You may not have heard of the term “submental fullness,” but you know what it is: a double chin. Nobody wants that pocket of fat that creates a roll at your neck, especially when you look downward.
While a healthy diet and exercise can reduce unwanted fat throughout your body, this particular bulge can be particularly resistant to your best efforts to remove it through traditional methods.
You may need help from Kybella®. Charleston, SC, area patients can find this injectable at Germain Dermatology.
Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Marguerite Germain personally administers each Kybella® treatment session at our practice, ensuring that every patient who wants to reduce submental fullness benefits directly from her training, experience, and artistic eye.
Reduce Your Double Chin at our Charleston, SC, Area Practice with her professional approach and focus on consistent results delivered with safety in mind.
A survey by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery revealed that 67 percent of the people polled expressed that they were bothered by their submental fullness (i.e., fat between the chin and neck). Keeping this in mind, Allergan – the manufacturer of products such as BOTOX® and Juvederm® fillers – created Kybella®, the first and only FDA-approved injectable treatment for submental fat.
Its active ingredient is deoxycholic acid, a naturally occurring chemical that helps the body break down and absorb dietary fat during the body’s natural digestion process. As a prescription cosmetic, it has been studied extensively and found to be a safe, effective way to get rid of an unwanted double chin.
Currently, Kybella® is approved only for use on submental fullness and will not result in any significant weight loss. Kybella®, and any other fat reduction method, should only be considered an aesthetic treatment for reducing localized fat deposits. Kybella® is best suited to patients who are at or near their appropriate goal weight and can achieve long-term results for those who are committed to maintaining healthful lifestyle practices.
Note that while the cells destroyed by Kybella® can no longer store fat, this does not stop existing fat cells from accumulating more and increasing in size with changes in diet and exercise.
Kybella® has certain advantages over other methods of fat reduction. It is a minimally invasive and non-surgical fat reduction method. An injectable can be used with precision by a skilled and experienced injector to target specific areas of concern under the chin.
The deoxycholic acid in Kybella physically destroys fat cells in the treatment area by triggering excess water accumulation in the cells, causing their membranes to rupture and release their contents. This process is known as cytolysis, after which the released contents of the fat cells are to be removed naturally from the body. The body’s natural processes control the rate at which the fat cells are destroyed and flushed out. The synthetic deoxycholic acid in Kybella® is almost identical to that produced in the body, making the treatment safe effective.
Over several weeks, you will notice your submental fullness receding. Typically, patients start to see the results they expect after two to four treatment sessions, each spaced about two months apart. The number of treatment sessions varies, depending on their chin profile before treatment and the results they would like to achieve. No patient may receive more than six Kybella® treatment sessions in total.