You look in the mirror one morning, tilt your head just a certain way, and there it is. That soft, slightly heavy pocket of skin hanging right along your jawline. It wasn't there five years ago. Now, it’s all you see. We call them jowls, and honestly, they are one of the most stubborn signs of aging because they change the entire shape of your face. You go from having a sharp, defined "V" or "U" shape to something a bit more squared off or heavy at the bottom.
If you’ve been hunting for sagging jowls before after photos, you’ve probably seen the extremes. On one side, there are the "miracle" creams that claim to lift your face in thirty seconds. On the other, there are surgical transformations that look like a totally different person. The truth is usually stuck somewhere in the middle, and it's way more complicated than just "putting on some lotion."
Why the jawline actually fails
It’s not just skin. That’s the first thing most people get wrong. You can’t just "tighten" the surface and expect the jowl to vanish. As we age, we lose bone density in our mandibles. Our fat pads—those little pockets of volume that keep us looking plump and youthful—start to slide down toward the chin. Think of it like a house where the foundation is shifting; the wallpaper is going to crinkle no matter how expensive the paper is.
Gravity is the obvious villain, but collagen and elastin depletion are the henchmen. By the time we hit forty, we are producing significantly less of the proteins that keep skin snappy. Then there’s the SMAS (Superficial Musculoaponeurotic System). It’s a thin layer of muscle and connective tissue under your skin. When that sags, everything on top of it sags too.
The non-surgical reality check
Can you actually fix this without a scalpel? Kinda. But it depends on how much "after" you’re looking for.
If you look at sagging jowls before after results for Ultherapy or Thermage, you’ll notice the changes are subtle. These treatments use ultrasound or radiofrequency to heat the deeper layers of tissue. This heat triggers a "healing response" that creates new collagen. It takes months. You won't walk out of the office looking different. In fact, you might just look a little swollen for a week.
✨ Don't miss: Fruits that are good to lose weight: What you’re actually missing
Let’s talk about fillers. Dr. Mauricio de Maio, a world-renowned plastic surgeon, developed a method called "MD Codes" that focuses on lifting the face by adding volume to the cheeks and temple. By filling the mid-face, you can sometimes "hoist" the jowl skin back up. It’s basically structural camouflage. However, if you add too much filler to the jawline itself, you risk looking like a Minecraft character. Nobody wants a "Pillow Face."
The surgical gold standard
For a dramatic shift, there is still nothing that touches a Deep Plane Facelift.
While a traditional facelift just pulls the skin tight (which often leads to that "wind tunnel" look), the deep plane technique goes under the muscle. Dr. Andrew Jacono, a top surgeon in New York, often showcases sagging jowls before after results that look incredibly natural because he’s moving the actual foundation of the face, not just the surface.
- The surgeon makes an incision near the ear.
- They release the ligaments that are holding the jowl in its "dropped" position.
- The fat and muscle are repositioned higher up.
- Excess skin is trimmed away.
It is a massive commitment. You're looking at two to three weeks of looking like you went ten rounds in a boxing ring. The bruising is real. The numbness can last months. But the results? They usually last ten to fifteen years.
What about those "thread lifts"?
Honestly? Be careful. Thread lifts involve putting barbed sutures under the skin to pull it back. They were all the rage a few years ago because they are "lunchtime" procedures. But here’s the kicker: the results are often fleeting. The threads can snap, or the skin simply settles back down within six months to a year. Many surgeons, like Dr. Ben Talei, have been vocal about how threads can create internal scarring (fibrosis) that makes a future facelift much harder to perform.
🔗 Read more: Resistance Bands Workout: Why Your Gym Memberships Are Feeling Extra Expensive Lately
Energy-based devices and the "in-between"
If you aren't ready for surgery but fillers feel too fake, there’s a middle ground. Devices like FaceTite use radiofrequency-assisted lipolysis. A tiny probe goes under the skin to melt a bit of that jowl fat and tighten the tissue from the inside out.
- Pros: Less downtime than surgery; actual fat reduction.
- Cons: Not as effective for significant skin laxity.
- Cost: Usually anywhere from $3,000 to $7,000 depending on the city.
Then there is the "Nefertiti Lift." This uses Botox or Dysport injected into the platysma bands in the neck. These muscles naturally pull the lower face downward. By relaxing them, the upward-pulling muscles of the face can do their job better. It’s a temporary "chemical lift" that lasts maybe three or four months. It’s great for people whose jowls are just starting to show.
My jawline is disappearing—now what?
If you're starting to notice that heaviness, don't panic and buy a $500 cream. No cream can lift a muscle. It just can't.
Instead, look at your lifestyle. Sleep position matters—squishing your face into a pillow for eight hours a night doesn't help. Sunscreen is non-negotiable because UV rays chew through collagen like a chainsaw. And watch your "tech neck." Looking down at a phone all day creates a constant folding motion at the jawline that accelerates the sagging.
When looking at sagging jowls before after galleries, look for "real" people. Avoid the photos where the lighting changes drastically or the person is wearing heavy makeup in the "after" but none in the "before." Look for the jawline definition near the ear—that’s where the truth lies.
💡 You might also like: Core Fitness Adjustable Dumbbell Weight Set: Why These Specific Weights Are Still Topping the Charts
Actionable steps for your jawline
First, get a consultation with a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon who has both non-invasive and surgical tools. If you go to a place that only does fillers, they will tell you that you need fillers. If you go to a surgeon who only does lifts, they'll tell you to go under the knife. You want someone who can give you an honest assessment of your "laxity grade."
If you have mild sagging:
Focus on medical-grade skincare with retinoids to keep skin thick, and consider "preventative" Botox in the neck bands. Explore microneedling with radiofrequency (like Morpheus8) to keep the skin's "shrink-wrap" effect tight.
If you have moderate sagging:
Look into structural fillers in the cheeks and chin to provide a frame for the skin to sit on. FaceTite or MyEllevate (a permanent suture technique) might be the sweet spot here.
If you have severe sagging:
Skip the "magic" lasers. You’ll waste thousands of dollars on 5% improvements. Save that money for a lower facelift or a neck lift. The cost-to-result ratio is actually better in the long run because you aren't chasing your tail with temporary fixes every six months.
Stop weighing yourself every day, but watch your weight stability. Rapid weight loss—the kind we're seeing with the rise of GLP-1 medications—often leads to "Ozempic Face," where the loss of facial fat makes jowls look much worse, much faster. If you are losing weight, do it slowly to give your skin a chance to keep up, or be prepared to replace that lost volume with a professional's help.
The goal isn't to look twenty again. That usually looks weird. The goal is to look like a rested, sharp-edged version of yourself. A clean jawline is the foundation of that look. Be skeptical of the "instant" fix, stay consistent with sun protection, and choose the procedure that matches the actual depth of your tissue loss.