With age comes wisdom. However, wisdom isn’t the only thing that comes with age. Many people experience bands of fat around the neck, slowly weakening muscles, and sagging skin as time marches on. Today, our aesthetic experts at Advanced Dermatology Center in Wolcott, CT are answering some of the most frequently asked questions about Kybella, an injectable fat removal treatment that may be right for you if you are noticing some of the aforementioned effects of aging.
Is Kybella a Permanent Solution?
Yes, Kybella is a permanent solution. The primary ingredient in this injectable is deoxycholic acid. Specifically, it is a synthetic version of the deoxycholic acid that your gut produces. Once this medication is injected, the deoxycholic acid melts the fat cells’ walls.
The fat stored in these cells is released. Deoxycholic acid injections provide permanent results because adults can’t grow fat cells. Thus, there will always be fewer fat cells in the treatment area or areas.
An Important Note
You should understand that Kybella does not destroy all of the fat cells in the treatment area or areas. Thus, you may store excess fat in your neck and chin if future weight gain occurs. Even so, your chin and neck won’t look as large as they did before treatment, even if fat storage occurs in those areas, since there are fewer fat cells post-treatment.
You don’t have to worry about your submental fullness (double chin) recurring if genetics or the effects of the aging process are causing you to seek this treatment. On the other hand, if you have a double chin due to excess fat, you need to be conscious of your caloric intake to keep your profile flawless.
How Many Treatment Sessions Are Required for Ideal Results?
Depending on the cause of your submental fullness and the severity of your submental fullness, you may need up to six treatment sessions to achieve ideal results. Nevertheless, six treatment sessions are only required for individuals who have a very large volume of excess fat.
Only one or two sessions are required when people are using deoxycholic acid to combat the visible signs of aging. Furthermore, only one or two sessions are usually required if submental fullness is caused by genetics.
How Quickly Do the Results of Treatment Become Apparent?
It takes between four and six weeks to see the final results of treatment after the last treatment session. You have to wait to see your final results because the fat released by the melted fat cells must be eliminated via the lymphatic system. In young, healthy adults, this process only takes approximately one month to complete. In older individuals, this process can take 50% longer. There are over a dozen factors that affect the efficiency of your lymphatic system.
For instance, the health of your cardiovascular system is one of the most significant factors affecting how quickly the results of this treatment become apparent. It will take longer to see the final results of your treatment if your cardiovascular system is weak due to the significant role it plays in supporting your lymphatic system. Another very important factor affecting the efficiency of your lymphatic system is adequate hydration.
How Can I See My Final Results Sooner?
Gentle Exercise
Walking at a moderate pace for 2.5 hours per week following your injection session is one of the simplest things you can do to see your final results faster. Walking is a great way to support the strength and efficiency of your cardiovascular system. Since your cardiovascular system plays a critical role in supporting an efficient lymphatic system, you will see your final results faster if your circulatory system is as strong as possible.
Hydration, Nutrition, and a Relaxing Massage
Drinking at least half of a gallon of hydrating fluids daily is another very easy thing you can do to see your final results as quickly as possible. If you struggle to drink at least 64 ounces daily, make sure you’re incorporating hydrating foods into your diet, such as fruit, vegetables, and broth-based soups.
Produce consumption is also important if you want to see your final results as soon as possible because they provide the micronutrients your lymphatic system needs to operate as efficiently as possible. Furthermore, you can increase the efficiency of your lymphatic system by getting a lymphatic massage from a certified lymphatic masseuse.
How Long Will My Injection Session Take?
The average Kybella for double chin treatment takes between 15 and 20 minutes to complete. How long your session will take depends on the dosage required to achieve sufficient results, how many injections you need, and whether you are treating your neck, chin, or both. Furthermore, receiving complementary treatments, such as injectable muscle relaxants, at the same time as your deoxycholic acid injections will increase the length of your treatment.
During your initial consultation, we will assess all of your cosmetic concerns and goals to give you a better idea of how long you should expect your treatment to take. Before your injection session begins, we will sanitize the treatment area or areas and mark the most strategic injection locations. After your submental region is prepared for treatment, a sterile, tiny needle will be used to administer the medication into strategic locations within the submental region.
