Growing older comes with inevitable changes. One of the most pronounced changes is to the skin. As you age, collagen is produced less by the body. As a result, the skin starts sagging, creasing, thinning, and losing elasticity. One common change is jowls. This is when sagging skin forms along the chin and jawline due to the skin thinning and becoming less elastic. The face structure also contributes to the formation of jowls.
People with more fat, more collagen, and thicker skin on the cheeks and chin are less likely to develop jowls. You can also reduce the chance of jowls due to genes, environmental factors, and lifestyle choices.
Causes of jowls
1. Loss of collagen
As time passes, the skin in the cheeks and below the jawline loses collagen and elastin. Collagen is a connective protein that gives the skin, nails, hair, and bones their structure. Elastin is a connective protein tissue that helps the skin go back to normal after being stretched. As these proteins erode from age, the skin in the jawline stops being tight and tight. The skin then sags and hangs at the jaw and chin.
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2. Facial changes
As you grow older, the eye sockets slowly widen while the chin and jawbone narrow. The skin also loses its elasticity. This leads to the skin from the top of the face sagging.
3. Genetics
If your parents have jowls, you’re more likely to develop them. This may mean you have naturally thinner skin or will have lower collagen and elastin reserves as you age. If you are genetically predisposed, you may start noticing jowls as early as your 20s.
4. Habits
Certain facial expressions can increase the likelihood of jowls. Weight loss can also lead to sagging skin around the cheeks. However, this is more common if you were a plus size beforehand. With the skin stretched it loses its fat content, and jowls can form once the skin doesn’t tighten. Beauty: 7 Anti-Ageing Facial Exercises That Can Take Years Off Your Face
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Being exposed to UV rays leads to the damage of collagen. This can cause the skin to sag prematurely. Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of jowls. Nicotine damages collagen and elastin. The smoke narrows blood vessels and limits circulation which decreases the transfer of nutrients to your skin.
Text neck also increases the chances of jowls. When you constantly lower your next to read, use your phone, or work on your computer, you affect the structure of your skin. This also increases wrinkles in the neck.
How to prevent jowls
Changing some of your habits can reduce the chance of jowls happening. You can stop smoking. In addition, you can hold your phone at eye level to stop bending your neck. You can also invest in a laptop stand that ensures you don’t bend your neck when using your PC. Lifestyle: Benefits Of A Standing Desk
Take ten-minute breaks for every hour when using your computer to avoid lowering your neck too often.
Always wear sunscreen when going out in the sun. Not only does this prevent skin cancer, but it also protects the skin from drying out, collagen damage, or redness. Apply the sunscreen to your face and neck. Skincare: The Benefits Of Sunscreen And How To Apply It Properly
There are jawline exercises you can do to ensure that you strengthen the muscles in that area. Jawline exercises also help resolve droopy neck and neck pain. They also reduce headaches and jaw pain. Some of these exercises include neck curl-ups, which involve you lying on the floor, and then raising your head until your chin hits your chest.
Can you get rid of jowls?
There are medical options to treat jowls or sagging skin. They are surgical and nonsurgical which is determined by cost, recovery time, how extensive the jowls are, and how long the effects last. There are also home remedies such as contouring to hide them.
Surgical options
This involves procedures like face lifts or neck lifts. A neck lift is done by removing fat, tightening muscles, and stretching out the skin. The incision is done from the front and back of the ear into the hairline. It shapes out the jaw. A facelift removes fat and skin from the forehead or the middle part of the face. These procedures make the face and neck look the same.
Another surgical option is liposuction. This removes fat from the chin area. This procedure reshapes the chin and jawline to prevent sagging later on. Like any surgical procedure, they carry the risk of scarring, sepsis, nerve or muscular damage, internal bleeding, swelling, and swelling. 7 Things You Should Do Before Getting Cosmetic Procedures
Nonsurgical options
You can remove jowls by using thermage jawline tightening. This is a procedure that uses a device that uses heat and radio frequencies to tighten the skin around the neck and chin. It can be done multiple times to maintain the tightness of the collagen in the area.
Dermal fillers are also a popular solution to jowls. They use different materials such as hyaluronic acid to fill in the jowls and make the skin look smoother. Depending on the fillers used, some help the face produce more collagen to keep the skin tight. Everything You Need To Know About Dermal Fillers And Why Young People Should Avoid Them
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