How to Get a Chiseled Jawline

Co-authored by Danny Gordon

Last Updated: November 29, 2024 Fact Checked

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Being born with a strong commanding jawline depends upon several individual genetic factors. Even so, there are many things you can do to maximize your own jawline. For some, this may entail losing weight to make your jaw more visible; for others, it is taking diet and even wardrobe into consideration. Whether you have a naturally bold jaw or a less prominent one, there's nothing stopping you from making yours look as fierce as can be!

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Exercising Your Jaw

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Consider purchasing a facial exercise program. If you're really serious about toning up the look of your jawline, there are actually programs available you can purchase that will run you through a wide variety of exercises and face-improving motions. Compared to most other fitness programs, they're relatively cheap and quite convenient to follow up on.
Smile. Smiling comes more naturally to some people than others, but the fact remains that it has a laundry list of benefits to the muscles in your face. As it goes with the rest of your body, the more you exercise your face, the better and tighter it'll look. Smiling is a great exercise because it is psychologically tied in with the experience of being happy, so it's not uncommon to notice an improvement in your mood if you make a regular habit of smiling on impulse.^{[1]
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3
Clench and release your jaw. Getting a better jawline is correlative to working the jaw itself. To do this, try clenching your jaw for 10 seconds before releasing it. This should come with a sense of mild discomfort as well as a subtle burn. Try doing this as many times as you want-- between 10 and 15 should be a good place to start in terms of reps.
- As time goes on, you should increase the amount of time you're clenching your jaw. This will encourage your jaw to continue toning.
- Jaw clenching is generally quite easy to fit into a daily routine. Due to the fact that it doesn't look as apparent and silly as many other facial exercises, it's even something you can do at work or on the train.
Tilt your head upwards and keep your eyes fixed on the ceiling. Next, strain your lips, as if you were trying to kiss something an inch above you. Maintain the strain for 5 seconds per rep, after which you should relax and give your lips a few seconds to recuperate. You can repeat this exercise as many times as you'd like, although 10 is a good place. This exercise is a great way to improve facial tightness, as the direction and strain work out a wide variety of facial muscles.
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Massage your temples. Massaging your temples and unfurling your brow is a good way to encourage blood flow and circulation throughout your face. Take two fingers from each hand and rub your temples in small, circular motions. Continue this for 30 seconds per session.
- Massaging temples is best known as a way to combat migraine headaches.
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Make a fish face. Making a 'fish face' is a great exercise for toning up your cheeks and jaw. Suck in your cheeks from inside your mouth and try smiling. Hold the form for at least 5 seconds per rep. It should feel mildly uncomfortable, and by the end of each rep, you should feel a light burn. This is a good thing, as it demonstrates your muscles have been strained by the activity. Repeat this 10 times for a good starting exercise, and feel free to increase the number of reps as it suits you.
- Exercises like the fish face are very easy to work into your daily routine, so long as you remember to do them. You can do them in the shower or before going to sleep.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Being Healthy

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1
Drink water. There are too many benefits for drinking lots of water to give proper justice here. Suffice to say, pure H2O intake is a necessary (and shockingly underrated) way of improving your overall health. Drinking water aids in weight loss and improved energy throughout the day. What's more, the surplus moisture will improve circulation throughout your face. Most of its benefits affect your jawline only indirectly, but it's one of the best ways to go about affecting positive physical change.
- If you have excess weight to lose, drinking water is a great way to shed pounds, as it will keep you feeling full without the excess calories associated with soda pop and junk food.
- Drinking water has also been proven to accelerate the body's metabolism.
2
Cut out refined carbs from your diet. Refined carbs, also known as processed carbs, are found in many foods like cookies, pastas, white bread, and cereals. These types of foods have very little nutritional value and can lead to the body storing extra fats, including in the face.^{[2]
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Go to source} Instead of processed carbs and refined sugars, make sure to eat lots of fiber-rich whole grains. Eating a healthy diet will enhance any results you get from exercise.^{[3]
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Danny Gordon
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Expert Interview. 18 October 2019.}
- In addition to cutting out refined carbs, fill up on fruits,^{[4]
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  USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
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  Go to source} vegetables,^{[5]
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  USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
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  Go to source} and proteins.^{[6]
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  Go to source} These foods are essential for a healthy diet and can lead to weight loss.
3
Consume less salt in your diet. Salt is one of the most overabundant ingredients in a modern diet, and it does terrible things to the skin. Finding ways of limiting salt in your diet (including focusing on a whole-foods diet and cutting out junk food) will have many positive benefits for your skin. Your skin will carry less water, making it less bloated and consequently more difficult for your jawline to appear.
- A lot of alternative diets are built around the idea of strictly limiting salt intake. Do some research, and find a diet plan that works for you and your lifestyle.
You've no doubt been told before that you need at least 8 hours of sleep per evening. Most people usually try to get by with 5 or 6. However, if you're looking to get your jawline looking its best, you're going to need to aim for the full 8 for your body take proper care of itself.
Stop smoking. Like salt or lack of sleep, smoking can be disastrous for the look of one's skin. If you are a regular smoker and want a better jawline, it can't hurt to quit smoking. As difficult as it may be at first, the improvement you'll see in the look of your skin after a month will keep you feeling enthusiastic and motivated.
Chew gum. Gum is one of the easiest and best-known ways of improving your jaw definition. Chewing gum has a lot of surprising benefits, not least of which is sharpening up your facial muscles. The enduring exercise should see results over the course of a few weeks. Best of all, it's a pretty fun thing to do, so it won't take much out of you to make a habit of it.^{[7]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Grooming to Suit Your Jaw

