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Double Chin Treatment in Lake Havasu City

Define Your Jawline Again

Common In:
Adults 30 to 70
Primary Causes:
Fat, laxity, jaw structure
Treatment Time:
20 to 45 minutes
Results:
6 to 12 weeks
Woman studying her profile and the soft contour under her chin in Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Close-up profile view showing submental fullness beneath the chin and jawline at Desert Oasis Wellness and Med Spa

What Is a Double Chin, Really?

Recognizing the Signs

Double chin treatment starts with an honest question: what is actually creating the fullness under your chin? A double chin, known clinically as submental fullness, is the soft or heavy contour that blurs the line between the jaw and the neck. It can be built from fat, from loose skin and slackened muscle, from the shape of your jaw, or from all three at once.

When you catch your profile in a car window or a group photo taken from below, the shadow under your chin can make you look heavier or older than you feel, even when the rest of your face has not changed. Patients often tell us they have lost weight everywhere else and this one area has not moved.

Desert Oasis Wellness and Med Spa treats submental fullness in Lake Havasu City, AZ, serving Havasu Foothills Estates, Desert Hills, the Riviera, Crystal Beach, Parker, Bullhead City, Kingman and the surrounding Mohave County communities. The first step is identifying which of the three causes is yours, because that is what decides whether a non-surgical treatment will help.

Why a Double Chin Happens

Understanding the Root Causes

01The Science

Three separate things create a double chin, and they behave very differently. The first is submental fat, a discrete pad that sits both above and below the platysma, the thin sheet of muscle running from the collarbone up over the jaw. How much of it you carry is largely inherited, which is why plenty of people at a healthy weight still have a full under-chin.

The second is laxity. Collagen production falls by roughly one percent per year from your mid-twenties, and the platysma loses tone and often separates at the midline. The National Institute on Aging describes this loss of elasticity as a normal part of skin aging, accelerated here by decades of Arizona sun.

Loose tissue drapes rather than holds, so the jaw edge softens. This is the driver that responds best to Morpheus8 skin tightening in Lake Havasu City.

The third is skeletal. A recessed chin, a shorter lower jaw, or a hyoid bone that sits low and forward all shorten the visible neck angle and create a double chin in people carrying almost no fat at all. Nothing applied to the skin changes bone position, and we will tell you plainly if that is what we see.

02Deeper Understanding

The Platysma and the Jawline

How Muscle Tone Shapes Your Profile

The platysma is the muscle most people have never heard of but see every day. It is a broad, paper-thin sheet that fans from the upper chest across the collarbone and up over the jaw. When it is toned it acts like an internal sling, holding the soft tissue of the neck tight against the jaw edge.

With age the two halves of the platysma thin and pull apart at the midline, and that sling slackens. Submental fat that was previously held flat now falls forward, which is why the same amount of fat can look far worse at fifty than it did at thirty.

Restoring tone to that muscle is the mechanism behind Emface in Lake Havasu City, whose Submentum protocol pairs synchronized radiofrequency with high-intensity facial electrical stimulation to contract the submental muscles thousands of times per session.

Sequencing matters. When laxity and fat are both present, many patients do best starting with Morpheus8 to remodel the deeper tissue, then adding the Emface Submentum protocol to hold the improved contour. Your provider maps that order out at your consultation rather than selling you both on day one.

What Accelerates a Double Chin?

Several factors push a double chin from barely noticeable to the first thing you see in photos, and most of them stack on top of each other rather than acting alone. The American Academy of Dermatology identifies cumulative sun exposure as a leading driver of the collagen loss behind facial and neck laxity.

  1. 01Inherited Fat PatternThe size of your submental fat pad is set largely by genetics, so a full under-chin can run in families regardless of weight.
  2. 02Collagen and Elastin LossSkin firmness declines steadily from your mid-twenties, and years of Arizona sun accelerate it, letting the neckline soften and drape.
  3. 03Platysma SlackeningThe muscle sheet that holds the neck against the jaw thins and separates at the midline with age, releasing tissue forward.
  4. 04Weight FluctuationGaining weight adds volume under the chin, but losing it stretches the overlying skin, which often does not retract on its own.
  5. 05Posture and Screen TimeHours spent looking down at a phone or laptop keeps the neck flexed and the platysma shortened, weakening its supporting tone.
  6. 06Jaw and Hyoid PositionA recessed chin or a low-set hyoid bone shortens the visible neck angle, creating fullness even at a very low body fat percentage.
Desert Oasis Wellness and Med Spa treatment suite interior in Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Why Choose Desert Oasis Wellness and Med Spa for Double Chin Care

Our medical director brings over 30 years of medical experience and 32 years living in Lake Havasu City. Our team assesses fat, skin laxity and jaw structure separately before recommending anything, so you know what a non-surgical treatment can and cannot change.

