Brad Pitt, Robert Pattison, Angelina Jolie, Olivia Wilde, and Henry Cavil – what’s the one facial feature these guys have in common? A sharper jawline, which is also a major contributor to their youthful looks. It’s no secret that a well-defined jawline can help you appear younger and more appealing. But do jawline exercises work?
Also, what’s the scientific community’s stance on jawline exercises? Are there any risks you should know before you give them a try? If you’re also curious about all this, this is just the guide you need to read.
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So, Do Jawline Exercises Work? Yes, But…
They do work! With the right exercises, you can increase your chances of achieving a sharper jawline. Plus, those with issues like TMD, locked jaw, and persistent neck, head, and jaw pains can also find some relief. However, there are some specific exercises and areas that you need to target, and the change process can be very long; not a get-fit-quick kind of thing…it’ll require commitment.
Nevertheless, it’s not as simple as buying a silicone-based chewable block off Amazon and biting on it. These exercises alone may not give you the results you want. They act as a support in addition to diet and cardio.
Those looking for some serious jaw toning and shaping will have to practice jaw exercises for months to see a change in the mirror.
Moreover, if done wrong, the effects can also be adverse for your jaw, teeth, or even facial symmetry (more on this later in this article).
Dermatologist Explains The Science Behind Jawline Exercises:
An award-winning dermatologist, Dr. Russak, stated in an interview with YouTuber One Dapper Street that jawline exercises do work. However, contrary to popular belief, these exercises do not reduce the fat or muscles in the jaws. According to her:
“The tightness in the jawline is somewhat due to the muscle strings and the muscles, especially at the corners of the jaw. If you exercise them and bulk them up a little bit, they will tighten and pull the jawline back. It pulls the skin (on the jawline) back and gives you a tighter definition.”
So simply put, exercising the jawline builds muscles in the jaws that contribute to a sharper jawline.
5 Non-Aesthetic But Powerful Benefits of Jawline Exercise – If Done Right!
1. Reduce Myofascial Headache, Jaw, and Neck Pains
The head is the body’s superior part, and if it’s in pain, it can render you useless to focus on any important tasks. Luckily, if done right, the jaw exercises alleviate the headaches and neck and jaw pain.
One study showed that jawline exercises reduce pain intensity and headache frequency and the use of analgesics among people having myofascial pains. Plus, it’s much more cost-effective than getting treatment for these pains.
2. Help With Myalgia in the Jaw Muscles
The Temporomandibular Disorder experts agree that jaw exercises yield effective results for patients with myalgia in the jaw muscles.
Or even those with restricted mouth opening due to hyperactivity of jaw-closing muscles. This condition can cause pain and fatigue around the masticatory structures of the jaws, neck, and head.
If a simple 15-20 minute exercise can help people with this condition and find ease, then it’s a pretty sweet deal.
3. Strengthen Jaw Muscles
Jaw muscles are important for overall facial health and well-being. In fact, they can be instrumental in shaping your face, as well as reducing wrinkles and lines around the mouth.
And since jaw exercises work effectively on jaw strings, as stated by Dr. Russak above, it’s clear these exercises help strengthen jaw muscles, ensuring overall dental and facial muscular health.
4. Prevent Pain in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients
Over 22 million Americans have sleep apnea. To ensure they keep breathing during sleep, they follow oral appliance therapy, where they either push or pull their lower jaw forward, which puts the tongue in a position that doesn’t block the airways.
While effective, this technique can lead to long-term jaw pain. However, one study found that sleep apnea patients can reduce the risk of developing this pain with certain jaw-opening exercises.
5. Reduce Depression Among Patients With Postradiation Trismus:
Patients with head and neck cancers typically suffer from trismus, a condition that locks the jaw and is aggravated after radiation therapy. This results in depression among the patients.
However, according to a study, jaw exercises can actually help patients increase the opening of their jaws, which as a result, has a positive effect on their depression.
But The Benefits Mentioned Above Don’t Talk About The Aesthetics of Jawline, Right?
