I have jowls.

March 16, 2008 1:24 PM

StupidVanityFilter: What can I do to prevent jowls?

I'm a 25 year old female and I've started getting jowls! You know, where your cheeks start sinking below your jaw line? Ok, short of exercising all the fat off of my body, what, at this point, can I do to slow the jowly aging process? Any creams, vitamin supplements, special weird facial exercises, etc? It should be noted that my mother is jowly and I'm sure it will happen eventually that I will age into a turkey, but what can I do now to improve this situation?

I am not overweight, and I eat pretty well, if anyone was wondering.
I also have a good skin regimen (cleansing, moisturizing w/ sunscreen, etc) and I eat all kinds of anti-oxidants, and take a multi-vitamin, as well as B vitamin supplements. I also sporadically use collagen-enhancing/replenishing products, which I realize would probably be the best thing to do (I guess?). Do these really work? Or should I just learn accept my premature aging?

posted by greta simone to clothing, beauty, & fashion (3 answers total)

I started getting them (and chubby cheeks) in my early-mid 20's although I was ridiculously thin everywhere else.

Weight training burned them right off (and 1&1/2 inches I didn't know I had from my waistline).
posted by porpoise at 1:33 PM on March 16, 2008 [1 favorite]

there's a device for stroke victims, to help them regain strenght in their face muscles, it's like a coil thingie you place in your mouth and close pushing with your lips, it's used also to strengthen saggy facial muscles for aestethic reasons. but in the end, the answer will be surgery, if it really bothers you. good news is, minor plastic surgery generally gets safer and cheaper and less invasive as years go by.
posted by matteo at 1:37 PM on March 16, 2008

Facial exercises may help. My mom also advised me to wash my face in a certain way (upward hand motions rather than downward) to prevent/delay sagging cheeks. Botox might serve as a quick (albeit short-term) fix. Less invasive alternatives include mesotherapy and thermage.

I've heard Clarins Shaping Facial Lift / Lift Affine Visage can be very effective if applied correctly; not sure whether it's available where you are, though. Basically, you probably want to look for creams/gels that "firm" and "lift". Face-slimming creams/therapies seem fairly popular in Asia; I'm not sure about NC though...

My friend's face shape changed from round to heart-shaped after she started training for marathons. So general exercise may help too.
posted by aielen at 2:21 PM on March 16, 2008