A clear line from chin to ear is one of the features that reads as youthful and healthy, in men and women alike. It softens for two reasons: the lower face loses bone and support with age, so the skin along the jaw drapes and jowls begin to form; and for some people the jaw was never especially defined, with a receding chin or a soft angle that makes the face look rounder than it is.
What is changing
With age, the jawbone loses a little height and the angle of the jaw loses definition, while the fat compartments of the cheek slide downwards and collect at the corners of the mouth. The skin, with less collagen to hold it, follows. The result is a jawline that looks softer from the front and less sharp in profile, often with a blurring of the angle between jaw and neck.
Separately, some people have enlarged masseter muscles, the main chewing muscles at the angle of the jaw, usually from clenching or grinding. These widen the lower face and can make the jaw look heavy rather than defined.
What helps
Dermal filler along the jawline and at the chin restores the structure that has been lost, sharpening the line in profile and lifting the soft tissue that had begun to fall. A small amount at the chin can balance a receding profile and make a surprising difference to the whole lower face. Results are immediate and last a year or more.
Where bulky masseter muscles are widening the face, anti-wrinkle treatment into the muscle reduces its size over a few weeks, slimming the lower face and often easing clenching and jaw ache at the same time. Many patients benefit from both approaches together.
If laxity is the main issue rather than lost structure, Profhilo or polynucleotides improve the skin’s firmness along the jaw and neck.
What a consultation involves
We will assess your face from the front and in profile, feel the jaw muscles, and work out whether the softening is from lost support, muscle bulk, skin laxity or a combination. You will get a clear recommendation, and all injectable treatment is carried out by trained clinicians after a medical history and discussion of risks.
