What causes jowl formation?

Jowls are the areas of excess tissue which you can get along your jawline approximately 1/3 of the way from your chin to your ear. Jowls are caused by downward movement of the facial tissues as a response to gravity.

The central area which lies inner to the jaws is fixed, near where the bone and skin are closely attached. More out of lateral to this in the jaw areas the skin is slightly attached so gravity changes causes pouching of the skin in the jaws, while skin towards the chin remains fixed.

The amount of jowling is extremely variable between individuals and depends on the facial structure, in particular shape of the jaw line. There are a number of treatments available for jaws, generally non-surgical treatments such as Botox and surgery such as a mini facelift. These will be discussed in future blog posts.