A Non-Invasive Jowl or Jawline Lift Gives Your Face a More Youthful Shape
The first thing people notice when they look at isn’t your complexion, your eyes, nose or even the tightness of your skin. People tend to judge physical attractiveness, initially, on the shape of your face.
As women age, they may notice their jaw line becoming more square and masculine looking, or receding and disappearing into their jowls. Men experience similar problems and may be self-conscious about their jowls to the point where they wear turtlenecks to disguise their neck and jowls. Women may use scarves to hide jowls and avoid wearing scoop neck or tank tops that highlight their neck.
The jowls start to sag as we get older and gravity works against us. The amount of elastin and collagen on our skin drops, adding to droopy and loose skin on the jowls and jawline. The attachment between skin and muscle weakens. This reduces the amount if skin hanging securely to underlying muscles, and hastens development of jowls.
Wrinkles alone don’t age you. The shape of your face changes as you get older. Your jawline shrinks, and the muscles on your neck may become more prominent. Don’t merely concentrate on eliminating facial lines and wrinkles if you want to look younger. Your neck and jowl line may age you more than your face. A sloping jaw line, visible Platysma muscles (vertical neck bands) and misshapen jowls detract from a pleasant appearance much more than a few wrinkles or crow’s feet.
For decades, patients with weak jaw lines and jowls had to have corrective surgery or live with a poor facial profile. When performed by a skilled plastic surgeon, this type of surgery is successful and long-lasting. It also requires a recovery period, medication and may be too expensive for many people.
At My Botox LA Med Spa, we offer non-surgical treatments for a jowl or jaw line lift. By injecting muscle-relaxing solutions into the affected area (s) we can contour and re-shape your jowls and/or jaw line to give you a more youthful and pleasing appearance.
Since the introduction of muscle-relaxing toxins incobotulinumtoxinA or onabotulinumtoxinA in the early 2000s, patients now have a choice when it comes to treating jowls or the jaw line. The use of muscle-relaxing toxins can now help soften your posterior jaw and sharpen and elongate a poorly shaped jaw line.
The Nefertiti Lift
Another name for a jowl or jaw line lift is the Nefertiti Lift, after the ancient Egyptian queen. During this liquid lift of the lower face, a muscle-freezing toxin is injected into the muscles that pull down your jaw line. The injected toxins stop activity in the nerves that causes these muscles to move. This lifts the jowl and jaw line, causing to have a more contoured appearance. The effect of a Nefertiti Lift only lasts from four months to a year, depending on your individual circumstances. After the results of the injections fade, you’ll need to visit our offices for a maintenance treatment.
Our medical aesthetician targets neck muscles that need to be relaxed. After applying a numbing cream to ensure your comfort during the procedure, she’ll inject the muscle relaxing toxin into the affected muscles. The toxins temporarily stop nerve activity in those muscles to prevent movement. This naturally pulls up the skin and gives your jaw line a shapelier, more youthful appearance.
Injections for the Jaw Line
The Masseter muscle helps you close your jaw and chew Due to genetics or constant jaw clenching and teeth grinding, the Masseter muscles gets bigger. Teeth clenching is usually happens at night, so the patient isn’t aware he or she has a problem. Enlargement of the Masseter muscles and tenderness along the jaw line are the most common symptoms. Men and women with pronounced Masseter muscles may always looked stressed, and give the appearance that they’re constantly clenching their teeth.
This muscle may make the lower jaw and lower face look heavy. Injecting a muscle relaxant into the muscles on both sides of the jaw will lift and reshape the lower face and give it a lighter look.
The Masseter muscle gets weaker and smaller every time a muscle relaxant is injected into it. The weaker muscle can’t grind as much, and this curbs overnight teeth clenching. Treatment to reduce square jaws is done with conservative injections initially. Care must be taken not to inject too much toxin, which will interfere with muscle operation. More solution can be added during the follow-up treatment two weeks later, if needed.
Visit our offices for repeat injections every four to 12 months for best results. Even if you don’t receive further treatments after the first year, the jaw line may still retain its smaller, post-injection shape.
Precautions, Side Effects and Aftercare
Avoid taking the following medications or supplements for about a week before and after your treatment:
- Aspirin
- Ibuprofen
- Green tea
- Fish oil
- Vitamin E
- St. John’s Wort
- Motrin
- Alcohol
Common side effects after treatment with a Botulinum toxin formula include redness, bruising, tenderness, pain, swelling and muscle weakness.
There aren’t any major activity restrictions after your treatment. You can return to work or run errands after your injections, but don’t engage in strenuous exercise for 24 hours. Flying and massages are also discouraged for a day after injections. It may take a few hours for the injected toxin to “settle” and take shape, so avoid running your hand over the treatment area for a few hours. Don’t lie down for four hours after treatment.
Injections with a toxin formula offer a safe, non-invasive way to reshape the jaw line and jowls with surgery. A liquid jowl or jaw line lift can be effective for patients with light to moderate sagging. A Nefertiti lift alone is unlikely to give you good results if you have excessive drooping in the jowls and jaw line. Since the amount of sagging and muscle movement in the neck and jaw vary from patient to patient, you’ll need to arrange a consultation with our medical aesthetician to determine the best treatment for your needs.
Call or email My Botox LA Med Spa today to learn more about the benefits of a non-surgical jowl or jawline
