frozen away your fat, it’s gone for good. You’ll still want to follow a healthy diet and exercise routine to keep remaining fat cells from increasing in size.

The Coolsculpting providers at Mirror Mirror Beauty Boutique in Houston, Texas, are graduates of Coolsculpting University, meaning they’ve received extensive training in the procedure. To learn more about how the CoolMini can treat your double chin, call 281-810-9083 to schedule a consultation today.