FAST FACTS
The service: Belkyra
What it is: An injection treatment that uses a synthetic form of natural bile acid to dissolve localized fatty tissue under the jawline.
Treatment duration: About 15 minutes.
Who it’s for: People at or near their ideal weight who want to eliminate their “double chin” and haven’t been able to do so through diet and exercise. Ideally, the skin in this area is relatively firm with fat deposits just under the skin surface. The treatment isn’t recommended for those with severe sagging or fat deposits under the muscle tissue, or for people with certain health conditions.
Pain: None during the procedure. Mildly uncomfortable for 2-3 days after the injection.
Downtime: 1-2 days, maybe longer depending on your tolerance for being out in public with visible swelling.
My rating: 5 stars
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One of the most exasperating aspects of my efforts to improve my nutrition and overall fitness is the realization that fat deposits do not take orders from anyone.
Sit-ups do not target belly fat. Squats don’t target the pudgy areas around my thighs.
Sure, overall weight loss and regular exercise will drop my overall body fat and increase my lean muscle mass, but I don’t get to choose where the fat loss comes from. That’s why I know I can drop two more dress sizes and I will STILL have a little squishy pillow under my chin.
Stubbornness runs strong in my DNA. Particularly in my fat cells.
Luckily, there are non-surgical options at Bella Sante to deal with rebellious areas that the gym and a clean diet haven’t been able to tame.
Coolsculpting is one option — special equipment freezes fat cells in localized areas, and the cells rupture and die, causing a permanent reduction in overall fat volume.
Another option is an injectable treatment called Belkyra. This is a service I tried about five or six years ago, so I went in already knowing what to expect.
Dr. Jubin explained that variations of this product — a synthetic form of deoxycholic acid, a naturally occurring substance in our bodies akin to bile acid — has been safely used for several decades for a variety of medical uses. Today, it’s injected into fat tissue, where it dissolves and breaks down fat cells. It’s approved by both Health Canada and the FDA in the U.S. (under the name Kybella) specifically for treating fat under the jawline.
There was very little prep for this procedure — my chin area was cleaned, then a small injection of local freezing was given to numb the area. Dr. Jubin used a needle to create a small opening just under my chin, then used a flexible, thin cannula to deliver and distribute the Belkyra in a fan shape to ensure the whole area was saturated. She massaged the product in, and the service was done. Easy-peasy.
The swelling started almost instantly. It’s your body’s reaction to the acid — it floods the area with fluid. Dr. Jubin says the more instant the reaction, the more likely you are to have a great outcome. That’s good news, because by nightfall, this princess looked a lot more like a frog, and my under-chin swelled to the size of a grapefruit.
It was pretty tender for the rest of the day, even with Advil, and I had a hard time settling in to a comfortable sleep, but once I did finally drift off, I wasn’t overly bothered by it. In the morning, I realized my chin was even more swollen than on treatment day, but I had expected this to happen, so I held a cold gel pack on it for a few minutes and resigned myself to staying in the house for the next couple of days.
It can take a week or so for the swelling to entirely disappear, and you might have a faint bruise at the injection site for a few days. Final results should be visible four to six weeks, once your body has processed the acid and eliminated the excess fat cells. Multiple treatments may be required to achieve optimal results.
DID YOU KNOW? Apart from weight, genetics and age can also contribute to a double chin. And so can one more factor: posture. If you spend a lot of time looking down at your phone or you sit slumped over for long periods of time with your head bent down, the muscles in your chin and neck can weaken. Over time, this can cause the skin along your jawline and under your chin to sag. So sit up straight and keep your chin up if you don’t want … well, two of them.
The verdict: I am impressed that this treatment lets me have at least a bit of say over targeted fat loss. I know that we didn’t blast away ALL my fat cells in my chin, and the ones that remain will happily balloon up if I don’t maintain a healthy weight. I do think it’s a great service to add if you’re trying to chisel your jawline, particularly if you’re teaming it up with other skin-firming services like Thermage or Ultherapy (check out my blog posts to see how those services work!) This is definitely a treatment where the frog turns into a princess in the end. Try it out and let me know what you think.
See you all soon,
~Michelle
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