4 Safe and Simple Solutions For the Dreaded Double Chin

2020 was the year that Zoom emerged as a household name. It was also sadly the year a lot of people saw double chins start to emerge on Zoom calls.

A lot of people learned how dreadfully unflattering the lowered angle of a laptop’s webcam can truly be. If you’re a bit older, or you’ve gained a few pounds, you might have felt like someone let the air out of your face and like the skin was just hanging down. Some people propped their laptops up on books to add more height, or went online and bought a proper webcam.

If you have found yourself staring at your own face in the little window on Zoom calls, you are far from alone. In fact, over half of all surveyed people admitted that they look at their own faces more than they like on video calls. Keep in mind, those are only the people that admit to doing it. We would guess the actual number is considerably higher—a lot closer to 100 than 50.

We can safely say that our Toronto plastic surgery clinic has never been busier. We’re booking a lot of consultations with people that are sick and tired of the way they look on Zoom calls. They’re really starting to feel self-conscious about their double chins, or other facial sagging, and they’re coming to us to find out what can be done.

Here are a few of the procedures we tend to talk about.

1. Neck Lift (Chin Lift)

A neck lift involves your surgeon making a very small incision under your chin, then surgically removing the unwanted fat and loose skin, and finally tightening the muscles in the chin and neck.

It is a great option for people struggling with:

• A double chin or localized deposits of fat under the chin
• Excess neck skin
• Turkey neck
• Lax muscles in the neck and chin area

Our surgeons have helped to break new ground in the world of neck lift procedures. Their work has been studied and it has changed the way neck lifts are performed in other clinics throughout the world.

We were the first to introduce:

• Melting the fat under the chin with radiofrequency energy devices prior to extraction
• Utilizing laser energy supported sutures and threads to support neckbands

Many of our clients have said that our procedures have taken a full 10 to 15 years off of their jawlines.

Our clinic also offers mini neck lifts and deep neck lift procedures.

The Mini Neck Lift

Your surgeon will make a small incision to remove vertical neck bands and they will tighten the skin to give you a smoother and more defined jawline. This procedure is very popular with younger patients that don’t have enough facial fat or sagging skin to want a full neck lift.

Because it is less invasive, it doesn’t produce the same level of dramatic impact as the full neck lift, but the recovery times are typically shorter.

Deep Neck Lift

Your surgeon will not make the typical incisions around the ears that you would see with the more traditional neck lift. Instead, they will make a single incision hidden in the crease below your chin to address the deep muscle and tissue in the neck.

This procedure is aimed at people who need help with loose skin in the neck area, but aren’t looking to add more definition to the jaw or cheek area.

Our surgeons have been performing the neck lift in Toronto for over 20 years and have produced some truly amazing results.

2. Facelift

If you’re experiencing an overall fatigued and saggy look, you might consider a facelift procedure to tighten things up to restore some vibrancy.

Our clinic offers 3 different types of facelifts:

Mini Facelift

This procedure typically focuses on a patient’s cheeks and jowls. It’s normally combined with facial fat grafting and liposuction techniques to smoothen out the face to remove years and add a youthful glow.

This is often the go-to procedure for men and women in their 30s and 40s. They may not quite have enough loose skin or unwanted fat to warrant a traditional facelift quite yet. But the mini facelift is enough to help them look younger, more rested, and more energized. If you are interested in a mini facelift for men, TPS has you covered.

Mid Facelift

This procedure can give you more targeted focus than a full facelift, as the mid facelift really locks into the problematic signs of ageing in the eyes and cheek areas.

Your surgeon will skillfully smooth out the middle of your face by tightening the skin to reduce wrinkles and fine lines. They may also raise and elevate the fat pads under your cheeks.

This is a highly focused level of attention that you don’t get from the standard facelift. So, if you’re most concerned with your eyes, nose, and cheek areas, this is likely the way to go.

Full Facelift

This can take the form of either:

•   Traditional deep plane facelifts
•   SMAS facelifts

Deep plane facelifts involve your surgeon making a deep incision to tighten the muscles below your skin. This should only be performed by highly experienced and skilled surgeons. It is a very complex procedure and it typically requires a longer recovery period.

On the other hand, we consider SMAS facelifts the gold standard of modern facelifts. Your surgeon will focus on a sheet of tissue under the cheek skin known as the Superficial Muscular Aponeurotic System to address jowls and deep smile lines.

Our Dr. Bell is one of Canada’s most experienced and in-demand facelift surgeons. He knows how to work with your existing features and bone structure to give you a refreshed and natural look, as opposed to the overdone or overstretched look that you may have seen with some overly-aggressive celebrity facelifts.

