It can be hard to feel confident when you look in the mirror when you have extra fat under your chin. This problem is an incredibly common condition known as submental fullness. It can also affect the neck. Luckily, at Galanis Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, CA, we offer Kybella, an injectable fat removal method.
How Many Kybella Treatments Do You Need?
We can advise you on how many Kybella treatments you may need to achieve your goals during your initial consultation. Typically, people need three or more injection sessions to achieve their desired look. However, you may need closer to six treatments if you are not currently at your ideal weight.
Other Frequently Asked Questions Answered
How Often Should You Schedule Appointments?
Typically, people schedule their treatment sessions roughly four to six weeks apart. It is advisable to schedule your appointments at least a month apart because it takes several weeks for your results to become apparent. When appointments are scheduled at least a month apart, we can get a very good idea of how well the treatment is working for you and whether another session or more time is necessary.
How Quickly Does This Treatment Start to Work?
This treatment starts working immediately upon injection. However, you may not notice your results starting to appear for eight to 12 weeks. This is in line with many people who burn fat through a caloric deficit. You will probably be able to see your results sooner if you take progress pictures every couple of weeks.
How Long Do This Treatment’s Results Last?
The results of this treatment are considered permanent. This is due to one of your fat cell’s unique properties. Almost every cell in the human body, such as skin cells, regenerate regularly. On the other hand, fat cells cannot be regenerated. Once you reach 25 years of age, your body can never grow fat cells again.
Therefore, once the deoxycholic acid in this FDA-approved injectable destroys a percentage of the fat cells in the treatment area, they are permanently gone. However, you must maintain a relatively healthy lifestyle most of the time. It is possible for your profile to change if you operate at a caloric surplus because this treatment only removes a percentage of the fat cells in your submental region. The remaining fat cells may expand if you eat too much.
What Can You Do to Maintain Your Desired Profile?
Lead a Healthy Lifestyle
As mentioned above, leading a relatively healthy lifestyle is the most effective thing you can do to maintain your desired profile. For example, most of the time, you should eat whole foods that are low in sodium and sugar. By avoiding salty snacks and highly processed, sugar-laden convenience foods, you prevent your metabolism from storing dietary fat. Also, you should ensure you remain hydrated every day.
If you’re dehydrated, your metabolism will suffer greatly. Moreover, you should make sure you’re getting at least 2.5 hours of moderate exercise weekly. Ideally, you should perform exercises that keep your heart rate at roughly 140 to 150 beats per minute. Examples of moderate exercise include jumping rope, running, dancing, swimming, cycling, jogging, and walking.
Moderate Alcohol Consumption
Another effective way to maintain your results is to moderate your consumption of alcohol. Your body converts alcohol to sugar. If you don’t burn off the calories you drink, your body will convert the sugar to fat and store it for future energy in your adipose tissue cells.
Think Carefully About the Medications You Take
If you are taking drugs that have such side effects as weight gain or increased appetite, think carefully about how much you want to take these drugs. If you are trying to treat a condition that you really feel you can’t live with, ask your doctor if there are any alternative medications you can take that don’t cause an increase in appetite or weight.
Why Does Submental Fat Occur?
There are several potential causes of submental fat, including taking certain medications. Here are some other potential causes of submental fat:
Genetics
The most significant contributing factor of developing submental fat is genetics. If someone in your immediate family, like your parents, grandparents, or siblings, have a double chin, you are genetically predisposed to developing this condition. In other words, your DNA tells your body where to store fat most of the time. This is why it is so common for thin people to have submental fullness (a double chin).
Weight Gain
Another significant contributing factor of developing submental fullness is weight gain. Again, your DNA plays a large role in dictating where your body stores excess energy. However, submental fullness is more common in individuals who are obese.
Pregnancy
Yet another significant contributing factor of submental fullness is pregnancy. This is due to the fact that the extreme hormonal shifts that occur during pregnancy can affect fat metabolism significantly. Significantly, it is common for women to experience a drastically decreased fat metabolism so they are much more likely to store extra fat throughout the body, including under the chin.
Can a Double Chin Disappear By Itself?
It is possible that a double chin goes away on its own. In some cases, you can eliminate submental fullness through a caloric deficit. This is especially likely if you lose a great deal of weight. However, it is impossible to spot-reduce fat.
Therefore, you may never get your body fat percentage low enough to eliminate your double chin. You may lose weight from virtually every other region of your body and find it not worth the effort to burn more fat to improve the appearance of your chin and neck.
Is This Treatment Safe?
Yes, Kybella is extremely safe. In fact, it is so safe that the FDA approved this treatment many years ago. The FDA only approves pharmaceuticals after extensive testing conducted by independent clinical trials. One of the reasons this treatment is considered safe is the deoxycholic acid used in this injectable is bioidentical to the deoxycholic acid produced naturally by your gut.
Why Should You Consider This Treatment?
There are many reasons why you should consider Kybella injections. The most compelling reason to consider this treatment is there is no way to spot-reduce fat. Other benefits of this treatment include:
- Safety
- Efficacy
- Convenience
- Attainability
- Non-invasiveness
Finally, it is notable that you can see your results in just two to six months. It can take between six to 12 months to see the results of other fat removal solutions because your skin needs to heal.
Who Qualifies for This Treatment?
Virtually anyone can qualify for this treatment. For example, it is safe for most people regardless of skin type or tone. However, you must be at least 19 years of age to be considered a good candidate.
Who Shouldn’t Consider This Treatment?
You should not consider this fat removal treatment if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to become pregnant. The FDA has not tested the safety or efficacy of this treatment in such individuals.
How Long Will My Treatment Session Take?
Typically, this treatment can be completed in just 20 minutes. However, the exact length of your treatment will depend on the number of doses you will require and whether you are treating your chin, neck, or chin and neck.
Will This Treatment Hurt?
No, you will not find this fat removal treatment painful at all. We use a minuscule needle to administer your injections, so you will feel nothing more than a slight pressure as the medication is administered.
If you’re worried about feeling the medication being administered, let us know during your initial consultation. We are more than happy to apply a topical numbing cream to your skin before we make the injections. Just be advised that this may add 15 to 20 minutes to your treatment time. It will take a few minutes to apply the cream to the treatment area. Then, it may take up to 15 minutes for the topical anesthetic to take effect.
Take the First Step Today
You can eliminate all of your excess chin and neck fat in approximately three injection sessions with Kybella. If you think this treatment would help you improve your profile and self-confidence, we’re here to help. Schedule your initial consultation at Galanis Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, CA today. We can’t wait to help you achieve your ideal aesthetic.
