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How to get a better jawline: what works, what does not, in order

Last updated: September 2026

A jawline is three things, and most advice mixes them up. Definition is the sharpness of the edge between the jaw and the neck: that is fat and skin, not bone, and it is the part almost everyone actually wants. Width is the distance between the two jaw corners: bone plus the masseter muscle. Angle is how square the corner is: bone. The list below is ranked by how much each change shows in a photo, and the free jawline test measures the width and angle so you know which part you are working on.

1. Lose the fat under the chin

Submental fat is the layer between the jawbone and the skin of the neck. On most men it is what hides an edge that is already there. It is also the fat that responds first to a calorie deficit on the face, and the change shows in weeks, long before the scale moves much. There is no spot reduction; the deficit is what works. If you are already lean and the edge is still soft, the cause is elsewhere on this list.

2. Fix the posture that hides it

Forward head posture (chin poked out, ears in front of the shoulders) folds the skin under the jaw and shortens the neck. Pull the head back over the shoulders, lengthen the back of the neck, and the same face gains an edge in the mirror. Chin slightly forward and down for photos, not up. This costs nothing and it is the only item on the list that works today.

3. Build the masseter, if you want width

The masseter is the chewing muscle over the jaw corner. Hard chewing (tough gum, a jaw exerciser) grows it over months and adds visible width at the corners. It does not change the bone, it does not sharpen the edge, and overdoing it gives some people jaw pain and headaches. Worth it if your jaw measures narrow and tapered; pointless if the width is already there and the problem is fat.

4. Shape the beard line

A beard trimmed with a clean edge just above the natural neckline draws the jawline where you want it. A beard that runs down the neck erases it. On a soft jaw a short beard adds an edge that skin alone does not have; on a sharp jaw, stubble keeps the angle visible. Shave the neck below the line, keep the cheek line natural.

5. Use the camera honestly

A camera held below the chin widens the jaw and sharpens the angle. Every jawline photo on the internet uses it, and the test corrects for it, which is why your score can be lower than your best selfie looks. For a fair read, shoot at eye level. For a profile picture, a slight downward chin and a camera a little below eye level is fair game.

What does not work

• Mewing. Tongue posture has no measured effect on adult jaw bone. Read the mewing results guide before you spend a year on it.
• Face yoga and jaw exercises. They tone nothing that shows. The masseter is the only face muscle big enough to change a silhouette, and chewing already trains it.
• Jawline creams and devices that promise to melt fat. No.
• Bonesmashing. Hitting the face to stimulate bone growth is a way to break a face, not to grow one.

What surgery does, for completeness

Filler along the jaw and chin adds width and angle for a year at a time. A chin implant or genioplasty adds projection, which only a side profile shows. Jaw angle implants square the corner. Submental liposuction removes the fat in item 1 for people who are lean everywhere else. These are real procedures with real risks, and they solve one of the three things, so measure first.

Measure before you start

Run a front photo through the jawline test: jaw angle at the corners, jaw width against your cheekbones, and a jawline score. Narrow and tapered means width (item 3 or filler). Wide but soft means fat (item 1) and posture (item 2). Wide and sharp means you are done, and the photo was the problem. Then take the same photo into the app for the definition read, the part a landmark test cannot see.

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