Tweak of the Week – reshaping a weak chin

If your genes have landed you with a weak chin, the sort that looks as if it is set back in the face so that it is receding, you used to be stuck with it, unless you were prepared for drastic surgery.

Now, though, there is a tweakment option to fix this. Injectable fillers can be used to make the chin project a little further forward, and also to strengthen an indistinct jawline, and that is what I’m looking at in this Tweak of the Week.

I went to visit Dr. Pradnya Apte who has clinics in Exeter and in Harley Street. She an expert facial aesthetics practitioner who originally trained as a dentist, so the physiology of the jaw and chin is something she takes a particular interest in.

‘We can improve the profile of the patient and we can correct a lot of dental anomalies through the use of non surgical techniques,’ she says.

Why would you seek treatment for a receding chin?

Dr Pradyna’s patient, Effie,  was keen to try the treatment because her chin is something that has always bothered her. ‘I have always been conscious of my jawline because my bottom jaw is quite set back and is not in proportion with the rest of my face,’ she says.

‘Having spoken to dentists about this before they have always said that the only option really is to have it broken and realigned which is a major surgery and not really something I want to go through.’

What was she hoping for from the procedure? ‘Basically, to make my bottom jaw in proportion with the rest of my face really, make it more defined, just to give me back a bit more confidence really.

The first thing that Dr Pradnya is aiming to do is to inject a sturdy type of filler, called Perfectha Subskin, into Effie’s chin.

‘What I am hoping to achieve by injecting filler into the chin is to give an increased projection to bring it forward. But you can’t just have a chin that sticks out you need a jawline that goes with it, for better definition.’

Next, she injects at the corner of the jaw, placing the filler deep, right down on the bone, in order to add structural support. This needs to be done thoughtfully, to strengthen the angle of the jaw without making it look heavy or masculine.

And why does she choose this particular filler?  ‘It’s got a high lifting capacity,’ explains Dr Pradnya.

‘In aesthetics terminology, it has what you call a  high G-prime, it is useful for structural support.’

Effie said the procedure wasn’t painful – just that the cannula, burrowing under the skin, felt a bit strange  – and she was delighted with the results. Take a look at the video to see why she was so pleased!