Do jawline exercises work? What the research does and does not show

The honest short version

If you searched this, you have probably seen a clip promising a razor jawline in thirty days. Here is what sits behind those clips: very little controlled research, a lot of before and after photos, and products that benefit when you believe it.

That does not make every jawline routine pointless. It means the right reason to do one is the routine itself: a few quiet minutes, better posture, a habit you keep. It is not a reshaping tool, and your face is not a problem to be solved.

What the studies actually found

Method	What exists	Honest verdict
Jaw exerciser device	A two-person case report, about three months	No visible change for either person; authors say efficacy is limited
Face yoga and facial exercise	One small 20-week study, 16 women	Suggested fuller mid and lower face; too small to generalise
Mewing (tongue posture)	No controlled studies found	Orthodontists say no scientific support for reshaping the jaw
Chin tucks and posture work	Studied for head position, not jaw shape	Can change how your head sits, which changes how your jaw reads in profile

The jaw exerciser case report

A 2024 case report in an open-access medical journal followed two men, aged 27 and 24, who used a cheap commercial jaw exerciser for about three months, around ten minutes, one to three times a week. Neither saw a change in their double chin, jawline or neck tightness. The authors point out that the chewing muscles these devices train have no direct effect on the fat under the chin or on skin elasticity.

It is a tiny case report, assessed by the participants themselves with photos, and the authors say so. It tells you nothing is proven, not that nothing could ever work. It does tell you to be sceptical of a device that promises a shape change.

Face exercises

A 2018 JAMA Dermatology study, described in a Northeastern University article, had 16 middle-aged women do facial exercises for 20 weeks. The participants' faces seemed fuller in the mid and lower face afterwards. The article stresses that the evidence is slim and that bigger studies with control groups are needed. An aesthetics nurse quoted there points out that muscle is only one part of how a face changes, next to bone, collagen and fat.

We read the news article, not the full paper.

Mewing

Mewing is the habit of pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth. The American Association of Orthodontists' president is quoted in Discover saying there is no scientific evidence that it reshapes the jawline, and a 2019 paper in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery found no research supporting it. The same article mentions that pressing the tongue too hard may disturb tooth alignment or bite. If you try it, keep it light. Forcing it is not worth it.

What can change how your jawline looks

These are the levers that are actually in your hands, with nothing to buy:

1. Head position. Pushing your head forward makes the area under the chin look softer in photos and mirrors. A chin tuck trains the opposite position.
2. A relaxed jaw. Lips together, teeth slightly apart, shoulders down. Some people clench without noticing. If it hurts, see a professional.
3. Light and angle. Soft light from the front or side, camera at eye level. Anyone who has taken ten selfies knows this one.
4. Sleep and sun care. They show on your whole face. See the 30-day glow up checklist for a plain version.
5. A routine you keep. A five minute daily habit beats an intense week.

If you try a jawline routine anyway

1. Wash your hands and use light pressure. Nothing should pull, pinch or hurt.
2. Keep it to a few minutes. More is not better.
3. Stop on any pain and see a dentist or doctor for jaw pain, locking or clicking that bothers you.
4. Take a plain daylight photo once a month, same light and angle, and judge by how you feel as well as how you look.
5. Skip anything that involves hitting, scraping or forcing the face. Experts quoted in the Discover piece call hitting the face dangerous.

If you want a gentle starting point, the face yoga routine for beginners lists moves in the order to do them.

How to spot a misleading jawline claim

Ask four quick questions before you buy anything or follow a plan:

1. Is there a number of days? Anything that promises a shape change in a fixed number of days has skipped the evidence.
2. Who took the photos? Before and after pictures from the seller, with different lighting, are not data.
3. Is it a device? A cheap device with a dramatic promise deserves the extra scepticism the case report's authors showed, since they raised concerns about deceptive marketing.
4. Does it make you feel worse about your face? If a routine works by making you dislike how you look, drop it. A good routine leaves you feeling calmer, not smaller.

What to do instead of chasing a number

Pick the version of this you will do on a tired Tuesday. For most people it is the posture habit and a short, pleasant face routine. Judge it by consistency, comfort and how you carry yourself. If a change in how you look really matters to you, a dentist, orthodontist or dermatologist can tell you what is realistic for your face.