Perhaps we are nostalgic, but we think that “double” should be a good thing, as in “double-fudge,” “double-header,” or “double-feature.” But, no one can deny that a double chin is one more chin than most people want. We at Le Beau Visage Medical Spa in Frisco, Texas can make that second chin a distant memory by answering the question: “What is Kybella?”
Whether genetic, the result of weight gain, or just from the effects of time, many of us are carrying a bit extra under our chins. The medical term for this condition is “submental fullness.” Often, we do not realize how self-conscious we really are about our necks until we see a picture of ourselves. Those selfies can show a grim reality: the jawline, chin, and neck are some of the first places that the effects of age and weight gain appear.
Kybella is the first and only injectable treatment approved by the FDA for “submental fullness,” also known as a double chin. At this time, it is not approved for any other area than under the chin.
The treatment uses deoxycholic acid, a naturally occurring molecule that your body uses to break up dietary fat. In your body, deoxycholic acid is a bile salt that breaks down fats you have ingested: like those in double-fudge ice cream.
Not surprisingly, the synthetic deoxycholic acid in Kybella makes it a fat-melting super-shot created specifically to treat submental fullness. It may not actually be forcing your neck to digest its own fat, but the comparison is not too far off.
Before Kybella, the only reliable way to treat submental fullness was through conventional surgery methods. A facelift and/or liposuction of the chin were the primary methods and were considered “gold standard” for decades.
But surgery is invasive, and it can pose severe risks. Many people will forgo treatment of conditions they consider “minor’ or “cosmetic” because they feel that the risks of surgery are too great. The unfortunate outcome is that, with no viable treatment options, many individuals choose to live with conditions that detract from their self-confidence.
But, now there is a viable option. Simply put, Kybella treatment is the first real non-surgical alternative to liposuction of the chin. For the first time, the syringe, not the scalpel, has become the weapon of choice against the stubborn fat under the chin. Because it is non-surgical, it automatically presents less risk, as it is less invasive. In fact, it is completely non-invasive. It is an in-office series of injections that provides treatment that is both localized and targeted.
The method and duration will be determined by your individual needs. However, treatment usually takes less than an hour. Many patients are pleasantly surprised at how quickly they are in and out, as the actual treatment only takes a few minutes: often less than 20 minutes.
The most time-consuming part of the treatment is the evaluation and preparation. As you can imagine, that is a very good thing. Your physician will carefully examine at the area to be treated before even starting the actual series of injections to ensure that you are healthy enough, that you are a good candidate, and to determine the best approach to your treatment.
Your physician will numb the area and will then use either a color-coded template, hand drawn lines, or both to mark those areas to be injected. Each injection site is tiny, and the process of moving from site to site is done rapidly and efficiently.
In theory, the effects of treatment last forever. Because Kybella destroys the fat cells themselves, results are permanent. Treatments may be repeated for more dramatic results; however, the fat, once destroyed, does not come back.
Safety studies have been done on the long-term results, and these studies found that, in general, between 75% and 90% of patients still saw visible effects at the five-year mark.
Kybella literally pops the fat cells in a process known as “lipolysis.” The active ingredient is a synthetic version of a stomach acid that is part of the body’s natural cycle of destruction, digestion, and removal of fats. The twist is that this acid, deoxycholic acid, is actually produced to break down the fats we eat, not the fat stored under our skin.
A popped fat cell is an empty fat cell. And fat that is released from its cellular bonds has nowhere to hide. Kybella destroys the fat cell membrane, releasing the fat into the surrounding tissue. Once the cell membrane is popped, or lysed, the fat is reabsorbed through the blood and lymphatic system to be gradually and effectively purged from your body by your immune system.
The beauty of treatments that actually eliminate fat cells is that your body naturally wants to use fat cells that are already available rather than waste precious resources making new fat cells. It literally takes too much energy to re-make the fat cells back in the same location.
Even if you gain a little weight, it won’t come back in the treated area.
That fat is effectively gone forever, hopefully to be forgotten. We cannot be responsible for pre-existing photographic representations of your double chin. But we do know that you will fear having your picture taken less after treatment.
The FDA approved Kybella for use of treatment of submental fullness in 2015, so it has been around long enough to track long-term results and patient satisfaction. For those that are good candidates, the treatment is a time-tried, proven way to eliminate specific fat cells forever.
Five years is plenty of time for the medical community to gain ease, expertise, and fluency with the process of deoxycholic acid injection. Many physicians have become expert at modifying their techniques to produce highly customized results. We are confident and comfortable that both the safety and efficacy of Kybella treatments are proven and reliable.
In clinical studies, 79% of patients treated with Kybella had improved satisfaction with the appearance of their face and area beneath their chin 12 weeks after their last treatment.
As mentioned previously, as high as 90% of patients reported maintained results after five years. For a treatment that is non-invasive and non-surgical, that rate of continued satisfaction speaks volumes to how well Kybella works.
Once the fat cell is lysed, the contents are reabsorbed through the blood and lymphatic system and then excreted from your body in the same manner as any other cell waste. This process is built into your immune system. Kybella treatment is merely leveraging your body’s ability to remove the contents of exploded fat cells from your system.
As pointed out previously, you don’t grow new fat cells in the same place. Kybella means permanent results in the treated area. Treatments can be repeated, of course. But the treatment will invariably be restricted to additional areas that were not treated previously.
Each treatment is highly specialized and customized. Your physician will look carefully at your face, neck, and jawline to determine both the best location sites for injection and the number of injections needed.
You may have seen people in magazines or videos with a small area of different colored dots lined up on the skin underneath their chin. This template of dots is applied to numbed skin to act as a guide for the physician to be certain that the injections are made precisely and safely. Many practitioners will also draw lines to demarcate the treatment area.
Multiple sessions may be desirable, depending on the distribution of fat or even the cause of unwanted fat. For a patient from a family that has a genetic tendency toward slight submental fullness, think “the family chin,” the treatment may be very different than for someone that is dealing with submental fullness due to weight gain, illness, or medication.
Within a few weeks of your final treatment, you can expect to see a smoother, sleeker, more chiseled neck and jawline. What’s more, you can expect to see that jawline for years to come.
What you may not expect is how much you really were bothered by submental fullness before treatment. Many patients report feeling so much better that they have improved overall body satisfaction. When the proof is in the mirror every day, it can’t help but give you a “boost” emotionally.
What is Kybella? A careful analysis will reveal that this treatment is more than just a “treatment” and these injections are more than just “injections.” Kybella helps you reclaim your confidence. In testimonial after testimonial, happy patients repeat the same affirmations about self-esteem, pride, and feeling “comfortable in their own skin” again.
We now have a safe, highly effective, way to help you reclaim the jawline of your youth or make yourself look like the only child without the family chin. Like any spa or aesthetic treatment, it is an investment in yourself and in looking and feeling your best.
A double chin should never stop you from living your best life. With Kybella, it doesn’t have to anymore. Whether you blame it on your ancestors, those late-night refrigerator raids, the effects of illness, or just the passage of time, now there is a non-invasive way to have the neck and jawline you have always wanted.
We are ready and waiting with an amazing solution that has worked for others just like you. What do you have to lose? We can think of only one thing: chin fat. What is Kybella? It may be the answer you have been looking for.
“Double” should be a happy word, reserved for things we want more of. Don’t wait any longer to say goodbye to your double chin. Contact Le Beau Visage Medical Spa in Frisco, Texas to talk to the experts. You’ll be happy you did!
