Get Rid of the Double Chin: How Quickly Does Kybella Work?

Few things are more frustrating than a double chin. Double chins make us look older or larger than we are, and can contribute to a sense of self-consciousness that makes life just a bit harder to live. Is there a way to get rid of your double chin permanently? There is, and at Lux: A Medical Spa in Bluffton, SC, serving Hilton Head, SC, and the surrounding area, we offer Kybella to do just that. This revolutionary treatment can give you back your self-confidence and get rid of that double chin.

How Quickly Does Kybella Work?

It takes Kybella a little time to do its work and that’s exactly why the results are so effective and permanent. For most people, it will take a couple of sessions to see your final, optimal results, and these depend a bit on your individual goals and needs. In general, you can expect to see a major change a few weeks after your treatment. Most people need about two to four treatments.

This treatment is actually killing your fat cells so your body can flush them out. This takes time as you let your body work, so expect to first notice a change as early as two weeks or as long as four weeks after treatment. We typically space sessions a month or so apart, so if you’re having two sessions, you can expect to see your best results at about eight weeks.

The best way to understand if this treatment is for you, and how quickly it will work for you, is to understand exactly how it works.

What Is Kybella?

Kybella is simply a prescription form of deoxycholic acid, which your body produces naturally. In the body, deoxycholic acid breaks down dietary fat so the body can process it and then get rid of it. In injection form, we can direct deoxycholic acid towards fat cells you do not need. The deoxycholic acid then breaks down these fat cells so your body can get rid of them. This is a safe, effective, and permanent way to address a double chin that leaves the face, neck, and other surrounding areas unaffected.

What Causes My Double Chin?

A double chin, also known as submental fullness, can be caused by a variety of factors, and only some are within your control. While it’s true that a double chin can be due to overeating and weight gain, it can also appear simply due to unfortunate genetics. For many people, their bodies simply choose to put weight in this spot, and there’s little they can do about it.

A double chin can be one of the hardest areas of fat to deal with within the body. Exercise doesn’t usually affect it, and there are a few cosmetic treatments that are actually effective in getting rid of a double chin. Some people develop a double chin with age, while others have struggled with it their whole lives.

How the Treatment Works

As mentioned, this treatment uses deoxycholic acid to break down the fat cells in your chin. When these fat cells are attacked by deoxycholic acid, they break apart. Over time, your body will process these just as it processes any type of dead cells. Cells die in our body constantly, all day long during the natural course of cellular division and reproduction, so this is not something new or unusual for your body to deal with.

Once those fat cells are gone, they are gone for good. Humans have a set number of fat cells that is determined in childhood, and except in the case of the most extreme weight gain, our bodies do not grow new fat cells. When we lose or gain weight under normal circumstances, our fat cells simply expand or contract. By getting rid of these cells entirely, you know they will never be there to ” expand” again.

Because deoxycholic acid is produced naturally in your body, this treatment is very well tolerated by most people. This isn’t a foreign substance for your body, and the chance of any rejection or allergic reaction is almost nonexistent.

How Long Results Last

Once the fat cells are gone, they are gone for good. This is a permanent treatment. No more fat can be stored in a place where no more fat cells exist! That said, we of course do not remove every single fat cell from your chin–nor should we!–and it is possible that future weight gain could cause the remaining fat cells to expand. Keeping up a healthy lifestyle will keep this from happening and ensure that your results are permanent.

Understanding What Treatment Is Like

Before Treatment

Your first step is a consultation, where we will go over your medical history and the list of any medications and supplements you take, as well as over-the-counter pills and vitamins. We also want to discuss your goals with you to understand your challenges and the results you’re looking for. We’ll also go over what type of chin profile you’re expecting to have once treatment is finished.

Once we know more about you, we can give you a definitive answer about whether this is the right treatment for you. We can also give you more specific information about how many treatments it’s likely to take and the time frame for seeing your personal goals realized. Once you have decided that this is the treatment for you, however, there’s no special preparation required. You can come in for your treatment without fasting, taking medications, or prepping in any special way.

