Specialist article: Face
Receding chin and double chinWhat helps shape the chin line
A double chin is seen as a fat pad, a receding chin as a matter of bone. Both are only partly true. Here you can find out how the tongue reference position, the floor of the mouth and hyoid bone, mouth breathing and head balance help shape the line between chin and neck, what studies show about this and what role training breathing, swallowing and head balance plays.
Does this sound familiar?
Your chin looks soft even though you’re slim?
What applies to you?
Tap whatever applies to you.
If several of these apply, it is worth looking beyond fat and bone. The floor of the mouth and the hyoid bone lie under the chin, and their tension depends on how you breathe, how you swallow and how your head balances. These functions can be trained.
What lies under the chinMouth breathing and the chinThe key points at a glance
- A double chin is not just fat. The chin line is also shaped by the skin, the floor of the mouth, the position of the hyoid bone, the position of the lower jaw and head balance.
- Mouth breathing, a low-lying tongue and a forward-tilted head, in our view, generally change this line long before the bone adapts. Studies show such connections mainly in growing children.
- Training the basic functions of breathing, swallowing and head balance addresses the tension beneath the chin and can create the conditions under which the chin line changes. It does not promise a particular appearance, and before-and-after pictures are not suitable as evidence of this.
Video
Receding chin and double chin: function and jaw shape
Das Video lädt erst nach dem Klick. Dann werden Daten an YouTube (Google) übertragen.
Terms
Double chin and receding chin: two findings, one line
When you look at yourself in profile, you mainly notice one line, the one between the tip of the chin and the neck. Both terms relate to it.
A double chin refers to fullness under the chin that softens the transition to the neck. A receding chin sits further back in profile than the line of forehead, nose and lips would suggest. Often a set-back lower jaw lies behind it. The two frequently occur together. The further back the chin lies, the shorter the distance to the neck becomes, and the tissue underneath has less space.
is the chin–neck angle of a harmonious-looking neck profile, according to a French cadaver dissection study. There, a hyoid bone positioned low and far forward limited even surgical correction1
So the chin–neck angle is not just a question of fat. Where the hyoid bone sits, how much tension the floor of the mouth has and where the lower jaw rests all show beneath the skin. That is why even a slim person can have a soft profile.
Causes
Fat, skin, muscles, bone: what shapes the jawline
Several layers lie on top of one another beneath the chin. Each can contribute to fullness, and they are connected to one another.
Fatty tissue
Fat lies above and below the flat neck muscle. How much depends on body weight, predisposition and age.
Skin and connective tissue
Elasticity decreases over the years. The skin follows whatever lies beneath it.
Floor of the mouth and hyoid bone
A plate of muscle between the two halves of the lower jaw supports the tongue. It is suspended from the hyoid bone, a bone without a joint.
Lower jaw and chin
If the lower jaw sits further back or is rotated downwards, the chin moves back and the line to the neck becomes shorter.
Head balance
If the head moves forwards and downwards, the tissue beneath the chin is compressed and the hyoid bone shifts along with it.
Most treatments for a double chin target fat and skin. However, the other three layers determine the shape in which the tissue lies. They depend on functions that run all day long. You swallow several hundred to a thousand times a day, you breathe without pause, and your head balances on your spine.
of the neck were analysed by the Mayo Clinic. In both women and men, the hyoid bone sat lower with increasing age2
further forward was the position of the hyoid bone in the same analysis for every 5 additional points of body mass index2
The authors link this to the chin–neck angle, which becomes more obtuse with age. A cross-sectional analysis cannot determine cause or effect. But it does show that a bone you cannot see from the outside helps determine the jawline.
Anatomy
Hyoid bone and floor of the mouth: the suspension beneath the chin
Between the chin and the larynx lies a small bone that does not touch any other bone. It explains why the tongue, breathing and head balance show beneath the chin.
The hyoid bone is suspended solely by muscles, ligaments and fasciae. Above it, muscles attach that run to the lower jaw and the base of the skull. For the jawline, the most important of these is the mylohyoid muscle, the Musculus mylohyoideus. It stretches as a broad plate between the two halves of the lower jaw and forms the floor of the mouth.
