What Is a Double Chin?
A double chin is an excess weight carried underneath the chin, typically between the chin and the neck. It makes your neck look bigger and can sometimes be attributed to looking older. Several people carry excess weight on their chins and necks. This additional weight can change the way your face and jaw look. Some people may even lose their jawline altogether because of the extra weight.
Double Chin Causes
As for double chin causes, the causes are relatively straightforward. Most of the time, a double chin results from being obese or even slightly overweight. While a double chin isn’t necessarily something to worry about, the root cause can cause health issues. For example, obesity, which is the main cause of a double chin, can be linked to several health issues, including a higher mortality rate, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and more.
Obesity isn’t the only cause of double chins. Genetics also plays a role. As such, some individuals end up with a stronger or softer jawline thanks to hereditary factors. Even thin people may have a double chin due to a lack of muscle density, resulting in a higher body fat composition.
Double Chin Treatment
There’s nothing wrong with being self-conscious about your double chin and wanting to change it. Luckily, there are many ways to help reduce and even completely eliminate double chins. An obvious double chin treatment plan, especially for overweight people, would be to lose weight through diet and exercise.
However, if you’re struggling to lose excess weight or are already thin but have a predisposition to higher fat content and want to eliminate your double chin as soon as possible, there are several other treatment plans you can consider.
Double Chin Natural Treatment
Double chin natural treatment means losing your double chin naturally without medical intervention. This can be through diet and exercise, specific jaw exercises, and even yoga. Natural treatments aren’t an immediate fix and can take a while to achieve. They also require some maintenance—for example, if weight is an issue, it’s important to not only shed your excess weight but to work to keep it off.
Double Chin Exercises
If you prefer the natural process of eliminating your double chin, there are many exercises you can perform to help reduce and eventually eliminate your excess chin and neck fat.
Common exercises include:
Chin-to-ceiling: The chin-to-ceiling exercise helps activate neck and jaw muscles and should be performed 10-20 times a day. It requires you to stand or sit with your spine straight and then tilt your head backward, looking up to the ceiling. Gently guide your lower jaw forward, toward the ceiling. Hold this position for 10 seconds.
Lion’s roar: The lion’s roar exercise helps you tone your chin and should be performed 10 to 20 times a day. Begin by opening your mouth wide and sticking your tongue out as far as you can. You’ll need to hold this position for 10 seconds. Return to your normal position and restart.
Cheek swishing: Cheek swishing is an exercise that you often do without realizing it—such as when you’re brushing your teeth or washing your mouth. You can use water to help, but you can also perform this exercise with just air. All you need to do is vigorously swish around your cheeks for 5 to 10 minutes. Similar to the other exercises, you should aim to perform this exercise 10 to 20 times a day.
