Can You Do Anything to Define Your Jawline?

Shannon Bauer
·3 min read

In your efforts to maintain the balance of your face, you may not always zone in on the jaw area. But it actually has a lot to do with the symmetry of your features and acts as part of the scaffolding for the face and neck, holding the skin taut.

Starting in your 30s, the jawbone begins to shrink, skin loses volume and elasticity, and the muscles become more active to compensate — all of which can change your face shape, says Amelia Hausauer, M.D., a dermatologist in Northern California. FTR, there's nothing wrong with looking different than you did a decade ago, and you should feel comfortable and confident flaunting what you've got. But if you'd still like to have a defined jawline, some home and in-office treatments can help.

DIY Treatments for a Defined Jawline

Gua sha, a traditional Chinese medicine practice, involves massaging the skin with a smooth stone to increase the circulation of blood and lymphatic fluids. "This helps decrease puffiness and relax facial tension," says Gianna de la Torre, an acupuncturist and a co-founder of Wildling, which offers an Empress Stone (Buy It, $65, wildling.com) that can target the jaw area. Apply a face oil on clean skin for slip. Then hold the curved U-shape edge of the stone so that it hugs the chin and glide toward the ear. Repeat five times on each side to get a defined jawline. For the best result, commit to doing this daily. (Related: Can Jawzrsize Actually Slim Your Face and Strengthen Your Jaw Muscles?)

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In-Office Treatments for a Defined Jawline

"There are lots of little muscles in the lower face, and some have a lowering effect on skin, while others have a lifting effect," says Hema Sundaram, M.D., a dermatologist in Maryland and Virginia. "We can adjust that muscle activity with a neurotoxin like Botox, Xeomin, Dysport, or Jeuveau. It takes precise injections in spots individualized to the patient's face shape, proportions, and desired results." To create more distinction between the neck and face and create a defined jawline, a dermatologist can inject neurotoxin along the jawbone and in the platysmal bands (the muscle that blankets the neck). "If you can minimize the pull-down of the muscle, you can tighten the angle at the jawline," says Dr. Hausauer. The neurotoxin can also be injected into the masseter muscle below the ear; relaxing it tapers the jaw for a more heart-shaped face. (See also: How to Decide Exactly Where to Get Fillers and Botox)

Structured fillers like Restylane Lyft and Juvéderm Voluma balance, restore volume, and support the jawline and chin, says Dr. Hausauer. A best-in-the-biz injector may even put a touch of filler in your temples and your cheeks to lift the skin along the jaw. Another key region when it comes to creating a defined jawline is just in front of and below the ear. Adding filler there creates a sharply angled notch in an area with bone, fat, or collagen loss, says Dr. Sundaram.