A sleek jawline is well within your grasp if you know the small changes to make and positive jowl habits to adopt.
You're either born with great bone structure or you’re not. Not so. In reality, our jawlines are more malleable and adaptable than we might think. A study into craniofacial changes between age 13 and 62 proves that our jawline continues morphing well into our sixth decade of life. Another study found age changes of the hard and soft tissues of the human face are continuous throughout our lives and in particular, the lower half of our face lengthens. For the most part, our facial skeletons remodel themselves of their own accord, but add to that the gradual depletion of collagen and increase in skin laxity and it’s the perfect storm for the formation of jowls.
For the first forty years of your life, the word jowls doesn’t enter your vocab but fast forward to your late fifties and you find yourself in front of the mirror, completely transfixed, attempting to manually lift your face back into place. So, when it comes to tightening up sagging jowls, how do you go about defying gravity and getting your bounce back? It’s possible to get rid of jowls through various treatments, from the very expensive and invasive to at-home natural techniques including LYMA’s revolutionary cold laser which customers have reported can remove jowls and sagging skin at home.
What causes sagging jowls?
First on the agenda is understanding what causes jowls to form. That bulging around the jawline is the result of the gradual decline of collagen and elastin, both of which are skin’s main source of structure and springiness. The lower cheek muscles steadily lose strength over the years and even the most defined jawline starts to lose its smoothness in favour of the dreaded droop.
- ‘Tech neck’ the mortal sin of tilting your head downwards looking down at a computer screen or phone for hours on end.
- Sunlight exposure over the years without sufficient SPF application along the jawline and neck.
- Sudden weight loss in the face often causes jowls to be more pronounced.
- Smoking constricts blood vessels in the skin and inhibits blood flow, causing collagen to breakdown more rapidly and jowls to form.
- Genetics, although not one you have much say over but if parents have sagging jowls, you’re more likely to follow suit.
Cosmetic treatments to improve jowls
At the far end of the intervention scale, you can have facelifts for sagging jowls but in recent years, dermatologists have largely eschewed them in favor of Lower Face Rejuvenation (LFR) methods. LFR often includes using fillers to treat jowls that ever-so-slightly pull the skin upwards to achieve a subtle lifting effect. However, even the best injectables for jowls are pricey, painful, require repeated treatments and often cause significant risks and side effects such as temporary swelling and bruising.At-home hacks to reverse sagging jowls naturally
Breathing right upgrades your jawlineOne standout study into identical twins proved that breathing through your mouth from childhood, elongates the face and augments the chin, thus changing teeth alignment and the angles of the face. Breathing Institution, The Buteyko Clinic, also reports that nasal breathing reverses this and can over time, revert the jawline back to where it was.
The right tongue placement maintains a sleek jawline for years longer
Mewing is a technique that focuses on maintaining the correct oral posture by placing the tongue against the roof of the mouth. Encouraging the tongue to exert upward and outward pressure on the palate, promotes proper jaw growth and toning facial muscles. The practice of correcting posture contributes to facial structure refinement, facilitating proper nasal breathing and over time, reshaping the jawline and aligning teeth.
How to ‘mew’ it right:
- With your mouth gently closed, open your jaw ever so slightly
- Flatten your entire tongue against the roof of your mouth, starting as far back as you can go and ending with the tip of your tongue just behind your upper teeth
- Hold this position for as long as you can and repeat as often as you can so eventually this becomes a natural facial posture
Knead to Know: Yvonne Martin on how to manually massage jowls
- Use a medium to work with such as your favorite face cream, oil or serum
- Place both hands in a fist like position under your chin, with knuckles facing upwards.
- Using both the thumb and index finger of each hand, hold the central muscle of the chin firmly. Then, maintaining consistent pressure, knead along the jawline each way, deeply sweeping
- with the same pressure, up and outwards to the skin under the ear area.
- Repeat this five times both AM and PM.
Zara Martin, renowned DJ, model, and presenter trusts the LYMA Laser PRO for her jawline and facial treatments. Watch this video now to learn about the transformative effects of LYMA Lasers on your skincare routine.
Face yoga to tighten jowls and lift cheekbones.
The very motion of giving the facial muscles a physical workout can have visible, albeit temporary, results on tightening up jowls and lifting cheekbones. Face yoga exercises to tighten the jowls include opening the mouth as wide as possible and then closing slowly, pushing your jaw out and holding the pose for the count of ten and placing your tongue to the roof of your mouth and continuously humming. Easy enough as something you can perform in your own bathroom, as a daily non-invasive approach to reducing jowls.
At-home beauty gadgets for jowls
Where there’s a beauty issue, there’s a gadget and all manner of weird and wonderful tools have come to market to lift jowls naturally. Jade rollers, toning tools, nodulous sculpting wands and hi-tech microcurrent face toning devices, all dedicated to intense facial pummeling and reducing jowls naturally. All these techniques and tools can tone the skin and reduce the appearance of jowls but only if repeated consistently and religiously – no slacking allowed.
See real-life results from Laser customers and hear what they’ve got to say about their experiences on our dedicated reviews page.
The LYMA Laser: A next Gen laser treatment for jowls
Aesthetic skincare trend predictions show a definitive move towards boosting our own natural collagen production and encouraging the body to reignite its innate plumping potential. The LYMA Laser is leading that charge; needle-free and knife-free jawline definition, without any discomfort. Clinic grade, 500mW low-level laser therapy with results showing skin elasticity is notably improved, jowls significantly reduced and the jawline visibly sculpted. The additional win of The LYMA Laser is that it’s entirely in your hands, no scheduled appointments, no downtime and no expensive treatment plan. LYMA Laser is the future of skin rejuvenation and potentially, the final answer to sagging jowls.
Facial massage to tighten jowls and lift cheekbones.
Nichola Joss, Celebrity Facialist and Body Massage Therapist on how to treat jowls and redefine the jawline with the LYMA Laser:
Start by placing the LYMA Laser directly under the chin area and hold it there for a full three minutes.
Next, place the LYMA Laser slightly further along on the jawline, directly over the jowl area for another three minutes.
Once complete, begin slowly gliding the device in methodical sweeping motions along the entirety of that side of the jaw from chin to ear for another three minutes. Repeat the identical protocol on the other side of the face.