3. Liposuction

The facial procedures we’ve mentioned above all use cutting-edge liposuction techniques to remove unwanted fat from the facial area. But maybe you would like to remove fat deposits on other parts of your body too.

Maybe you have put on The Quarantine 15 and added some unwanted weight during the lockdown. If you have, you’re certainly not alone. A recent survey revealed that nearly a third of surveyed Canadians have gained weight during the COVID crisis, and almost 22% said they gained more than 5 lbs.

Liposuction for men and women can help you remove unwanted pockets of fat in areas such as your:

•   Love handles
•   Upper arms
•   Abdomen
•   Hips
•   Back
•   Face
•   Thighs
•   Chest
•   Lower legs

Our clinic offers leading-edge technology and industry-leading plastic surgeons. This has led to some of the best results, and some of the most striking liposuction before and after pictures, you are ever going to see.

We currently offer 3 different types of liposuction procedures:

BodyTite™ Lipo (radiofrequency energy)

Releases radiofrequency energy to melt and coagulate the fat, while sealing the small blood vessels

You can easily see soft tissue contraction of 40-50% in a year or less.

SmartLipo™ (laser energy)

The laser energy liquefies your fat and closes off tiny blood vessels. This gives you almost no bruising and incredibly easy aspiration.

Our patients have routinely seen a 17% contraction of the treated skin, as well as a 25% improvement in skin elasticity.

VASERLipo™ (ultrasound energy)

This procedure uses ultrasonic energy to gently vibrate and implode the fat cells so that they can be removed with a very small, blunt-tipped microcannula.

This is typically the go-to procedure if you’re also planning on getting any sort of fat grafting procedure like a Brazilian Butt Lift, breast augmentation, or facial fat transplantation. The gentle technology ensures that the harvested fat is intact and suitable for use.

4. Non-Surgical Solutions

In a lot of cases, our patients don’t quite have enough facial fat or sagging skin to require a full-blown surgical solution. They may see the results they’re looking for with simple and non-surgical procedures such as:

•   CoolSculpting
•   SculpSure
•   Evolve
•   Vanquish
•   EMsculpt
•   BodyFX
•   Vanquish
•   Venus Freeze
•   Excilis
•   VelaShape 3

Those procedures are always in high demand because they give you remarkable fat reduction in the targeted areas, with absolutely no pain or downtime. There are also no scars or incisions because this is a non-surgical treatment.

Which one of these procedures is right for you? Well, we find that in most cases, there is no single solution that works great for everyone. Our surgeons have found that the best results come from a combination of two or more different types of procedures.

This is how we ensure that you get the best possible outcome, with a targeted combination of fat reduction and skin tightening in the treated areas.

The Zoom Boom

As we mentioned earlier, we have been very busy during the pandemic lockdown, and we’re certainly not alone.

The entire plastic surgery has actually seen a bit of a boom during these work-from-home days. It has been nicknamed The Zoom Boom or The Zoom Effect by some in the industry. As funny as the name may be, Zoom is having a very serious impact on the world of plastic surgery.

The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) recently released the results from their 2020 member survey, and their findings are pretty much in line with what we’ve seen.

They reported that:

•   70% of the surveyed facial plastic surgeons reported an increase in business during the pandemic
•   90% of those respondents reported an increase of 10% or higher
•   83% attributed their growth in business to The Zoom Effect

Of course, Zoom isn’t the only thing that has caused a record number of people to look up double chin surgery on their laptops and phones.

According to the AAFPRS’ report, a nearly unanimous 96% said the increase in volume was because, “men and women have more time and flexibility to recover from treatments due to social distancing and the benefits of working from home.”

Simply put, people now have the ability to recover at home while working from home, without having to worry about showing up to an office or using their hard-earned vacation days.

This is definitely something we’ve heard from a few of our clients. We’ve spoken to a number of people that were on the fence about getting a procedure for years, but the ability to recover from home was the impetus they needed to take that final step and book a consultation.

We have also seen a lot of people taking the money that they would have spent on a tropical or overseas vacation, and putting it towards the plastic surgery they have always wanted to get. COVID travel restrictions mean that they can’t take the vacation they were looking forward to, or go on the honeymoon they were dreaming of.

But the work-from-home world and a bit more disposable income give them a unique opportunity to treat themselves, by working on themselves.

Getting Rid of the Double Chin Can Be a Single Phone Call Away

If you’re ready to take a decade off of your appearance in a few hours, we’re ready to make it happen.

We have covered a lot of procedures and options today. If you’re not sure which one will work best for you, that’s OK. We would love to discuss your goals and your options in a one-on-one setting.

The best version of yourself can be just a call or click away! Reach out today and book a consultation!