Do you ever find yourself looking in the mirror and occasionally pulling the skin tighter around your jaw line? I certainly have! For many of us, that once sharp and defined jaw line we used to have has gone the way of the mimeograph machine and transistor radio. And what has replaced it is the looser, sagging skin we call jowls.
As our skin ages, it starts to lose some of the compounds that helped keep its shape – specifically the fat and connective tissue proteins elastin and collagen. So, in this article and the accompanying video I’m going to share many options for dealing with jowls, including the easiest and least expensive option: makeup.
Non-Makeup Options
Before we talk about the makeup and makeup techniques that can help us deal with jowls, I first want to briefly mention other options that can make a difference.
Since the changes in our skin are what contribute most to the development of jowls, maintaining our skin integrity is extremely important. It won’t prevent jowls, but it can slow the process. This means protecting our skin from UV radiation and pollution with regular use of sunscreen – and the regular application of topical retinol products.
Since lack of sleep, stress, diet and weight fluctuation can also impact our skin, doing what we can to reduce stress, exercise and avoid as much salt, sugar and processed food is key as well. And here’s an interesting connection: poor diet causes inflammation which can cause an excess of lymphatic fluid which can weigh down our skin – including the skin around our jaw line.
So doing what we can to drain that lymphatic fluid through facial massage or the practice of Gua Sha can make a difference. In addition to helping our skin, Gua Sha can also be a wonderful relaxation technique as well. If you’re unfamiliar with Gua Sha, here’s a video where I demonstrate Gua Sha techniques.
Facial Exercises and Gua Sha
Some research indicates that facial exercises can help reduce the appearance and severity of jowls by making the face, jaw and neck muscles better able to hold their shape. A 2021 review of research concluded that there is limited evidence that facial exercises can aid with facial rejuvenation. However, many studies did show positive outcomes so the evidence is mixed. If you’re interested in giving facial exercises a try, this video demonstrates several face yoga exercises specifically for the jaw line.
Dermatologist and Plastic Surgery Options
There are also in office services through dermatologists and plastic surgeons which can add volume or reduce volume which can help jowls look less prominent. These treatments can involve filler, botox, and a variety of different fat reduction options such as Kybella, liposuction, radiofrequency microneedling or ultrasound therapy.
If you’re interested in learning more about these in office procedures, this video from dermatologist Dr. Sam Ellis called “How to Fix Jowls” may be of interest. The research I’ve done on jowls ultimately reveals that the most effective in office procedure is a facelift.
Makeup Options
Now let’s take a look at the easiest and least expensive option: makeup. There are two things we can do with makeup to minimize the look of jowls. You certainly don’t have to do both of them since either technique can help, but doing both can make the biggest difference in minimizing the look of our jowls.
The first thing we can do with makeup is to contour our skin using a concealer, foundation or a specific contour stick that is 1-2 shades deeper than our skin tone. By using contour we’re using the principles of color theory to help shape our face. Because contour is darker than our skin tone, it helps areas of our face recede so those areas look less prominent and are therefore less noticeable.
If you have dry skin, it’s best to use a cream contour. But if you have oily skin, powder contour will be your best choice. And it’s very important to use a contour which glides on easily and is very blendable so the contour can be easily blended into the face and not look obvious. Benefit’s Hoola Powder Bronzer is a longtime cult favorite for good reason. And five excellent cream contours are from the brands Rare Beauty, Em Cosmetics, Westman Atelier, Huda Beauty and Makeup Revolution.
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Step 1: Location, Location, Location
The first place to apply the contour is under the cheekbones in an upward sweep toward the ear. However, if you have a round face, it will be most flattering to apply the contour more horizontally across the face rather than diagonally.
Contouring under the cheekbones gives definition to the face and makes the cheekbones look more prominent. And by making the cheekbones more prominent, you’re drawing attention to the cheekbones which takes attention away from the jowls.
In the video I’ll use the Rare Beauty stick contour in the shade “Good Energy” and only apply it on one side of my face so we can look at the difference this contour makes later in the video. So I don’t apply too much contour, I like to dip my brush into the contour, rub it around a bit and then rub it onto the back of my hand or into my palm in a swirling motion to take some product off my brush and to evenly distribute it on my brush. Then I’ll apply it and blend it out.
This contour placement makes the cheekbones look more prominent because the space underneath the cheekbones where you’ve applied the contour recedes and is therefore less prominent.
So, there are no noticeable contour edges, I then take my foundation brush and go over the edges of the contour.
Next, we want to directly make those jowls recede by using contour. So, we want to apply the contour right along the jawline and slightly underneath it. In the video I’ll do this on one side of my face so you can see the difference. Then I’ll blend it out in downward strokes.
Many of us also have a little pouch of skin along our jawline. I certainly do. So in order to minimize the look of that pouch, I’ll apply a bit of contour on top of it and blend it in. Just as I did earlier with the under the cheekbone contour, I like to take my foundation brush and just go around the edges of the jawline so there are no harsh lines.
Step Two: Highlight
The second thing we can do to minimize the jowls is to use a highlighter that’s one to two shades lighter than our skin tone. This will give the illusion of lifting the face and thus draw attention away from our jowls. Two stick highlighters that I think work especially well are from NYX and Doll 10. The NYX sticks come is 6 color correcting shades and 18 concealer shades. The Doll 10 stick is actually an eye crayon, but it can also do double duty as a highlighter.
Once again, the placement of this highlighter is key. We want to take it from the side of the nose upward and from the edge of the lip upward. And then blend. This is subtle but in the video I hope you can see how this lighter shade applied in upwards strokes helps lift the face and draw attention to that part of the face rather than to the jowls.
I hope you found this article and video helpful. And if you’d like more makeup tips and recommendations – along with some other fun articles – be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter. Just drop me a line at boomerandbeyondbeauty@gmail.com and I’ll make sure it comes your way each Thursday.
Please Share Your Thoughts:
Do you have an issue with jowls? Have you done anything to correct the appearance of jowls? Which method sounds most useful?