Below it, muscles run to the breastbone and shoulder blade. In between, the hyoid bone hangs in a balance of pull and counter-pull. If one direction of pull changes, the bone shifts, and with it the floor of the mouth and the jawline.
The tongue does not lie in the mouth as if in a bowl. It rests on a movable floor.How high this floor sits depends on the position of the hyoid bone, and that changes with breathing, swallowing and head balance.
This makes the tongue reference position a question of the jawline. If the tongue rests against the palate after swallowing, with its tip on the small ridge behind the upper front teeth, it partly carries its own weight, and the floor of the mouth retains a basic tension. If it lies low and broad in the lower jaw, its mass rests on the floor of the mouth. In our view, the tissue beneath the chin then tends to bulge downwards.
Many people look for the “correct tongue resting posture” for this. The tongue does not have a fixed resting position. It is constantly involved and returns to its reference point after every swallow. More on this in the article on the tongue reference position.
When the mouth is open, the tongue drops, the lower jaw rotates downwards and backwards, and the line between chin and neck loses definition. The swallowing pattern behind this is described in the article Swallowing and swallowing disorders.
Breathing
Mouth breathing and the face: when the chin recedes
If you breathe through your mouth, you open it. That sounds obvious, but it changes the mechanics of the entire lower jaw.
When the mouth opens, the lower jaw rotates downwards and backwards, and the chin moves back. For a moment, that is just a movement. But if the mouth stays open for many hours during the day and at night, it becomes a starting position to which the muscles adapt, and during growth the bone as well.
An animal study in California showed that breathing can change the position of the chin. Mouth breathing was induced in eight growing monkeys, while eight others served as controls. In the mouth breathers, the chin lowered and the lower jaw rotated backwards. The authors concluded that the position of the chin is controlled by the balance between the muscles above the hyoid bone and the facial muscles3.
of children with signs of a blocked nose had no tight seal of the lips and tongue in an analysis from Jerusalem, compared with 30% of nasal breathers. The lower jaw of the mouth breathers was rotated further backwards and downwards4
were compared on X-rays in Madrid. The 53 mouth breathers had a lower jaw positioned further back than the 65 nasal breathers5
These findings come from growing children and from comparisons that cannot prove a cause on their own. For us, they mark the beginning of many causal chains that start with function and not with bone. At night, the same pattern often shows up as snoring; more on this in the article Snoring and sleep apnoea.
The mouth is open
Because of a frequently blocked nose, out of habit or after long dummy use. The tongue drops.
The body compensates
The lower jaw rotates backwards and downwards, and the head moves forwards. The nervous system stores this compensation as a pattern.
Tension is lost
The floor of the mouth and the muscles above the hyoid bone are no longer involved in their function. What is not used loses tension.
Form follows
During growth, the jaws and palate adapt; in adults, mainly the soft tissues. The jawline becomes softer and the chin appears receding.
Head balance
Head forward, jawline soft
If you lower your head in front of the mirror, almost everyone develops a double chin. That is why head balance is part of the jawline.
When the head balances over the spine, the lower jaw and neck form roughly a right angle. The tissue beneath the chin has space, and the floor of the mouth retains its tension.
The muscles that hold the head upright and the muscles at the hyoid bone work together in this.
If the head tilts forwards and downwards, the angle becomes more acute. The tissue beneath the chin is pushed together and the hyoid bone shifts along with it. On the phone and at the screen, this position can easily become a habit.
A long-term observation of 24 people with complete dentures showed how closely the hyoid bone and head balance are linked. Over 15 years, their cervical spine tilted further forward by an average of 5 degrees. The vertical position of the hyoid bone followed the inclination of the lower jaw, while its horizontal position mainly followed the inclination of the neck and head6.
were X-rayed in Shanghai once with the head balanced and once with the head pushed forward. All but one of the measurements of the hyoid bone’s position differed between the two positions7
Stand side-on to a mirror. Straighten your head, place the tip of your tongue on the palate behind your upper front teeth, close your lips and swallow firmly once. What happens to your chin line?
Bone
Can the shape of the jaw still change?
Many people are told that their lower jaw simply grew too short. Sometimes that is true. But even a bone has a developmental history.
