Double usually are good things. For sure a double double for the Nets is a good night. A double for the Mets usually results in a run. Doubling down at Atlantic City can be good, if you receive the right cards.
But when it comes to the area beneath our jawbone, double is a dirty word, as in double chin.
We all like to think “other people” have double chins, people like Trump yes-man Chris Christie, but the reality is that most of us have some excess baggage under the chin.
If you don’t like the term double chin for what’s going on under your chin, go ahead and call it submental fullness. That’s the clinical term for “double chin.”
There has been little a person could do about a double chin short of surgery — a facelift or neck lift. Now that has changed with Kybella®, a prescription medicine available from Dr. Ferraro. Kybella® is the prescription brand name for an injection formulated with deoxycholic acid that dramatically improves the appearance and profile of moderate to severe fat below the chin, the proverbial double chin.
Double chinny chin chins galore
If you have a little submental fullness going on, you’re not alone. The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery conducted a survey in 2015 and found that 67% of people said they’re bothered by a double chin. That’s two thirds of the country! And people in the survey were equally bugged by their double chin as they were about wrinkles and other signs of aging. If you’re more of a math person, crow’s feet = double chin.
There are a variety of factors that play a part: the pull of gravity, simple intrinsic aging (where decreasing production of collagen means the skin has less underlying support), genetics (some people simply have looser skin below the jawline), and weight gain. All of these factors cause our skin to droop. And because the skin under the chin has no underlying bone or muscle beneath it, it’s even more obvious when it becomes lax and hangs downward. And stretch your chin all you want, once established that fat’s not going anywhere!
Enter Kybella®
Surgery was the only way to address your double chin, but that changed in 2015. In April 2015 the FDA approved Kybella®, the only injectable treatment to improve the appearance and profile of a double chin.
The basis of Kybella® is deoxycholic acid. Deoxycholic acid is a naturally occurring molecule in the body whose job is to aid in the breakdown and absorption of dietary fat. When injected into the fat beneath the chin, Kybella® (and its deoxycholic acid) destroys the fat cells. After those cells are gone, there is no longer a storage mechanism to accumulate fat in the area. Once gone, your double chin shouldn’t return.
Multiple treatments yield the best results
At the Plastic Surgery Specialists of New Jersey we customize your Kybella® treatments. Some patients see the results they want after two to four treatments; others require six. The number of treatments will depend on the amount of fat stored under your chin, along with your desired final profile. Each treatment is spaced four weeks apart.
Kybella® has no side effects and requires no recovery time. As with any injection, there can be some swelling at the injection sites, but that passes quickly.
Because Kybella® can reduce the fat cells. However, if you gain weight, submental fat can return.*
*Disclaimer: Results and patient experience may vary
Opt for a piece of Doublemint gum instead of that double lurking beneath your jawbone. Call Dr. Ferraro at (201) 664-8000 and ask about Kybella.
Read another post featuring Dr. Ferraro explaining the benefits of Kybella in a recent Zwivel Article.
