While this condition may not be as apparent at a young age, the natural aging process can make a genetic double chin especially pronounced, usually starting in the 40s and occasionally earlier.
A double chin, also known as submental fat, is a common occurrence that happens when a layer of fat forms below your chin. A double chin is often associated with weight gain, but you don't have to have excess weight to have one. Genetics or looser skin resulting from aging may also cause a double chin.
The issue often has as much to do with youth as it does with diet and exercise or genetics — which means that some double chins correct themselves: “As we mature, the fat pads under our chin tend to get smaller,” says Whitney Bowe, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
If you have a double chin despite being skinny, your body just happens to genetically store extra fat around the jawline. There's really nothing unusual about it, but it does present a challenge in that your chin fat is much harder to target through diet and exercise alone.
Weight Loss
Sometimes weight gain contributes to the formation of a double chin. Simply shedding those extra pounds can reduce the layer of fat under your chin.
But factors like genetics, weight gain, and getting older may cause one to form. Nearly 70% of Americans report having a double chin. Having a double chin can make you look heavier than you are.
A diet high in calories, processed foods, and unhealthful fats may influence weight gain and a double chin as well. Genes may play a role in people developing a double chin. Anyone with a family history of skin with little elasticity or double chins might be more likely to develop one themselves.
Just like some people carry extra weight in their hips, some people carry it in their face. In general, facial fat tends to be more noticeable in people with rounded, less-pronounced facial features. Additionally, your diet can also contribute to weight gain in the face.
Most people begin to notice a shift in the appearance of their face around their 40's and 50's, with some also noticing a change in their 30's. But with these physical changes brought on by aging also comes a change in the appearance of our face - Luckily, there is treatment available.
Drinking plenty of water is a simple but effective way to manage your weight and prevent excess facial fat ( 8 ).
There are no specific foods that can increase facial fat. However, consuming more calories than a person uses each day can contribute to weight gain, which could lead to increased facial fat over time.
No matter how much you work out or try to lose weight, the excess chin fat is likely to stay. Luckily, modern cosmetic treatments offer a way to destroy fat cells and give you permanent results.
Reduce your salt intake
Also, opt for low-sodium foods which include broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, red beans, brown rice, quinoa, berries, apples, bananas, pears and more. When you reduce your salt intake, it helps in reducing inflammation as well as bloating. All these will result in a slimmer face.
With age, that fat loses volume, clumps up, and shifts downward, so features that were formerly round may sink, and skin that was smooth and tight gets loose and sags. Meanwhile other parts of the face gain fat, particularly the lower half, so we tend to get baggy around the chin and jowly in the neck.
A chin lift is an effective exercise to reduce cheek fat. Pull the lower portion of your face and chin upwards while flexing the jaw muscles. The movement increases blood circulation to these areas, resulting in fat burn. Repeat these at least 10 to 15 times in one set.
#1 Drink more water
Plus, most Americans are dehydrated and don't drink enough water. However, if you want to lose fat in your face, it's time to drink up! Drinking water also reduces puffiness in bloating not only in your face but also in your body because it reduces fluid retention.
The reason behind excess face fat is poor diet, lack of exercise, aging, or genetic conditions. Fat is usually more visible in the cheeks, jowls, under the chin, and neck. Facial fat tends to be more noticeable in people with rounded, less-pronounced facial features.
It burns fat
You might think you're just icing your face. But the cranial nerves control the nerves of heart, digestive tract and skeletal muscles. Dipping your face in ice water can influence your nerves to burn fat throughout the body.
This is called extrinsic aging. As a result, premature aging can set in long before it was expected. In other words, your biological clock is more advanced than your chronological clock. Controllable factors such as stress, smoking and sun exposure can all play a role in expediting extrinsic aging.
Studies have shown that by the age of 35, the natural aging process causes us to lose about 10% of the fat in our faces, and we lose an additional 5-10% of your facial volume every 5-10 years thereafter.
High cheekbones are a desirable feature when it comes to ageing because the face keeps its shape better. People with oval shaped faces will stay youthful due to “typically high cheekbones, balanced proportions of forehead and cheeks and sharp contours”, Dr Raj said.
Naturally dry skin is likely to age faster because the drier the outer skin layers, the less pliable they are.