Bone is living tissue. According to Harold Frost’s mechanostat model, it is mainly everyday loading that determines how strong a bone becomes after birth8. In the face, this loading comes from chewing, swallowing, tongue pressure and lip closure. During growth, it helps shape the form. In adults, any remodelling is slow, and how far it changes the visible shape has not been studied.
A Swedish study shows that function sets a direction during growth. At the start, 38 children with a severely obstructed nasopharynx had a more retruded lower jaw than 37 children with clear airways. In the five years after removal of the adenoids, the lower jaw grew more horizontally in the girls than in the comparison group, while the boys showed only a trend9.
No such data exist for adults. That is why we do not promise a longer lower jaw or a new chin shape. What can change in adults, too, is the position in which the lower jaw rests. It is connected to the skull only by joints, muscles and ligaments, and the muscles help decide whether it sinks back and down or stays in its centre.
A contour is not the same as bone shape.Before-and-after photos of the face cannot separate fat, muscle tension, head balance and bone from one another. That is why they are not suitable as evidence, neither for us nor for other methods.
In children, the jaw is still growing. If the mouth is often open or a lot of breathing is done through the mouth, it is worth paying attention to nasal breathing and mouth closure early on. More on this at FaceFormer for children.
Putting treatments into context
Getting rid of a double chin? What is on offer
Injections, surgery, devices and exercises are offered for a double chin. They target different layers.
The fat-dissolving injection with deoxycholic acid dissolves fat cells beneath the chin. Surgically, fat can be removed by liposuction. A chin implant or chin augmentation lengthens the chin; in pronounced malposition, the lower jaw is repositioned in a jaw operation, and with a retruded lower jaw, braces or aligners are often under discussion. There are large placebo-controlled studies for the injection; among the authors of the most important ones were employees of the manufacturer.
of the 256 people treated with the injection improved by at least one grade on the rating scale, compared with 18.6% of 250 on placebo10
of those treated had a mostly mild, temporary weakness of the nerve that moves the corner of the mouth10
Braces and aligners move teeth with force from the outside, but they do not change the function that once displaced them. In the profession, relapse is therefore considered the normal case. The Cochrane review on retention with 47 studies and 4,377 participants assumes that, without retention, teeth move back towards their starting position13. But teeth do not move by themselves; forces are acting, and in our view these are usually the tongue, lips and breathing, which continue to work in the old pattern.
Targets the shape
- Fat-dissolving injection and liposuction
- Chin implant, chin augmentation and jaw surgery, such as BiMax
- Braces and aligners
- Acts on fat, soft tissue, teeth or bone
Targets the function
- Tongue reference position and swallowing pattern
- Nasal breathing and mouth closure
- Head balance
- Acts on tension and position under the chin
The two routes are not mutually exclusive. The procedure and risks are described in the article on BiMax jaw surgery, and how the training relates to other procedures is explained under FaceFormer and other treatments.
Surgery treats jaws as shapes that are reassembled. But a living jaw follows the functions that act on it every day. If mouth breathing with a low-lying tongue continues after the operation, the bone continues to receive the same stimuli, and the old pattern works against the new result. In our view, the function therefore belongs before every decision to change the shape, and into training afterwards.
And exercises? For facial exercises and face yoga, one review found 9 studies, none of them with a comparison group11. A more recent one found 12 studies with 321 women and individual improvements in the cheeks and jawline, but considers the evidence insufficient12. There is no robust study on the double chin itself, including on our training. What exists on FaceFormer therapy is shown on the page Studies and science.
3D film
Head balance and floor of the mouth in one exercise
The animation shows the head balance rotation, module 8 of the FaceFormer exercises. The floor of the mouth lights up green when it works during swallowing.
Training
Training the chin: the function, not a muscle
Individual chin exercises, such as pushing the lower jaw forward, tense muscles for the moment. Afterwards, the habitual pattern takes over again, because a pattern does not change through insight but through frequent, precise repetition. In our view, what matters is that mouth closure, tongue reference position, nasal breathing and head balance work together without conscious thought. That is exactly what FaceFormer training practises.