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1
Consider growing a beard if you lack a strong jawline. Not all of us will be born with a naturally chiseled jaw. If this is the case, growing a beard is arguably the best way of adding fullness your face.^{[8]
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- Also consider the general size of your face. Beards tend to make faces look smaller by contrast; if you have a larger face, growing a beard might help to even things out. On the contrary, if your face is naturally small, you'll want to keep your beard short and trim.
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Give your beard a defined neck line.^{[9]
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Research source} Growing a beard can have a significant effect on the look of your jawline. One mistake guys make very often is to trim their neckline too high, usually matching the arc of their jaw. This has the effect of making the jaw look weaker and less defined. If you tend to trim your beard with a higher neck line, try growing it lower than you usually would, all the while making sure the line is well-defined and reasonably well-maintained.
- If you're having any trouble deciding where your beard's neckline should be, try to imagine a line running in an arc from one ear to the other. This should extend well below the jawline, and should give it a look of greater fullness.^{[10]
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3
Choose shirt collars to suit your face shape. It's a general rule in the fashion world that any stylistic choice are affected by its surrounding areas. Shirts aren't generally associated or picked based on the shape of one's face, but it becomes more important if you're trying to emphasize your jawline.^{[11]
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- Oval faces have their widest point at the cheekbones, and are long compared to other face shapes. If you have an ovoid face, consider yourself fortunate; your face is very versatile and can suit a range of styles.
- Those with round faces will want to pick clothes that make the face look longer. Tight-collared shirts are a great way to go about this.
- Angular faces (a box shape) suffer an opposite concern than the round faces; if your face is angular, you'll want to add a look of fullness to it. Wide-spread shirt collars can be a good help in this regard.
Though it may seem the manly thing to do to let your beard run amok and grow freely, the look of your beard will be much more effective and impressive if you take the short amount of time each day it takes to keep it looking its best. This includes shaving hair that falls below your neckline, and trimming errant hairs that get too long. This controlled look for your beard will do wonders for your jawline.^{[12]
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Moisturize regularly. Skin blemishes and acne are quick and easy killers for hopes of a strong jawline. Even if you don't suffer these problems, just about every face can do with some added care. Regularly moisturizing is a great way to bring the look of your face up a notch. Moisturize with an oil-free solvent and give your face a cleanse every couple of days. Change won't come overnight, but you will see improvements as weeks go by.^{[13]
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- This is all the more important if you have an existing skin condition, like acne.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Beautifying Your Jaw

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1
Use a good skin toner. A great facial skin toner will prevent skin from sagging, meaning your face (and jaw) looking their tightest. Any buildup of excess dead skin flakes will rob your face of its natural vibrance and definition, so it's necessary to keep all of that under control if you're wanting a truly chiselled jawline.
- Aim to get an astringent toner, as these tend to be the best when it comes to skin tightening.
Collagen is the active ingredient in the skin that keeps the skin tight. Some cleansers and toners encourage collagen production in your skin, so it's recommended you do some research when it comes to buying products. Collagen-specific medical injections are also available, but the unnatural side effects make it hard to recommend as anything but a last-ditch option.
3
Accent your jaw with cosmetics. If you use makeup, you can emphasize the look of your jaw subtly via cosmetics. There are a few ways to do this; if you're not so used to using makeup, getting the effect right may take a few tries before you succeed. These techniques should be kept slight and subtle; this way, the human eye won't notice anything's been done to tweak your jaw's appearance.
- Contouring your cheek and jaw with a light bronzer will make your jawline more eye-catching. Apply it lightly in a downward motion, one or two shades darker than your natural skin tone.
- Highlighting your jawline lightly will emphasize its shape. Add a two inch line directly above your jawline. This will improve your jaw's visual definition.
- Taking a little bit of bronzer and dusting it along your jaw and neck will blend the above cosmetic effects. Be light with your application here; you just want to make it so that the contouring is blended a little better.
4
Consider surgical liposuction. As with virtually every other facial feature, surgeries are available to those who really want a quick fix. Digestive molecules are injected directly into the area you want to target, and burn down the excess fat, all the while encouraging positive collagen growth. Talk to a doctor if surgery sounds like something you might be interested in.^{[14]
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- If you're looking to get a chiseled jawline, cosmetic surgery is helpful and potentially effective, but the cost and possible side effects make it difficult to recommend unless you have exhausted all other possibilities first.
- Other non-surgical medical options include masseter Botox, jawline dermal filler, and Kybella injections.^{[15]
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Sample Exercises and Foods to Eat and Avoid

Exercises for a Chiseled Jaw Line

Foods to Eat and Avoid for a Chiseled Jawline

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Question

How can I slim down my jawline?

Danny Gordon
Certified Personal Trainer
Danny Gordon is an American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Certified Personal Trainer and Owner of The Body Studio for Fitness, a fitness studio based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With over 20 years of physical training and teaching experience, he has focused his studio on semi-private personal training. Danny received his Personal Trainer Certification from the California State University, East Bay and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

Danny Gordon

Certified Personal Trainer

Expert Answer

A weak jawline is often the result of having excess fat on your body. Switching to a whole foods-based diet and engaging in aerobic exercises will give you the improvements you're looking for.

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Tips

Giving due attention to other parts of your body, like the nose, cheeks or brow, can have indirect impacts on the way your jawline is received by other people.

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Remember, the most important part of looking good is customizing your look to suit what you've been given naturally.

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