Freeze That Double Chin

If you’ve noticed a double chin, jowls or extra neck fat adding some work to your beauty routine and wondered what could be done about it, you’re not alone. More than half of those surveyed in a recent study conducted by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, 65 percent, in fact, were concerned with their chin.

That’s a number substantial enough to warrant a whole closetful of turtlenecks for most people. While the offerings for chin, jowl and neck treatments have grown in recent years – like the skin tightening technology of Ultherapy and fat dissolving injections with Kybella – options for targeting submental fat (the official name for such problem fat) were limited.

That is, until this year. Just two months ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave its approval for a noninvasive fat-killing procedure known as CoolMini for small pockets of fat under the chin. The method kills fat cells by freezing them to death.

CoolSculpting as a treatment has been FDA approved for larger areas, like the abdomen, since 2010 and the thighs since last year. The effectiveness of the technology has meant that it has grown in popularity and the CoolMini is the first CoolSculpting procedure approved for the smaller, more sensitive areas under the chin.

For patients looking to banish the bulge (and their turtlenecks), the CoolMini has become the leading option. “NDDA patients have already seen some great results with standard CoolSculpting treatments,” said NDDA physician, Mary Hurley. “Now that we have the ability to target these smaller, more delicate areas, the range of results we’re able to achieve is dramatic.”