How to Reduce the Look of a Puffy Jawline
Medically reviewed by
4 independent reviewers
Andrew Conrad Barile, PT, DPT
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) | Licensed Physical Therapist (PT) | CEO and Founder, Xtreem Pulse LLC
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Dr. Andrew Conrad Barile is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and the CEO and Founder of Xtreem Pulse LLC, the engineering company behind PureLift. He earned his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Daemen College and is a licensed physical therapist.
He brings over two decades of clinical and entrepreneurial experience across physical therapy, craniosacral therapy and medical device innovation, built on a working knowledge of human anatomy and muscle physiology.
For PureLift LAB he reviews how current is delivered across all ten levels, from sub-sensory nanocurrent and skin-level microcurrent to motor-level EMS, and how the Infuse pass fits into the same ten-minute routine.
Bertica M. Rubio, M.D.
Board-Certified Physician, Dartmouth Medical School | Medical Director, Antiaging Regenerative Medicine Clinic
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Dr. Bertica M. Rubio is a board-certified physician and Medical Director of the Antiaging Regenerative Medicine Clinic in Redlands, California. She earned her Doctor of Medicine from Dartmouth Medical School and completed her pediatrics residency at UC Irvine Medical Center.
With decades of clinical experience, she specialises in age management medicine, regenerative medicine, wound healing and growth factor therapies, and her practice integrates evidence-based medical science with advanced aesthetic treatment.
For PureLift LAB she reviews articles for medical accuracy across the whole dial, from the gentle nanocurrent and microcurrent settings through to muscle-level EMS and the Infuse pass.
Daniel Grinberg, MD, FACS
Board-Certified Otolaryngologist | Head and Neck Surgeon | Fellow, American College of Surgeons | Mount Sinai
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Daniel Grinberg, MD, FACS is a board-certified otolaryngologist and head and neck surgeon at ENT and Allergy Associates in West Nyack, New York. He earned his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
He completed his otolaryngology residency at New York University Medical Center, serves as Assistant Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and is a Fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Otolaryngology.
For PureLift LAB he brings a wider clinical lens, connecting at-home facial stimulation from microcurrent to EMS to the anatomy underneath, with the same rigour we apply to every device specification.
Prof. Dr. med. Ivo Buschmann
Chair of Angiology, Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg | Clinic Director, University Clinic for Angiology
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Prof. Dr. med. Ivo Buschmann is Chair of Angiology at the Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg Theodor Fontane and Clinic Director of the University Clinic for Angiology at the Brandenburg University Hospital.
He trained at the University of Hamburg, was a Max Planck Society Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, and held senior consultant posts at the Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin before his appointment as Chair in 2016.
One of Europe's leading authorities on arteriogenesis, with over 150 peer-reviewed publications and US and EU patents, he reviews for PureLift LAB how the evidence on electrical stimulation is read and where its limits lie.
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A jawline that looks heavy is usually one of three separate situations: retained fluid, an overworked chewing muscle, or tissue that has descended.
This article covers what actually decides the answer, such as:
- Telling the three apart
- If it is fluid
- If it is the masseter
- If it is descended tissue
- The technique that applies to all three
and many more!
The clenching case in particular gets worse, not better, if you stimulate the muscle.
Key Points:
Fluid varies day to day and is worst on waking; muscle bulk and descended tissue do not change overnight.
Clench your teeth and feel just in front of the ear; a hard bulge that appears is the masseter.
An enlarged masseter from clenching needs releasing, not stimulating.
Descended tissue responds to muscle tone over months, not to drainage.
Work toward the ear and then down the neck, never downward along the jaw.
Telling the three apart
Fluid fluctuates. It is worst when you wake, better by lunchtime, and worse after a salty dinner or a bad night. If your jawline is noticeably different from one morning to the next, fluid is a large part of it.
Masseter bulk does not fluctuate. Clench your teeth and put your fingers just in front of your ear; the muscle that hardens under them is the masseter, and if it feels large and permanently tight, and especially if you wake with a sore jaw or headaches, clenching is the story.
Descended tissue is the steady one. It looked like this last month, it will look like this next month, and it is worse standing than lying down. That is volume and support rather than fluid or muscle bulk.
Plenty of people have two of the three at once, which is why the morning check and the clench test are worth doing before buying anything.
If it is fluid
Light pressure toward the ear and then down the neck, following the drainage route. The lymph vessels sit just under the skin, so pressing hard closes them rather than emptying them.
Cold helps quickly and briefly. Getting up and moving helps because muscle contraction is one of the things lymph relies on.
Sleep with your head slightly raised, and notice what salt and alcohol do to your own face over a week; the pattern is usually obvious once you look for it.
The improvement lasts hours and returns tonight, which is what drainage does rather than a failure of it.
If it is the masseter
This is the one where the obvious move is wrong. An enlarged masseter is an overworked muscle, and stimulating it electrically asks a muscle that is already doing too much to do more.
Release it instead: firm slow pressure on the muscle itself, jaw relaxation through the day, and a mouthguard at night if you grind. If clenching is significant, a dentist has more to offer here than any facial device, and a clinician can discuss options for reducing the bulk directly.
Deal with the clenching first; whatever else you plan to do to your jawline will work better afterwards, and will be considerably more comfortable.
If it is descended tissue
This is the case where muscle tone genuinely helps, and it is the slow one. Kavanagh and colleagues measured an 18.6 percent increase in cheek muscle thickness over 12 weeks of motor-level facial stimulation across 108 women (10.1111/jocd.12007).
On PureLift, levels 1 and 2 are nanocurrent and microcurrent and do not contract anything; level 3 is where the motor threshold is crossed. If the muscle is not visibly moving in the mirror, you are not doing the work this case needs.
Work upward and outward from the chin toward the ear, and include the neck if your model's instructions cover it, since the platysma is continuous with the layer above.
Judge by monthly photographs in consistent light. Twelve weeks is the honest horizon and three is too early to conclude anything.
The technique that applies to all three
Always work toward the ear and then down the neck, never downward along the jawline; you are following the direction the tissue has drifted away from and the drainage route at the same time.
Keep the skin damp with a water-based serum. A session that starts to drag means a dry patch rather than a need for more power.
Three minutes per side is the maximum on any PureLift model, and the ten minute session ends on its own.
When to ask someone
Swelling on one side only, or puffiness that does not settle through the day, is worth mentioning to a doctor rather than treating as a cosmetic matter.
Persistent jaw pain, clicking, or morning headaches belong with a dentist.
For the full breakdown of which technology sits where on the dial, see how the nine PureLift technologies work.