The FaceFormer sits in the oral vestibule. In the basic exercise, your lips press on the lip wedge, the tip of your tongue rests on the palate, you bite down briefly and swallow. The negative pressure draws the tongue to the palate, and the floor of the mouth and the muscles above the hyoid bone work along with the swallow.
From week 3, the pull exercise is added. With a retruded lower jaw and a receding chin, the instructions specify the upward pull exercise instead of the forward pull.
- From day 1
Basic exercise
Three times a day with the FaceFormer ZERO. The free app guides you and keeps count.
- From week 3
Pull exercise
Forwards, or upwards if your lower jaw sits further back. If you train with a practice, they will decide the direction with you.
- After a few weeks
Switching to the ONE
During the day, you train with the FaceFormer ONE. It is the same size and shape as the ZERO, just made of firmer material.
- From week 6
Head balance rotation
The head balance rotation connects the training with the muscles that balance the head.
- Over months
The pattern runs by itself
The exercise manual allows for six to twelve months, followed by maintenance training.
The upward pull exercise is not intended for a forward-positioned lower jaw. If you wear a brace or a splint on medical advice, discuss the routine with your practice and do not stop anything on your own. You can find all modules on the exercise pages. If you experience pain, pause the training.
Everyday life
The chin line in everyday life
Lips closed, tongue up
Your lips rest loosely together, the tip of your tongue sits behind the upper front teeth, and your teeth do not touch.
Breathe through your nose
During the day, notice whether your mouth is hanging open. Taping your mouth shut at night does not teach lip closure; more on this under Mouth Taping.
Screen at eye level
Position your monitor and phone so that your head balances above your body.
Don’t clench
Chewing is part of normal function; constant teeth clenching and chewing gum for hours are not. If you clench often, read the article on TMD.
Reading photos correctly
A picture taken from below at an angle or with your head lowered shows a double chin in almost everyone. Only compare yourself with the same head balance and the same lighting.
Do not stop prescribed treatment on your own
If you use a splint, a brace or a nasal spray on medical advice, discuss any changes with your practice. The training can be combined with these.
Questions
Frequently asked
Why do I have a double chin if I’m slim?
A double chin is not just fat. If the hyoid bone sits low, the floor of the mouth has little tension, the lower jaw is set back or the head moves forward, the line between chin and neck becomes soft, even without much fatty tissue. Genetic predisposition and age also play a part. Over the years, the hyoid bone sinks lower in both women and men.
Can you train away a double chin?
Fatty tissue cannot be trained away selectively in one spot, and we do not promise a result. But beneath the chin lie the floor of the mouth and the hyoid bone, and their tension depends on whether the tongue rests against the palate in the tongue reference position, how you swallow and how your head balances. Training these functions can create the conditions under which the line between chin and neck changes. How much depends on the share that tension and head balance have in your case.
Can a receding chin still change in adults?
Bone remodels throughout life, but slowly in adults, and whether this visibly changes the shape of the chin has not been studied. What can change is the position in which the lower jaw rests, because it is suspended by muscles and ligaments. That is why we do not promise a longer lower jaw, but train the functions that guide it.
What role does mouth breathing play for the face?
When the mouth is open, the lower jaw rotates downwards and backwards and the tongue drops. Studies in children show a set-back lower jaw more frequently in mouth breathers. During growth this can contribute to shaping facial development; in adults it mainly affects the soft tissue under the chin.
Does mewing help against a double chin?
We share the idea behind it, that the tongue belongs on the palate. However, constant conscious pressing is not a natural pattern. The tongue reference position develops through swallowing and then settles in without force. You can find our assessment of Mewing in the article on the tongue reference position.
Which pull exercise is suitable for a receding chin?
For a set-back lower jaw with a receding chin, the instructions specify the upward pull exercise instead of the forward pull, from week 3 together with the basic exercise. It is not intended for a forward-positioned lower jaw. If you train with a practice, they will decide on the direction with you.
What does the fat-dissolving injection do for a double chin?
It reduces fatty tissue under the chin; this has been demonstrated in large placebo-controlled studies. Side effects there were mostly mild and temporary. It does not change the position of the hyoid bone and lower jaw, nor the pattern of breathing, swallowing and head balance. Whether it is an option for you is something to discuss with a doctor.
