Wondering how to get rid of double chin? I did 3 rounds of Kybella injections – learn all about it and see Kybella before and after photos and video!
Have you ever photoshopped a photo of yourself? Have you ever wanted to? For me the thing that always caught my attention was the bit of fat under my chin. It always made me self conscious in photos and I always tried to be strategic with angles to get rid of double chin!
Because I only had a small amount of “submental fullness”, surgery was not the right choice for me. I was also an ideal candidate because I eat well and exercise and the fullness wouldn’t go away. Basically, instead of being a weight loss problem this was more of a genetic gift!
I ended up doing 3 rounds of Kybella injections, with the option to do to 3 more. The biggest difference I notice is when grabbing the skin under my neck, there now isn’t much to grab onto. The skin is much tighter because the fat underneath was completely destroyed!
What is Kybella?
The easiest way I can explain it is that it’s a series of injections given a month or so apart that target the fat cells under you chin and destroy them. This gives you a more defined jawline and is a non-surgical way to get rid of double chin. Here’s the actual definition:
The active ingredient in KYBELLA® is synthetic deoxycholic acid. Deoxycholic acid is a naturally occurring molecule in the body that aids in the breakdown and absorption of dietary fat. When injected into the fat beneath the chin, KYBELLA® destroys fat cells, resulting in a noticeable reduction in fullness under the chin. Once destroyed, these cells can no longer store or accumulate fat, so further treatment is not expected once you reach your desired aesthetic goal.
How Does Kybella Work?
Your doctor will first evaluate under your chin and mark the areas that need the injections. They map it out to ensure it is injected evenly. I think one reason these injections can only be used on small areas (it’s currently only FDA approved for under the chin) is because in large areas it would be very difficult to inject evenly and could result in indentions. The chin is the perfect size!
I chose to be numbed because I’m a big ol’ baby but you may not. I had numbing on my first and third treatments – the second I tried to go without it and it hurt like heck! Also note, a face mask makes the perfect hammock for your ice pack!
After the area is “mapped”, your doctor will administer the injections. You will feel the needle and even if you are numbed you will feel the slight burning sensation. On a pain scale of 1-10 with numbing it felt like a 3 and without was a 5 or so. My doctor had me immediately apply an ice pack (or in our case frozen peas- they were perfect!) to help with the swelling. Speaking of swelling – GET READY! The swelling is the worst part of the treatment but it’s how you know it’s working!
Immediately after the Kybella treatment my skin was very tender and starting to swell. I also had a tiny bit of bleeding from the injections. I’d taken Tylenol before the injections which probably helped with the pain, and I took a nap after each session so I skipped most of the burning discomfort!
Kybella swelling
The worst part of getting Kybella treatment is the SWELLING! Every single person I spoke with at the doctor’s office mentioned the swelling – they all wanted to make sure I was prepared! You swell up like a bullfrog almost immediately after.
I was lucky that I got the injections during a time everyone was wearing face masks so it was pretty simple to hid my chin while it healed! The above photo was only a few hours after my first round of injections.
Here’s the height of the swelling which was about 8 hours after I got the injections. Over the next 5 or 6 days the swelling receded but didn’t go away enough that I felt I could see a difference until about 10 days after the injections. By then the swelling had gone down and I started noticing more definition in my jawline.
After my third round – my doctor hoped it could be my last so she really concentrated the injections which resulted in quite a bit of bruising.
How much does Kybella cost?
I live in Houston, TX and did my Kybella treatments in my dermatologist office. Each round of Kybella treatment cost me $600 for a total of $1,800. If you were to do the full 6 treatments the total cost of Kybella would be $3,600 if you are in a similar market.
My Kybella Before and After
Now here’s what you’ve been scrolling for: my Kybella before and after photos! It’s pretty hard to get the exact same angle to compare – even in my photos from the doctor’s office I was smiling in the second photo and it’s not exactly the same. But I could still see a difference!
My side view is where I saw the biggest difference. When I’m relaxed my “gobble wobble” as I liked to call it, doesn’t hang as low. As I mentioned above, I also have less to grab under my chin! This is a huge win for me.
Because my husband and I were inadvertently on two different continents during the last 18 months, we spent a LOT of time on Facetime. I was very pleased after my Kybella treatment at how my face and chin looked on camera and also noticed it when I do Instagram stories or record for my YouTube channel!
I hope this post inspires you to get Kybella treatment if you are a candidate! If you have any other questions about my experience, feel free to drop me a comment below or on Instagram!
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