The platysma muscle is the main part of the body that helps us make facial expressions. It is a wide muscle that runs from the chest, over the collarbone, and then continues up along the sides of the neck. The platysma’s function is to draw the lips and jaw downward and also to the sides. The platysma muscle, along with aging, also plays a big part in whether we have a double chin.
When we are young the platysma muscle is nice and tight, but as we age and without proper care, a double chin can occur. Without the proper exercise of this muscle, the bands of muscle in the platysma get thick and chord-like, causing the skin of the neck to droop and dangle between the jaw and collarbone. If the platysma muscle is out of shape from aging, you can still use the muscle to exercise the chin, thereby reducing the saggy appearance under your chin. Some people have a hereditary condition that causes this weakening of the platysma and surgery is the only answer for getting rid of the dangling skin.
Before resorting to surgery, there are other ways to get rid of that unsightly double chin. The first thing to realize is that the cause of your double chin may not be completely the fault of your platysma muscle. Too much body fat can also cause it. When we gain weight, that excess fat is stored in lots of different areas, and one of the most common is under the chin. So a big cure for a double chin is to cut fat from the diet, thus keeping fat from building up in areas like the chin.
One of the best ways to lose fat anywhere in the body is, of course, exercise. Adding a daily routine of aerobic exercise will burn fat already stored in your body and stop more fat from building up. Along with aerobic fat-burning exercises, there are exercises that specifically target the platysma muscle.
1. Stand as straight as you can and tilt your head back as far as it will comfortably go, until you feel that platysma muscle stretch. Now open and close your mouth at a normal pace. Do this several times. Perform this exercise twice a day until you get used to it and then increase the number of times a day that you do it.
2. Hold your head straight then push your lower jaw up until the lower teeth touch the upper lip. Repeat this 10-15 times. Again, when you get used to the exercise, you can increase to four times a day.
3. The idea in this next exercise is to create resistance against the platysma muscle. Lift the chin and place your middle and index fingers underneath. Press the tongue down against the lower jaw until you fell the pressure on your fingers. Hold this position for a few seconds, and then relax the tongue and rest for 10 seconds. Repeat this 4 or 5 times.