During Treatment

First, we will make sure you’re comfortable and apply a numbing cream to ensure you feel no discomfort. Then, we’ll mark the injection areas so we make sure we reach everything and get the results you’re hoping for. The precise number of injections you’ll need will depend on your unique situation. The injections themselves will take around 15-30 minutes to apply, and since the needles are hair-thin, you’ll find this an entirely painless experience.

Most people are able to fit this quick treatment into a lunch break and be back on their way in well less than an hour.

After Treatment

One of the best things about this treatment is that no recovery period is required. There’s no anesthetic to recover from, so you can drive yourself to and from appointments. There’s no pain, swelling, or other indications that you’ve had a treatment, so you can go back to work or run errands as you normally would.

How Many Sessions Will I Need?

We’ll help you develop a customized treatment plan, and this will include the specific number of treatments that you’ll need. Most people need at least two, and the maximum is typically no more than six. In general, the more submental fullness you have, the more treatments you’ll need to take care of the problem.

Why Do People Seek Out This Treatment?

The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery reported in a 2014 study that 68% of the population is bothered by submental fullness. In fact, just as many people are bothered by a double chin as are bothered by lines, wrinkles, and other imperfections on their faces.

A double chin is particularly annoying because it’s so noticeable. We can hide other little pockets of fat with clothes, but it’s very hard to hide a double chin. Even more distressingly, a double chin isn’t always an indication of overall weight–it’s not uncommon for someone of a perfectly healthy weight to still have a double chin. This is simply an issue of genetics.

A double chin makes us look heavier than we really are, and it also ages us. As a society, we generally associate a double chin with the aging process, so getting one early can be upsetting. If you find yourself constantly looking for ways to hold yourself or position yourself for pictures in order to minimize your double chin, it’s probably time to do something about it. Once your double chin is gone, you’ll be excited by your new, sharper jawline, more contoured face, and fitter, more youthful look. After this treatment, people generally report that they feel less self-conscious, but they also feel younger and happier. They stop wasting mental energy thinking about how they hold their faces and feel more in control.

Will This Really Work?

You may have sought cosmetic treatments before only to find that rosy promises never really panned out. Don’t worry: in clinical trials of this treatment, nearly 80% of those treated were satisfied with the results and their appearance afterward. This is an effective treatment that literally melts away the fat under your chin.

Am I a Good Candidate for This Treatment?

Deoxycholic acid is found naturally in the body, so it’s very, very rare for anyone to have an issue with this treatment. Nearly everyone who is interested in it is a good candidate. The only things that could keep you from getting treatment would be a clotting disorder or if you are on a medication that causes blood clotting and you are not able to pause your medication for a while. We also do not offer this treatment to pregnant women or those planning to become pregnant, as there have been no studies done to indicate whether the treatment is safe for your baby.

We also do not offer this treatment to people under the age of 18. It’s not unusual for teens to have a bit of extra fat as part of the natural growth and development process, and it’s important to wait for your body to fully develop post-puberty before seeking treatment of this type.

Finally, you should also bear in mind that this is not a solution for weight loss. This is a cosmetic treatment. It changes the appearance, but it does not help with weight loss-related health issues or enable you to burn calories. If your double chin is part of a larger, more serious weight issue, it’s important to seek help to establish healthy diet and exercise routines before you seek treatment of this kind.

What About Sagging Skin?

Some people have the appearance of a double chin, but for them, the issue is not fat. The problem is sagging skin that is caused by a loss of elasticity in the skin. This is a common issue as we age and our skin loses collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid. If sagging skin is causing it to look like you have a double chin, this treatment can’t help you. It can only target fat cells.

However, there are other treatments that can help firm and lift your skin. We’ll go over this issue in your consultation and help you determine the best treatment choices for your personal cosmetic goals. These may include dermal filler injectables, for example.

Schedule Your Consultation Today

If you’re tired of a double chin and want to see a more contoured outline to your profile, contact us today at Lux: A Medical Spa in Bluffton, SC. We want to help everyone in Hilton Head, SC, and beyond look and feel their very best!