Will Botox help to lift jowls?
Has your facial scaffolding collapsed, taking your jawline with it? As we age, we lose volume and bone in our faces, contributing to sagging and a jowly appearance. Add to that the fact that gravity is taking its toll on the underlying structures that prop everything up, and we have the perfect recipe for sagging. When it comes to treatments for sagging jowls, there are many options available. But is Botox one of them? When successfully treating jowls, we usually need to restore mid-face volume, lift sagging skin and regenerate collagen. So, let’s look at the options.
What causes jowls?
As we age, our skin’s collagen and elastin gradually break down. These two proteins are essential in retaining skin firmness and elasticity, so without them, our skin starts to sag. This is further worsened by the fact that your skin also thins with age, making it less able to retain its original shape. In addition, certain habits can also create jowls. For instance, sun exposure, smoking, or yo-yo dieting can influence how pronounced your jowls may become.
Can Botox help lift sagging jowls?
We are all aware of the wrinkle-reducing effects of Botox, but its benefits go much further than that. When administered strategically in the jaw and neck, it can affect the lower face by reducing the appearance of minor sagging skin and jowls. This will prevent the muscles from contracting, which would make wrinkles visible or develop even further.
If the issue is that the jowls are significant, then this can be harder to treat with just Botox alone. Other treatments such as fillers and RF microneedling (Profound RF) or Sofwave will usually be the most appropriate options in this case.
Dermal fillers
Dermal fillers can be used to restore mid-face (cheek) volume or the area just in front of the ears to help temporarily reduce the appearance of jowls – particularly if you’re noticing saggy skin from volume loss. Another option is to place fillers in front of the jowl, in the ‘dent’ that forms between the jowl and chin (what’s known as the pre-jowl sulcus). It’s a normal phenomenon for bone loss to occur here, and volume replacement can help improve this in some patients.
RF Microneedling
Profound RF is an excellent way to target sagging skin, reduce the appearance of wrinkles, and to firm through boosting collagen production. Ultra-thin needles deliver heat from the RF energy into the reticular dermis, the skin’s lower layer, to create controlled damage. This stimulates a natural healing response that reinvigorates the body’s natural production of hyaluronic acid, elastin, and collagen, the building blocks that keep skin taut and elastic.
The device is more powerful than other popular RF microneedling treatments, with 4-second radiofrequency energy pulses and precise temperature control that heats the dermis to 67 degrees C. This means that Profound RF treatments can create a noticeable result in a single treatment session.
Sofwave
Using an ultrasound beam to heat the tissue at a depth of 1.5 mm under the skin, Sofwave creates controlled damage, stimulating the body’s healing response, jump-starting new collagen production and remodelling existing collagen. Sofwave’s fractional ultrasound heat contracts the collagen in your skin and stimulates the tissue repair response in your fibroblast cells, ramping up new collagen production. The result is fewer lines and wrinkles and a tightening and firming effect, so it’s excellent as a facelift alternative.
If you’d like to discuss the various treatment options and establish the right treatment, click here to book a consultation.
Disclaimer: Please be aware that results and benefits may vary from patient to patient taking into consideration factors such as age, lifestyle and medical history.
