May Spotlight: Jawline Enhancement
The bony jawline is affected by structures above and below it. For example, cheek fullness, skin excess above and below the jaw and the jawbone’s anatomy can cause a lack of definition.
Twenty years ago, the only way to define the jawline was surgically, using liposuction, muscle tightening and orthognathic surgery, which was not without risk. Recently the FDA approved Volux, a new filler in the Allergan family, for jawlines. This filler is stiffer, so it can better simulate bone.
The benefit of having a hyaluronic acid filler which Volux is, would be the ability to dissolve the filler if there was a problem or someone was unhappy with how it looked. Treatment options range from placing filler on the bone at the angle of the jaw (the part below your earlobe), filler in front of the jowl, or along the entire length of the jaw.
As you can see in these photos, expanding the jawline often involves treating the chin since the chin is part of the mandible (jawbone). As a plastic surgeon, I have worked surgically to provide jawline definition but was always held back by the anatomy (receding chin, short mandible).
With fillers, we can add length and height to the chin and jaw with more control and less risk than with a chin implant. I can testify to the power of fillers in this area. There is no downtime, per se, but there is swelling in the first week and it takes 3-4 weeks to see the final result.