How Many Injections May Be Required
If you have a mild case of submental fullness, you may only need 20 injections beneath your chin. If you have a moderate amount of submental fullness, 30 injections may be required to achieve satisfactory results. On the other hand, you may need 50 injections if you have severe submental fullness.
What Should I Expect During My Treatment Session?
Although this fat-melting medication is administered via injection, you don’t need to worry about the tiny needle used to administer the medication causing pain. The gauge of the needle is so fine that you won’t even feel a little pain. Additionally, you won’t feel any discomfort as this medication is administered; you will only feel a little pressure as the medication is administered beneath your skin.
If you don’t want to feel the injections at all, let us know during your initial evaluation. We can numb your skin before the injections are administered. Just be aware that your session will take approximately 15 minutes longer if you opt for a topical anesthetic.
How Should I Care for Myself After Treatment?
When your treatment session is over, you can return to most of your typical routine. Nevertheless, you should keep in mind a couple of things during the first few days after your session. For example, you should sleep with your head elevated slightly during the first three nights following your injections.
Furthermore, you should moisturize your skin and wear protective sunscreen diligently. Moreover, you should wash your chin and neck gently during the first three days following your session.
Am I a Good Candidate for This Treatment?
We can’t say definitively whether you will qualify for this treatment without first discussing your medical history, reviewing the drugs and supplements you are currently taking, and assessing your submental region. However, we can tell you what we look for in good candidates for this non-invasive fat removal treatment. One of the most important evaluation steps is the assessment of your submental region.
Although it is possible to suffer from submental fullness due to advanced age or hereditary factors, the condition is usually caused by excess fat storage in the chin and neck. If you exercise regularly and eat reasonably portioned, nutritious meals most of the time, but you can’t budge stubborn submental fat, there is an excellent chance you will qualify for this treatment.
Other Factors
To be considered suitable for this treatment, you should be confident in your ability to maintain your body fat percentage following your course of fat removal treatments. Additionally, we will evaluate how elastic the skin in your submental region is. An excellent candidate for this injectable fat removal treatment has fairly elastic skin in the chin and neck regions; he or she is also free from blood and heart conditions.
How Can I Remove Unwanted Fat From Other Areas?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has only approved Kybella for the reversal of submental fullness. If you have pockets of stubborn fat in other regions of your body, you may be a good candidate for liposuction, the gold standard of fat removal.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Liposuction?
You may be considered a good candidate for liposuction if you are within 30 pounds of your goal weight and have areas of excess fat that won’t shrink despite regular exercise and a healthy diet. If you maintain a caloric deficit long enough, the fat stored in your trouble regions will be burned as fuel. However, there’s no way to spot-reduce fat.
Therefore, it could take months or years of operating at a caloric deficit to reduce fat in your trouble regions. This is particularly frustrating for people who are already happy with their weight but wish their body fat distribution was different. You may be an excellent candidate for liposuction if you don’t want to lose any more weight, but you want to improve your contours. Additionally, you should have fairly elastic skin to qualify for this procedure.
How Soon Can I See the Results of This Procedure?
During this procedure, some of the excess fat cells in the targeted region are suctioned out. Depending on the amount of subcutaneous fat in the targeted area and the size of the targeted area, between 20 and 80% of the fat cells in the region will be removed. However, you won’t see the final results of your procedure for one to three months. The more elastic your skin is in your trouble area, the faster you will see the final results of your procedure.
You can expect approximately 20 to 30% of the localized fat cells to be removed if you are targeting a large area for fat removal, such as your chest, back, sides, hips, or legs. If you are targeting a smaller area, like your underarms or the backs of your knees, approximately 80% of the localized fat cells will be removed.
Discover Today How We Can Help You Improve Your Contours
Kybella is a permanent fat removal solution. If you think this non-invasive fat removal method may be right for you, reach out to us now at Advanced Dermatology Center in Wolcott, CT to schedule an initial appointment and find out if you qualify. We look forward to helping you achieve the profile of your dreams.
