Inside the rise of ‘cut glass’ jawlines that are driving ordinary Brits to £5K lipo ops – and the most snatched stars
BACK in October when an influencer with over 700,000 followers was gifted chin and jawline liposuction, a collective shiver ran through her comments section.
Summer Fox, 27, was only using “the least extreme clips of the procedure” but left four million viewers nauseated by the sheer size of the anaesthetic needle, let alone the metal rod being “dragged” across her face.
She opted for the treatment, which typically costs anywhere from £3,000 to £5,000, due to insecurities of having a double chin from the side whenever she was “naturally relaxed”.
Unlike a lot of other plastic surgery procedures, the patient is awake throughout jaw and chin liposuction (local anesthetic is used to numb the area), meaning cowboy beauticians are offering it in high-street salons.
In recent years, the phrase “snatched jawline” has been growing traction on social media.
Videos of women with enviably sharp jawlines and chins regularly tot up over three million views on TikTok, with influencer Aisha Mian being hailed for having the “strongest jawline on the planet” with 345 million likes across her videos.
Supermodels like Bella Hadid, Adriana Lima and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley are regularly complimented for their chiselled side profiles and told that their jawlines could “cut glass”.
Over 50 per cent of British women experience concerns about their double chin, according to research published last year by the Centre for Surgery.
And according to one award-winning aesthetician and doctor, women suffering with these jowly insecurities are using filters to pretend they do.
When the filters aren’t satisfying them enough, they seek out chin and jaw liposuction in risky venues.
“Social media and selfie culture has been a big driver behind the patterns that we see in aesthetics because we so frequently view ourselves through filters,” Dr Ed Robinson tells Fabulous.
“These filters are becoming increasingly more advanced now.
“They can slim your face, and they can dramatically improve your skin quality.
“Often, patients will bring in pictures of themselves filtered and say that’s what they want to look like.
“When you are constantly viewing yourself through a social media lens, you get a bit distorted about what reality is.”
Risky Business
Women with enough money are willing to pay upwards of £5,000 to banish their double chins and snatch their jawlines.
Those who can’t afford that are heading to cowboy salons to get the treatment for a fraction of the price – and a fraction of the safety.
DIFFERENT FORMS OF JAW & CHIN LIPOSUCTION
Suction-Assisted Liposuction
The most traditional form of liposuction, the plastic surgeon will create a small incision under the chin and insert a thin cannula to suck out excess fat from the area.
Power-Assisted Liposuction
Similar to suction-assisted lipo, a cannula is inserted by the plastic surgeon to suck far out. However, in this technique, the cannula is motorized and vibrates beneath the skin’s surface to break up fat cells.
FaceTite
FaceTite is the new kid on the liposuction block, and was popularised by Olivia Attwood. It uses radiofrequency energy to help suction out fatty tissues while also stimulating collagen production.
Tumescent Liposuction
The plastic surgeon injects an epinephrine solution into the targeted area, causing the fat to swell and firm up. A small incision is then made, and a cannula is inserted to remove the solidified fat.
Our probe has found high street beauty salons in north west London offering “liposuction” procedures in the face with prices starting as cheap as £20 for 30 minutes – and they’re not performed by medical professionals.
While TikTokkers being gifted the pricey treatment for free may make face liposuction look like a relaxed process in posh Harley Street clinics, this is far from the reality in non-clinical salons.
Earlier this month, stomach-turning undercover footage exposed the shocking reality of chin liposuction procedures carried out by cosmetic cowboys in Britain’s high street salons.
Cameras captured the shocking moment a beautician pierces a client’s cheek with a sharp, metal “suction wand” to suck out fat.
Then, she let a student with less than an hour’s training take over.
Secret filming also showed the beautician admitting she had damaged “two nerves” and “one artery” during the hundreds of procedures she had carried out with students.
The blood-curdling clips were captured as part of an investigation carried out by ITV News into dangerous cosmetic practices being carried out by “wild west operators”.
The footage went viral on social media, with many Brits questioning if it’s really worth risking your life in pursuit of a sharp jawline.
The Kylie Jenner Effect
Unfortunately, some women are still being coaxed into supposedly good deals from cowboy practitioners who prey on insecurities to make a quick buck.
“We are the only country in the world where it is legal for that to happen, which is absolutely obscene,” Dr Ed tells Fabulous.
“Whether those celebrities like Kylie Jenner or Bella Hadid have actually had any jaw enhancement (they have actually come out and said they have in a lot of cases), with make-up, lighting and contouring it can appear like they have, and people have been speculating about it.
“People want to look like the celebrities they see.
“The Kardashians specifically have a huge influence.
“It is especially younger women who tend to follow these trends.”
Despite being a young woman herself at just 27-years-old, Kylie Jenner is rumoured to have gone under the knife multiple times.
She is constantly plagued with accusations of getting multiple Brazilian Butt Lifts, where fat is transferred from other parts of the body to enlarge the bum and thighs, and then getting the fat removed again.
Back in May, fans noticed changes to her jaw and chin – it was sharper and more pointed than before.
“Her ‘new’ jaw is too over projected and has taken away the softer, feminine shape she previously had,” one critic said on Instagram.
“It definitely is expensive to have the jaw line she ‘has’… I’m tired of this,” a second sighed.
But hoards of fans jumped to her defence, saying that they “loved the new look” and thought the new “masculine angle” gave her appearance a new edge.
Cheap but Not Very Cheerful
In a bid to recreate the youngest Kar-Jenner sister’s chiselled profile, British women weathering the cost of living crisis are seeking out cheap jaw and chin liposuction on the high street, doctors have warned.
And as the saying goes: if you buy cheap, you’ll have to buy twice.
“It should really be done by a surgeon as it’s quite a complicated procedure,” Dr Ed says.
“It is definitely not appropriate for a non-medic to be doing.
“In fact, it is very dangerous and there are lots of potential risks like infection, scarring, nerve damage and causing fatal blood clots.
It is definitely not appropriate for a non-medic to be offering jawline liposuction. In fact, it is very dangerous and there are lots of potential risks like infection, scarring, nerve damage and causing fatal blood clots
Dr Ed
“It is not something that anyone should be doing on the high street without a significant medical background, and it should be done in a CQC regulated premises by a surgeon.”
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England, and ensures quality and safety in salons and clinics who register underneath it.
“There are complicated and important structures particularly around the neck that you don’t want to be messing around with,” Dr Ed continues.
“You’ve got most of the nerves that go towards your brain and towards your body and you have major blood vessels, there is lots of potential to cause damage by someone who doesn’t know what they are doing.”
Dr Ed urged women considering the treatment to do their research on the different types of liposuction before opting to have the fat sucked from their jawline and chin.
There are complicated and important structures particularly around the neck that you don’t want to be messing around with
Dr Ed
“There is vasolipo and then there’s general liposuction,” he said of the two categories. “All of these are usually done by plastic surgeons and many of them require general anaesthetic.
“There is always a risk when you are having any procedure whether it’s in a hospital or on the high-street.
“If it is on the high-street it should always be done in a ‘hospital grade’ building.”
Dr Ed adds: “Most non-plastic surgeon doctors are not carrying out these procedures because they need to be carried out by someone who is properly equipped and trained by the Royal College of Surgeons.
“The ‘facetite’ hybrid procedure that we see influencers getting is not really like liposuction, so cosmetic non-surgical doctors will offer this.
“However, it technically still counts as a surgical procedure, so the CQC regulation you have for it still needs to be of a surgical standard.”