JOWL LIFT
Procedures
Jowl Lift in Shreveport
Are you considering a jowl lift?
Jowls are sagging skin below the chin or jawline. Nearly everyone develops them with age. It occurs with the continued loss of collagen and elastin in your skin over time.
Nearly everyone develops jowls, but nobody wants them. One of the ways you can rid yourself of them is through a jowl lift.
In this post, Dr. Wall of the Plastic Surgery Center in Shreveport will answer all your questions about jowl lifts: how jowls develop, as well as the jowl lift procedure.
What Are Jowls?
“Jowls” are a general term for sagging skin below the chin or jawline.
As our skin gets thinner and less elastic, gravity begins to take hold, and the flesh beneath the jawline drops. Losing firmness and elasticity in our skin is a natural part of aging. Our skin begins thinning in our 20s, and by the time we reach our 50s, skin and fat begin to sag noticeably.
This may happen not only in the jaw area, but also in the neck area.
Jowls may be less pronounced in people who have thicker skin, or more fat in their facial area, but everyone develops some form of excess skin in the neck area.
There are other lower face concerns that patients may want to correct. Apart from jowls and sagging skin in the neck area, you may also develop marionette lines on your lower face. These are lines that appear from the corners of your mouth down to your chin.
What Causes Jowls?
Apart from age, there are a few other causes of jowls. Some of the causes of jowls are as follows:
Genetics
Your genetics can determine whether or not you develop jowls.
Genetics can also determine how noticeable your jowls are. If either of your parents has jowls, you’re more likely to develop them. If you have naturally thin skin, you may start to notice jowls early in life. It’s even possible to develop jowls in your teens or twenties.
Environmental and Lifestyle Factors
Some causes of jowls come from your environment or result from your lifestyle choices. Some of these environmental or lifestyle triggers are:
- Facial expressions. Frequently making certain facial expressions can stretch out your face or neck skin.
- Weight loss. When you gain weight, your skin stretches to accommodate the extra mass. When you lose that weight, the stretched skin may sag.
- Sun exposure. Overexposure to UV rays in sunlight can damage the collagen in your skin.
- Smoking. Nicotine and other chemicals can damage collagen and elastin.
- Using computers or phones. Looking down into phones or computers for long periods of time can make your neck lose its elasticity. Some people call these jowls “tech neck”.
What is a Jowl Lift?
A jowl lift is a minimally invasive procedure you can use to get rid of excess fat and skin around the neck. We can combine it with neck liposuction to achieve a smooth, youthful look beneath the chin.
Jowl lifts utilize ultrasound technology to melt the fat beneath your chin and jawline. Dr. Wall will place you under general anesthesia during the procedure, which will last about a half-hour. After this, patients can expect some bruising and swelling in the chin and jaw area. Other than this minor bruising and swelling, patients will likely experience no side effects.
Though the vast majority of patients can go about their business right after the procedure, Dr. Wall does advise patients to take it easy for a few days. Avoiding strenuous physical labor is always a good idea, as well as avoiding extensive exposure to the sun.
Once the bruising and swelling subside, patients will see quick and obvious results. Since this technique doesn’t require any cutting, there will be no scarring. A jowl lift may also reduce the appearance of marionette lines.
Who is a Candidate for Jowl Lift?
The best candidates for a jowl lift are women between the ages of 20 and 60 who have sagging or excess skin beneath their chin and jawline. Men are also candidates for the jowl lift, though men’s jowls don’t tend to be as pronounced as women until much later in life.
How Much Does a Jowl Lift Cost?
The cost of a cosmetic procedure will always vary. The best way to get a realistic idea of costs is to schedule a consultation with Dr. Wall and his team.
What we can say definitively is that a jowl lift is minimally invasive and that it is thus considerably cheaper than a traditional facelift.
But there are a number of factors that will affect how much your jowl lift costs. First of all, the experience of the surgeon you choose affects the cost of your procedure. However, your comfort with your plastic surgeon is just as important as the cost of your procedure. Most surgeons, including Dr. Wall, have programs in place to help you finance your procedure.
Most likely, your insurance will not pay for a jowl lift. Insurance companies do not consider a jowl lift a medically necessary procedure.
Are There Alternatives to a Jowl Lift?
A jowl lift is the quickest and easiest way to contour and tighten your jawline.
If you want more dramatic results than a jowl lift can give you, a full facelift may be a good option for you. There are also lower facelifts and neck lifts that may help decrease the appearance of jowls and marionette lines and focus on double chin reduction.
There are also many options in Dr. Wall’s MediSpa for dermal fillers and other skin-tightening procedures. The best way to determine which procedure will work best for you is to talk to Dr. Wall about your expectations and what you hope to get out of a procedure.
Contact the Plastic Surgery Center
Dr. Wall is a board-certified, fellowship-trained plastic surgeon serving the Shreveport area. If you or someone you know is considering a jowl lift or other cosmetic procedures in Shreveport, call the Plastic Surgery Center at 318.221.1629. You can also leave us a message on our website.