Cause-First Assessment
We separate fat, skin laxity and bone structure before recommending anything, because only two of the three respond to what we offer.
Honest Expectations
If your double chin is driven mainly by jaw position, we say so rather than sell a package that cannot deliver the result you want.
Two Complementary Technologies
Emface and Morpheus8 act on different tissue layers, so we can target muscle tone, skin laxity, or both in sequence.
Provider-Led Treatment
Our injectors handle assessments personally, drawing on more than 45 combined years of medical practice.

Treatment Options Comparison

Compare the two non-surgical options we offer for submental fullness and how each one targets a different layer of tissue.

TreatmentHow It WorksBest ForDowntimeResults Timeline
EmfaceSynchronized RF and HIFES muscle stimulationMuscle tone and mild laxityNone6 to 12 weeks
Morpheus8Deep fractional RF microneedlingSkin laxity and subdermal fat1 to 3 days8 to 12 weeks

You May Have a Double Chin If...

These are the signs patients describe when submental fullness starts to bother them. If several sound familiar, a consultation can identify which of the three underlying causes is driving yours and whether Emface Submentum is a realistic option for you.

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  • The Photo Angle

    You have learned which side to turn and how high to hold your chin, and you delete any photo taken from below.

  • A Blurred Jaw Edge

    The clean line between your jaw and your neck has softened, so face and neck now read as one continuous curve.

  • Weight Loss Did Not Help

    You have lost weight elsewhere and the area under your chin looks the same, or somehow looser than it did before.

  • Fullness at Rest

    Looking straight ahead in the mirror you see softness under the chin, not only when you tilt your head downward.

  • Video Call Discomfort

    Laptop cameras sit below your face, and that angle makes the area under your chin the focus of every meeting.

  • Collars and Scarves

    You reach for higher collars, scarves or turtlenecks to break up the line, even when the weather does not call for it.

Your Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What actually causes a double chin?
Three things, and often more than one at once: submental fat, loose skin with a slackened platysma muscle, and the position of your jaw and hyoid bone. Fat volume is largely inherited, laxity comes with age and sun exposure, and jaw structure is fixed. Working out which one dominates is the whole point of a consultation, because it decides whether treatment will help.
Will a non-surgical treatment actually work for me?
It depends entirely on the cause. If your double chin comes mainly from skin laxity or a slackened platysma, Emface Submentum and Morpheus8 can produce a visible change. If it comes from a recessed chin or a low-sitting hyoid bone, no energy-based treatment will alter that, and we will tell you at the consultation rather than after you have paid.
Can I get rid of a double chin by losing weight?
Sometimes, but not reliably. Weight loss can shrink the submental fat pad, although many patients find this area is the last to change or does not change at all, because pad size is inherited. Significant weight loss can also leave the overlying skin loose, which sometimes makes the contour look softer rather than sharper.
How long before I see results under my chin?
Most patients notice a firmer jaw edge at around six weeks, with the fuller result at 12 weeks. Emface builds muscle tone across a short series of sessions, while Morpheus8 works through collagen remodelling that continues for roughly three months after the final treatment. Neither one produces an overnight change.
Is there any downtime?
Emface Submentum has none. You feel warmth and muscle contractions during the session and can go straight back to work. Morpheus8 typically leaves redness and a grid of pinpoint marks for one to three days, so we suggest planning it around anything social. Both are performed in our Lake Havasu City office.
Can the two treatments be combined?
Yes, and for many patients that is the better plan. Morpheus8 addresses the deeper tissue and skin laxity first, then Emface Submentum maintains muscle tone in the treated area. We usually stage them rather than running both at once, and your provider sets the order based on what your assessment shows.
When should I see a provider about this?
Book a consultation when the area bothers you enough to change how you sit for photos or video calls, or when you have lost weight and seen no difference under your chin. There is no medical urgency here. The value of the visit is a straight answer about which cause is yours. Call (928) 889-0155.
Location2010 Injo DriveLake Havasu City, AZ, 86403
Phone(928) 889-0155

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Scientific References

  1. Ascher et al., Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol. (2016). ATX-101 (deoxycholic acid injection) for reduction of submental fat. PMID: 27457304.
  2. Rzany et al., Br J Dermatol. (2014). Reduction of unwanted submental fat with ATX-101 (deoxycholic acid), an adipocytolytic injectable treatment: results from a phase III, randomized, placebo-controlled study. PMID: 24147933.
  3. Zappia et al., Lasers Med Sci. (2025). An innovative microwave technology for the treatment of submental skin laxity. PMID: 39841282.
  4. Dayan et al., Aesthet Surg J. (2019). Adjustable Depth Fractional Radiofrequency Combined With Bipolar Radiofrequency: A Minimally Invasive Combination Treatment for Skin Laxity. PMID: 30958550.
  5. Samuels et al., Plast Reconstr Surg. (2022). Radiofrequency Heating and High-Intensity Focused Electromagnetic Treatment Delivered Simultaneously: The First Sham-Controlled Randomized Trial. PMID: 35259147.