Likely if you are reading this post you have some unwanted fat somewhere on your body (let’s be honest, who doesn’t?) and are interested in demolishing it. This month our focus at Nua Medical Spa is on the double chin or in medical terms, unwanted fat in the submental area. The fat reduction market has been hot, hot, hot over the last five years and spicing things up even more was the introduction of two non-surgical, non-invasive treatments called Kybella and the CoolMini. These two procedures have put some heat on the invasive old school way of chin sculpting called liposuction and give patients another option to eliminate this problem.

So how do these two noninvasive treatments stack up against each other?  Kybella is a FDA approved medication that is injected into a pocket of unwanted fat. It destroys the fat that it is injected into, but leaves the cells we want intact. Amazing, right? It helps improve our jawline and neck angle and this can make a significant impact on the perception of our face to not only ourselves but others as well. The best candidate for Kybella is someone with not too much skin laxity and a well-defined appearance of fat. It is injected directly into the pocket of fat and causes the cells to disappear within 3-6 weeks. Most patients need a series of 2-3 treatments to reach their desired endpoints spaced about 6 weeks apart. The major downside of Kybella is slight discomfort from the injections, some swelling after the procedure, and minimal numbness that resolves in 1-2 weeks. The CoolMini is an FDA cleared device to destroy fat cells as well as improve the appearance of skin laxity in the submental area. The Coolsculpting treatment causes cryolipolysis to happen, meaning fat cells of the chin and neck are frozen and killed by the application of controlled cooling to the treated area without damaging the surrounding skin. The body’s immune system then clears the damaged cells and patients gradual see results over the next 3 months. Some patients may require an additional CoolMini treatment 1-3 months after the first depending on their specific needs. There are no needles with the CoolMini, but some patients experience minimal swelling and numbness for 1-2 weeks after the procedure.

So which treatment may be the best for you?  The majority of patients with submental fat would benefit from either procedure but there are features of each which may appeal more to the specific needs of each patient. While Kybella is best for patients without skin laxity, the CoolMini is indicated to also tighten the skin so it may be a better solution if you have this problem. We find that patients with a smaller chin area and petite jawline may not fit the CoolMini applicator and therefore are not candidates for this treatment and would choose Kybella for this reason. We recommend scheduling a consultation with one of our providers to evaluate your unique needs and offer recommendations for treatment.

With our April special, patients will receive a free Infini skin tightening treatment with purchase of each Kybella syringe or CoolMini cycle. This is an amazing offer because not only will you get the benefit of destroying the fat cells, but you will have a free treatment to help improve skin laxity, reduce wrinkles, and enhance skin tone. I recommend completing the recommended treatments of either Kybella or CoolMini treatments and then working on tightening and toning the neck with Infini once the fat destruction has occurred. Shave the beard, throw out the scarves, and let us help you improve your double chin and neck line this spring.

Katherine Loose, PA-C