Chin

Chin

You might have a textbook-perfect profile, but the chin can make or break it--depending on how firm the skin beneath it is, says Harold Clavin, M.D., plastic surgeon at the Medical Center of Santa Monica in California.

"People don''''t realize how important the chin is," says Dr. Clavin. "They don''''t look at their profiles, but the fact is, other people do."

Here are some ways to keep your chin looking firm.

Avoid neck-stretching exercises. Some cosmeticians recommend neck exercises to reduce sagging skin. If you followed their advice, you''''d be craning your chin throughout the day. Overworking the delicate skin under your chin is exactly what you shouldn''''t do, according to Peter Bela Fodor, M.D., assistant professor of plastic surgery at University of California, Los Angeles. "It''''s stretching the skin, and it''''s all wrong."

Don''''t yo-yo. Repeated weight loss and weight gain stretches out neck skin, Dr. Fodor says. What was once a double chin eventually becomes excess skin if you get on the yo-yo diet merry-go-round. If you want to lose weight for good, the best solution is a regular aerobic exercise program and a low-fat diet. Avoid crash diets, Dr. Fodor advises. Once you take that weight off for good, the better chance you have of losing that sagging skin.

Hands off. Don''''t habitually tug on the skin under your chin, as ponderous types tend to do, says Dr. Clavin. "Believe me, that can stretch the skin," he notes.