Kybella: Finally, a Surgery-Free Solution to the Dreaded Double Chin
Double chins can make you look overweight even when the rest of your body is slim. And as we get older, the weight of that excess fatty tissue can start to drift downward pretty quickly, causing that unmistakable, jiggly wattle and sometimes even dragging our jowls down along with it.
Under-chin fat (also called submental fat) can be very difficult to get rid of. For a lot of people, even losing weight can’t shake the extra pooch. That’s because many people are born with excess submental fat, and still others gain submental fat as a result of aging. Liposuction is one possible solution. But liposuction uses incisions, and that means you’ll have a scar. Plus, it’s invasive, so it has certain risks, like the possibility of bleeding or infection. At Boost Your Beauty Medispa, we offer another option: Kybella® injections, designed for the sole purpose of melting away stubborn under-chin fat. Kybella actually works to break down fat in the submental region, liquefying it so your body can metabolize it and eliminate it over a period of a few weeks. Better still: Injections take under an hour and there’s no downtime.
Kybella: How it works
Kybella injections use a special solution that contains a chemical called deoxycholic acid. Our bodies actually produce deoxycholic acid as part of the digestion process. In fact, it’s this acid that helps metabolize or break down the foods we eat — specifically, the fatty foods. Produced by the liver, our natural deoxycholic acid melts fat inside the foods we consume so the resulting material can either be used by our cells or eliminated from the body. Kybella uses a synthetic (lab-created) version of deoxycholic acid that works the same way, except instead of metabolizing the fat in food, it liquefies the fat in the submental region.
When the Kybella solution is injected directly into the pockets of stubborn fat under the chin, the acid targets the fat cell walls, dissolving them and breaking apart fat cells so the remaining debris can be carried off by your body’s lymph system during the few weeks after your treatment.
What to expect during a Kybella treatment
Kybella treatment starts with a careful evaluation of your chin to delineate the area and mark the locations of the injections. This “mapping” process helps ensure the Kybella solution reaches all the fatty tissue so your results are even and consistent. Then, your chin is numbed with a mild anesthetic to reduce any discomfort you might feel during your treatment.
Once the area is numb, Kybella is injected using a very fine needle — much thinner than the needles used in vaccines, for example. The thin needle also helps prevent discomfort. Injections are made throughout the submental region to ensure the solution is evenly distributed. Most people need about 15 injections, but your treatment will be based on your anatomy and the results you’re hoping to achieve, so you could receive more or less. In most cases, you can expect your treatment to take about a half hour.
After your treatment is complete, you’ll have some mild redness and a little swelling around the injection sites, and the area will be tender to the touch (the same sensations you’d have with any type of injections). There may be a little numbness in the area, and you might develop some light bruising that will disappear in a few days. If the area is tender, you can apply an ice pack to the area or take an over-the-counter pain medicine if you like.
It takes between one and two months for your body to carry away the liquefied fat, revealing a slimmer profile. If you have a lot of under-chin fat, you might need a series of two to four treatments to get the results you’re looking for. Treatments will be spaced out over several weeks to give your body time to carry off the fatty material between sessions.
Is Kybella right for you?
Kybella can be a great choice to eliminate double chins in just about anyone. To learn more about the treatment or to schedule an evaluation at Boost Your Beauty Medispa, book an appointment online today.