If you don’t care for the look of your softening profile, it’s probably a combination of slacking tissues and fat that has taken up residence under your jawline. That would be a description of a double chin. The clinical term, submental fullness, sure sounds better.

Regardless, if you have a less than contoured profile these days you’re not alone. The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery did a survey a few years back and it found that about two thirds of respondents said they hated their double chin. They added that it bugged them just as much as smile lines, flattened cheeks, and other signs of aging.

In the aesthetic universe, there was little a person could do about a double chin short of opting to have a surgical neck lift or lower facelift. But most people aren’t interested in those procedures to target their double chin.

Then along came Kybella. Kybella is an injectable that breaks down fat deposits under the chin and tightens the patient’s profile. Dr. Gear offers Kybella injections at Providence Plastic Surgery & Skin Center.

How Does Kybella Work?

Kybella is basically deoxycholic acid, just with an easier to name to pronounce! Deoxycholic acid exists in our bodies. It has the valuable role of breaking down dietary fat. So, when you eat some tasty fried chicken, deoxycholic acid breaks down the large amount of fat in it.

Funny thing, though. Deoxycholic acid doesn’t differentiate one fat from another. So, when it is injected under the skin of your double chin, the deoxycholic acid goes after the fat that is there, just as if it were dietary fat. It breaks down much of this fat over the course of your injections. This removes the weight that is pushing down your skin, and your profile tightens. Voila, you look a couple decades younger in the lines of your profile.

How Many Injections?

The FDA has approved Kybella for a total of six injection sessions. Not all patients feel the need to have all six sessions. It depends on your goals. Many patients feel three sessions is sufficient. Regardless, subsequent injection sessions need to be spaced from four to six weeks apart.

Interested in slimming that double chin, er, that submental fullness? Call us at Providence Plastic Surgery & Skin Center, (704) 771-1747, to schedule your appointment.