Whether we like to or not, we often judge people by their looks. This even applies to ourselves, when we’re staring at every perceived flaw on our faces in our shiny mirrors. And sadly, we can be our worst critics. It’s times like these that we’re tempted to ask, ‘Mirror Mirror on the wall, why isn’t my jawline visible at all?’

The media portrays a sharp, strong jawline as a physically attractive feature. To fight the resulting insecurities, there’s a big emphasis being laid on loving yourself the way you are, and rightly so. But for those of you looking for answers, we’re here to help. Read on to discover one of the reasons your jawline isn’t visible. Accordingly, you can decide if you’d like to work on improving it while also loving the ‘you’ in the mirror, flaws and all!

Understanding Our Jaws

Before going into what determines a weak or strong jawline, let’s get a basic understanding of our jaws. The jaw is a complex structure, made of bone and soft tissues. The lower jaw or the mandible is what we understand to be our jawline. The mandible determines the position of our chins, and the surrounding tissue mass can affect its appearance. Additionally, the position of our chins impacts the visibility of our jawlines. There’s a number of causes behind weak jawlines, and several are related to different parts of our jaws. Read our article Why Do I Have a Weak Jawline to get a better understanding.

Genetics

When you’re small, you may look just like your mom. As you grow bigger, you slowly start to morph into an image of your dad. And when old age starts to set in, you notice a resemblance to a grandparent, or even an aunt! Genes are fascinating, and are the main reason why we look the way we do. Often, it could just be your genetic code that has left you with an undefined jawline.

Genetics have so much to do with the people we become. While being born with a weak chin or a narrow jaw is no one’s fault, it could result in a weak jawline. You will also notice you have a weak jawline if your neck is a bit stocky, resulting in excess fat covering the area. Don’t be disheartened; while you can’t change your genes, you can always work on getting a more defined jawline.

Age

Old age often comes with its dreaded woes, and one of these is changes in appearance. While there are several products we use to age as gracefully as we can, our facial structures also go through a change. Your jaws could become less defined with an increase of fat in the neck and jaws. With years of use, our jaw bones could undergo changes as we age, impacting what was once a sharp jawline. Additionally, muscle shrinkage can render your jawline undefined.

The creation of jowls is another result of old age, and happens overtime. Jowls are created by the loosening skin at the bottom of your face, near your chin and along your jawline. You may not even spot them developing until they are fully present, leaving you to deal with them. Jowls gather along your jawline, making it disappear under the loose skin. You can prepare for jowls when you first spot signs of aging, by doing face and jaw exercises.

Weak Jaws

While we’re focused on keeping our limbs toned and bodies fit, we often forget our face needs some attention too! Suddenly noticing your jawline steadily disappearing? You may want to start some jaw exercises. You may be surprised to hear that neglecting our jaws can cause them to weaken in appearance. Just chewing down isn’t enough. Depending on how much attention you’d like to give it, you could also purchase a product like a jaw workout ball to help achieve the jawline of your dreams.

Not Chewing Properly

An interesting trend being noticed is how jaws weaken overtime with less chewing activity. Consumption of soft foods like noodles and rice, and picking fruit juices and smoothies over biting into a fruit are some of the causes behind this. When you chew, your upper and lower jaws come into contact with each other. This is known as occlusion. Poor or incomplete occlusion can lead to a weak jaw, leading to poor teeth and a weakened jawline. Chewing on gum could help, as can biting into a sturdy fruit like an apple once in a while.

Receding Chin Or Retrogenia

Retrogenia is a condition that occurs when your chin projects slightly backward, towards your neck. It is also more commonly known as a receding chin, or weak chin. As mentioned above, the position of the chin plays an important role in defining the shape of your jawline. Retrogenia makes it seem like your jawline is very undefined, or even invisible. It is genetically determined, and mostly doesn’t affect any functions, like eating or speech.

However, an overbite can lead to retrogenia, which in turn gives you a weak jawline. This is a dental condition where the upper jaw overlaps the lower jaw. You can identify this by looking at your teeth; look for a pronounced gap between your upper and lower sets of teeth. This is a dental condition, and it is best to have it medically diagnosed. Fixing your jaw alignment could help alleviate your retrogenia, in turn making your jawline visible.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, it is important to remember that a weak jawline is a cosmetic problem, and in no way stops you from living a perfectly normal life. Choosing to make your jawline sharper is just as good as choosing to accept it. There is no right or wrong decision to this; the perfect jawline is one you are happy with. Make sure you read up on our other blogs if you seek further answers; we’re here to help.