More articles from the knowledge section
Where to go next
Sources
- Knipper P, Mitz V, Lemerle JP (1996). Cervicoplastie expérimentale: correction de l’angle cervico-mentonnier par suspension postéro-supérieure de l’os hyoïde. Étude de 20 dissections anatomiques. Annales de Chirurgie Plastique et Esthétique 41(1):37-44. PMID 8734098. Source
- Meira Pazelli A, Shehab AA, Rames JD, Hussein SM, Bustos SS, Sears VA, Wentworth AJ, Morris JM, Sharaf BA (2024). Hyoid Position and Aging: A Comprehensive Analysis Using AI-assisted Segmentation of 282 Computed Tomography Scans. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open 12(9):e6119. PMID 39247578. Source
- Tomer BS, Harvold EP (1982). Primate experiments on mandibular growth direction. American Journal of Orthodontics 82(2):114-119. PMID 6961782. Source
- Harari D, Redlich M, Miri S, Hamud T, Gross M (2010). The effect of mouth breathing versus nasal breathing on dentofacial and craniofacial development in orthodontic patients. The Laryngoscope 120(10):2089-2093. PMID 20824738. Source
- Chung Leng Muñoz I, Beltri Orta P (2014). Comparison of cephalometric patterns in mouth breathing and nose breathing children. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology 78(7):1167-1172. PMID 24833165. Source
- Tallgren A, Solow B (1984). Long-term changes in hyoid bone position and craniocervical posture in complete denture wearers. Acta Odontologica Scandinavica 42(5):257-267. PMID 6597991. Source
- Ye J, Jin L, Cheng R, Lv X, Yao Y, Xu L, Cai B, Fang Z, Tsai TY (2025). Changes in the craniofacial morphology and hyoid bone position in the neutral and forward head posture in healthy individuals: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation 38(3):533-543. PMID 39973255. Source
- Frost HM (2003). Bone’s mechanostat: a 2003 update. Anatomical Record A 275(2):1081-1101. PMID 14613308. Source
- Linder-Aronson S, Woodside DG, Lundström A (1986). Mandibular growth direction following adenoidectomy. American Journal of Orthodontics 89(4):273-284. PMID 3515955. Source
- Jones DH, Carruthers J, Joseph JH, Callender VD, Walker P, Lee DR, Subramanian M, Lizzul PF, Gross TM, Beddingfield FC 3rd (2016). REFINE-1, a Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Phase 3 Trial With ATX-101, an Injectable Drug for Submental Fat Reduction. Dermatologic Surgery 42(1):38-49. PMID 26673433. Source
- Van Borsel J, De Vos MC, Bastiaansen K, Welvaert J, Lambert J (2014). The effectiveness of facial exercises for facial rejuvenation: a systematic review. Aesthetic Surgery Journal 34(1):22-27. PMID 24327764. Source
- Seraj SS, Moses O, Kamel Y, Almishwat ASH, Maliyil JC, Dalmar M, Faderani R, Mosahebi A (2025). Efficacy of Conservative Techniques for Mechanical Facial Rejuvenation: A Systematic Review. Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum 7:ojaf144. PMID 41322034. Source
- Martin C, Littlewood SJ, Millett DT, Doubleday B, Bearn D, Worthington HV (2023). Retention procedures for stabilising tooth position after treatment with orthodontic braces. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 5:CD002283. Source
Get started
Ready for the training?
The free FaceFormer app guides you through the basic exercises, counts along and reminds you of your sessions. If you wish, a practice from the practitioner directory can support you.
FaceFormer ZERO + ONE
Both material hardnesses for getting started, day and night. The set for adults.
FaceFormer ZERO
The softer FaceFormer for getting started, for children and for the night.
FaceFormer ZERO Children’s Set
ZERO with hygiene box, plush bag and success book with stamp.
FaceFormer training aims to restore the physiological setting of the basic functions of breathing, swallowing and head balance, with lip closure and the tongue reference position, thereby creating the conditions under which symptoms can improve. It does not replace a medical assessment. You can find practitioners near you in the practitioner directory.