Now you may be wondering, why do I care what other benefits jawline exercise has? I just want to know, do jawline exercises work for chiseling the jawline? Well, I already gave that answer at the start of this post.
But if you’re reading this post even after that, it means you need more material to be convinced whether it’s actually something that work for everybody or if it’s just a marketing hype created by celebs like Christiano Ronaldo to sell face-toning devices.
And the reason I’ve mentioned these 5 non-aesthetical benefits above is to tell you that jawline exercises do work out your jaw muscles.
And if you recall what Dr. Russak had said, the jawline exercises work on the strings and muscles of your jaws.
So there you have it, evidence from renowned dermatologists and various studies on jawline exercises’ effectiveness on jaw muscles. If you put the 2 and 2 together, you’ll realize that it’s not just hype.
You may be able to tone your jawline from fat to fit by building jaw muscles through the right jawline exercises.
Any Risks Associated With Jawline Exercises?
Jawline exercises are often met with skepticism and hesitation, but from what we’ve discussed now, it’s clear that they do work!
However, just like every kind of exercise, if not done right, there can be some risks to your physical health. Some of them include:
- Jaw Strain: Throughout the day, we open and close the mouth thousands of times, using those rugged jaw muscles whether to talk, breathe, eat or yawn. Now, if we add parafunctional activities like jawline exercise to this, the jaw muscles can be affected, which could lead to injuries to Temporomandibular Joint, torn muscles, or even headaches.
- Developing Noises in Jaw: Our jaw is connected to the upper part of the face with hinges like that of a laptop. If you don’t exercise caution and do not follow the right steps, you can risk disturbing the hinges. This can lead to clicking and popping noises when you move the jaw.
- Bad Aesthetic: You need to be very disciplined with the jawline exercises and know when it’s enough to stop doing it anymore. Make sure to keep noticing yourself after a few days in the mirror to ensure your jawline muscles are being toned in symmetry. Moreover, you should not do jawline exercise if you already have thick jaw muscles as putting more of it can lead to more bulk than you wanted….like the thick neck of a football player.
Will You Lose Face Fat With Jawline Exercise?
No, you will not because spot-training doesn’t work for shredding fat. So exercising your jaw will not lose that excess plump on your face or under the chin. This can only be done with some solid cardio sessions.
However, jawline exercises do build muscles. But then again, if you don’t get rid of that excess fat, it will still be a layer on top of those newly developed muscles.
This means you may not be able to sharpen your jawline enough unless you hit the gym and get that heart rate going up.
Chewing Gum vs. Jaw Exercises – What Works Best?
Chewing gum works out your jaw muscles but is not enough to add weight to them. Therefore, even if you are emptying a pack of those gums a day (which you shouldn’t), you won’t see any difference in that jawline.
Jaw exercise, on the other hand, does work in muscle-building, as we’ve discussed above based on scientific evidence.
However, we suggest you DO NOT do both; chew gum and do jawline exercises. The gum will already put a good deal of strain on the jaw locks and muscles, and doing exercise before or after that can lead to injuries.
Is Jawline Exercise Alone Enough to Chisel Your Jaw?
Jawline exercise doesn’t work miracles – it’s just one part of the whole fitness regimen. And believe me, you do not want to look like Robert Pattison from your jaw sides only.
The rest of the body should be sculpted as well to get that jaw complementing your whole personality. Therefore, you need:
- Daily exercise (especially cardio)
- Monitor your diet for less fat intake
- Reduce salt consumption as it retains body fluid, making your face seem puffy
- Practice jawline exercises as recommended by experts
Doing jawline exercises alone may not help as much or as quickly. However, following the aforementioned regimen daily will yield good results.
Parting Words:
So do jawline exercises work? Well, as you can see, there is a ton of science behind jawline exercises. The only way to know if it gets your jawline chiseled or not is to try it out, give it some time and then observe the effect.
If you do get any results, you can make it a part of your daily fitness regimen until you feel like you’ve put on enough muscles on your jaw.
Then, you stay fit to ensure excess fat doesn’t build up on those well-toned jaw muscles.