A double chin is called “submental fat” in the medical sciences. Almost everyone has one. This is common when extra fat forms below your chin.
There are many causes of having a double chin. For some, they were simply born with one. Often if your parents have double chins, you’ll develop one too.
Weight can also play a factor, as overeating and lack of exercise can place extra fat on your body. Fat gets evenly distributed everywhere, meaning that some of that excess fat will head to under your chin.
Best Double Chin Solution: Exercises!
Unless you can afford plastic surgery, your best double chin solution is going to exercise. Exercises will help to strengthen the muscles in your jaw, face, and neck and help to tighten up that double chin too.
Here are 10 of the best exercises to practice. You can do these when you’re working at your desk, in the toilet, or on the bus. You may look silly, but you’ll look better than anyone else next month! Or, place a book or newspaper in front of your face, so no one knows what you’re doing.
Ideally, it would be best if you practiced these exercises at least three times a day. Work them into your routine. For example, after eating, take a break before you go back to work. Run through two or three double chin exercises. There is also the additional benefit of giving your mind a break as you focus on your head, and loosening up tension that can lead to headaches and migraines.
1. Smile at Nothing
Smiling uses up more muscles than frowning and can work to strengthen the muscles in your face. Give it a try.
To keep experiencing the benefits of smiling, the next time you do it keep your head on a level position. Hold your smile for thirty seconds.
If you find it hard to remember to smile, stick a small family or pet photo near your computer. Whenever you glance at it, it will be a trigger to smile.
You can also set the timer on your smartphone or computer to remind you to smile every fifteen minutes.
2. Kiss the Ceiling
The names on the double chin improvement exercises are named so that you can easily remember them. Kiss the ceiling is just as it sounds.
For this exercise, you begin from a standing position. If you suffer from dizziness, you may wish to hold onto a chair in front of you.
Tilt your head back as far as it’s comfortable. Look up at the ceiling. Next, pucker up your lips like you’re going to kiss the ceiling.
But don’t release the kiss, remain puckered up. Hold the kiss for a count of five seconds.
Relax your lips, then return your head to a neutral position.
Repeat your head tilts and puckers fifteen times.
Repeat this exercise once daily.
3. Stick Out Your Tongue
This is perhaps one of the silliest exercises on the list, but you’ll have fun doing it. It also has additional benefits of releasing pain and tension in your jaw.
You can do this exercise in a seated position. Simply keep your head facing forward. Open your mouth wide and slowly slide your tongue out.
Move your tongue slowly. Do a count of five seconds until it’s fully extended.
Then hold your tongue out for the next five seconds.
Then slowly return your tongue to inside your mouth for another five seconds. Close your mouth.
Repeat these steps for a final total of ten times.
4. Intentional Overbite
Some people have their lower teeth jut out farther than their upper teeth. This is called an overbite, and it’s best rectified in younger children. However, you can move your face into this position to help in tightening up a double chin too.
Begin from a seated position. Keep your mouth closed.
You’ll then move your lower jaw forward so that your lower teeth are extended beyond your upper teeth. You can also push them upward, so they are covering your upper teeth.
Hold this position for ten seconds, and then release and move back into a normal resting jaw position.
Repeat for a total of ten times, and do at least once per day.
5. Jaw Massage With Oil
Face massage can also work at relaxing muscles that should be tight, while tightening up and restoring other muscles into their proper positions. This can also have the benefit of decreasing the unsightliness of having a double chin.
Before doing your massage, find a soothing face oil, such as lavender mixed with jojoba or almond oil.
Pour a few drops of oil in your hands and smooth it gently over your jawline and lower part of your face and down your neck.
Using only the three middle fingers of both hands, start at your cheekbones and gently massage your face in circles.
Slowly work your way down to your jawline to your chin. Only massage the regions directly above your bones.
Repeat the process for no longer than five minutes — Pat off the excess oil with a clean cloth.
Repeat your massage daily. This is the best one to do right at bedtime, while your other double chin exercises can be done throughout the day.
6. The Cross
This is a simple exercise that you can easily do anywhere.
Begin from either a seated or a standing position. First, slowly drop your head forward until your chin is resting against your chest. Then lift your head up and back to starting position.
Then drop your head slowly back as far as it will go. Then move it back up to the starting position.
Slowly move your head to the left, then return to normal position.
The final position is to move your head to the far right, then back again.
Repeat these movements six times each, then do at least once a day. It’s normal to feel and hear snaps and cracks in your neck, but they should never hurt.
7. Neck Rolls
Only do this exercise if you don’t have any back or neck pain issues.
It’s best to do neck rolls from a standing position. To begin, drop your chin towards your chest.
You’ll then slowly rotate your head to the right, and keep switching to the back, over to the left, and back to the front. Do this slowly, and never rush it, because you don’t want to strain anything.
When your head is back to the front, move it back into a natural position. Wait for five seconds, then rotate it around in the opposite direction.
Repeat your movements twice, then repeat these steps once per day.
8. Tongue on Teeth
For this exercise, you can do it standing or sitting. Keep your back straight while you open your mouth as wide as you can.
Move the tip of your tongue forward, so it touches the back part of your bottom teeth.
Keep on inhaling but do so through your mouth, not nose. When you are ready to exhale, make an “ahh” sound.
Repeat this process for an entire minute, keeping your mouth open the whole time, with your tongue against your bottom row of teeth.
Repeat it once a day when you do your double chin exercises.
9. Chin Slap
You probably have seen this done in older black and white films of the 20th century. You stay in a sitting or standing position and gently slap the back of your fingers against the underside of your lower jaw.
Keep on doing this for about thirty seconds. Speed up the pace for another thirty, then stop.
Repeat at least once per day.
10. Chin Lifts
This is a slightly more challenging exercise, but you gain additional support from your hand. You can start from a seated or a standing position.
Take your most dominant hand and make a “V” shape with the thumb extended and other fingers together. Move your hand, so the palm faces jawline.
Place your thumb on one side of your jaw, while your other four fingers are on the opposite side.
Next, push upwards with your hand, so your chin is lifted in the air. Hold for five seconds, then let your hands move your jaw back to a regular starting position.
Repeat this for a total of nine times. Don’t go too quickly.
Repeat the exercise at least once every day.
Warnings or Precautions When Doing Double Chin Exercises
Just like exercising the rest of your body, you should still observe some precautions and warnings.
- If your mouth or jawline is sore the next day, don’t worry, it will feel better in a day or two.
- If there is pain, stop and wait 48 hours.
- Try a different exercise next time if there is one that hasn’t worked out for you.
- You can do these exercises for double chin prevention. It’s not necessary to already have a double chin.
- Remember to do your chin exercises slowly or at a controlled pace. You don’t want to fling your head around so fast you get whiplash!
- Remember to keep breathing when doing exercises. It can be tempting to want to hold your breath, so keep on breathing!
- If you experience sudden facial sagging, it may not be due to a double chin. It could be from Bell’s palsy virus or a stroke. Seek immediate medical attention if this has happened to you.
- Do your exercises every day. You won’t see any improvements if you do not exercise and stick to the routine.
- Once your double chin has significantly improved and you are happy, don’t just stop your exercises. Set aside time twice a week to continue doing them, so that you can prevent your chin from sagging again.
