Have you ever looked at yourself in a photograph and wondered where that flabby thing under your chin came from? When did it attach yourself to your otherwise attractive face and make people remark on how you've gained weight? Yes, it happens to every one! Even those skinny models you see on the glossy pages of beauty magazines almost always end up trying to hide their double-chins with turtleneck sweaters or funky necklaces. So, what do you do about a double chin? Of course, one begins with the initial step: trying to wish it away; but when that doesn't work (and it never will!), here are a few tips to help you return to the sharp and lean face you once recognized as your own.

The thing about a double chin is it isn't as easy to get rid of as fat from say, your thighs or tummy. And it can get pretty frustrating for someone who successfully manages to lose 20 kgs from his legs and yet finds that annoying skin still hanging there below his jaw. The reasons for your double chin may be genetic, i.e. if any of your ancestors sport a beard to hide his double-chin, chances are you might end up having to adopt the same style statement too! Of course, one can get double-chins even without having it in their genes. If you overeat regularly or if your facial muscles loosen up excessively, you could fall prey to the double-chin plague too!

Which brings again to the question: what do you do about a double chin? Well, to start off you need to tackle it as a separate problem altogether. Your bench-presses and jogging will not help in getting rid of this little piece of skin. You need to exercise your platysma muscle, which is the muscle basically responsible for your ability to move your jaws, mouth and neck. This muscle begins from below your chin and stretches down to your neck. And the most effective way of exercising this is by doing "platysma-stretches"!

Variations of the same basic stretch will help in re-tightening the muscle and preventing premature double-chins: Tighten your jaws as you outstretch your mouth and let it hang. Without moving your head or neck, try pulling your mouth towards yourself, as if you're trying to touch your neck with your lower jaw. Hold it for about five seconds and slowly shut your mouth again. Repeat this exercise and its variants as suits you about ten times on alternate days or at least, three to five times a week.

Chewing gum (make sure it's sugar-free if you're diabetic) and doing neck rotation exercises too should help. Find out what works best for you and make sure you follow the exercise routing regularly. Eat healthy and avoid binging at dinner parties! Of course, as you get older, you eventually will get a double chin. But, if you follow these tips, by the time you do get one: you shall be a cute old grandparent and it shall suit you! Till then, you finally know the answer to: "what do you do about a double chin!"