How to Lose Face Fat: What Works and How Long It Takes

Losing face fat requires making long-term dietary changes and lifestyle modifications, including physical activity. Together, these increase your body’s metabolism to burn off fat from your face and other parts where fat accumulates unhealthily.

Weight loss pills and facial exercises that claim to rapidly melt facial fat might offer short-term results, but these are usually not sustainable. In addition, losing face fat the right way has overall benefits for your body system in general.

As a medical doctor with knowledge of how the body uses and stores energy, I will show you effective ways to lose face fat without having to fall for weight loss scams or unsafe shortcuts.

Can You Lose Fat from Your Face Only?

Before we delve into effective ways to lose face fat, we need to talk about this. You cannot lose fat from only your face. Body fat loss is a complex process involving fat oxidation in different body fat depots simultaneously, in a process commonly referred to as fat burning.

Face fat should be distinguished from facial puffiness, which may be described as the change in the appearance of the face as a result of fluid accumulation in the facial tissues. While facial puffiness and appearance changes caused by loose skin or jowls can improve only on the face, face fat loss occurs together with overall body fat loss.

How to Lose Face Fat Safely

There is no single best way to lose face fat for men or women. This requires a combination of dietary modification and physical activity. Facial exercises can enhance your facial appearance by strengthening your facial muscles, but they do not cause facial fat loss. This is similar to belly exercises, which strengthen abdominal muscles but do not directly cause belly fat loss.

Here, we see some safe and effective ways to lose face fat without any untoward side effects or wasting money on scam products that show no results.

1. Improve dietary habits

Adopting better dietary habits is one of the best ways to lose face fat, as well as overall body fat. Improved dietary habits mean eating healthy food that satisfies your hunger, provides the essential nutrients, and in quantities that do not far exceed the body’s daily calorie requirements.

After eating, your body derives energy from food as calories. Eating excess calories per day can result in facial fat accumulation, making it harder to lose existing facial fat.

Carbohydrates and protein provide an equivalent number of calories per gram (approx. 4kcal/g each of protein and carbohydrate), while fat provides twice this number of calories per gram (9kcal/g of fat). This can help you better understand why certain foods are considered calorie junk while others are viewed as healthier alternatives.

Replace sugary drinks with lower-calorie options

The majority of sugary drinks contain refined sugars high in calories, low in fiber, and of low nutritional value. These cause blood sugar levels to spike within a short time of taking the drinks, leading to higher blood insulin levels. Insulin is the hormone responsible for storing glycogen as fat.

The body quickly stores the excess refined sugars as fat, but because sugary drinks have low fiber content, you become hungry in a short time. This makes you eat many more calories than you use daily.

Replace regular sugary drinks with water or lower-calorie alternatives like homemade fruit juices or whole fruits with higher fiber and intact natural sugars.

Include more fiber-rich foods

According to a study, replacing starch and refined carbs with whole grains and fruits has been linked to less weight gain in middle-aged adults. Fiber makes you feel full faster and stay full longer compared to processed foods with lower fiber content. This reduces your need to eat too frequently while maintaining normal blood sugar and calories.¹Wan Y, Tobias D K, Dennis K K, Guasch-Ferré M, Sun Q, Rimm E B et al. Association between changes in carbohydrate intake and long-term weight changes: prospective cohort study. BMJ 2023; 382:e073939 doi:10.1136/bmj-2022-073939

Globally, the recommended daily requirement of dietary fiber for adults is between 25- 30 g or more. This helps to improve digestion, enhance bowel movement, and improve nutrient absorption.²McKeown NM, Fahey GC Jr, Slavin J, van der Kamp JW. Fibre intake for optimal health: how can healthcare professionals support people to reach dietary recommendations? BMJ. 2022 Jul 20;378:e054370. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2020-054370. PMID: 35858693; PMCID: PMC9298262.

Whole wheat, brown rice, and vegetables are rich sources of coarse fibers. Another class known as viscous fibers has additional benefits of delaying hunger, lowering unhealthy cholesterol, improving blood sugar control, as well as a prebiotic effect on beneficial gut microorganisms.³Ibid., McKeown NM, et al. Examples of viscous fibers include oats, oat bran, beans, chia seeds, apples, whole oranges, and berries.

The overall effect is healthier gut activity and microbiome and better fat and sugar regulation, which can help improve body weight and lose unhealthy fat in the face and elsewhere.⁴Elena Jovanovski, Nourah Mazhar, Allison Komishon, Rana Khayyat, Dandan Li, Sonia Blanco Mejia, Tauseef Khan, Alexandra L Jenkins, Lea Smircic-Duvnjak, John L Sievenpiper, Vladimir Vuksan. Can dietary viscous fiber affect body weight independently of an energy-restrictive diet? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Volume 111, Issue 2, 2020. Pages 471-485. ISSN 0002-9165. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqz292.

Cut down on high-calorie snacks and fast foods

Snacks and processed foods are energy-dense, packed with hidden calories, saturated fats, and added sugars but without adequate fiber and nutrients that keep you full and nourished. Like sugary drinks, processed foods are high in calories and low in fiber. Additionally, they contain saturated fats, which can raise blood levels of low-density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol, referred to as the “bad” cholesterol.

To lose face fat, cut down on snacks and fast foods such as doughnuts, pastries, chips, burgers, and pizza. These are high-calorie foods with lower nutrient and satiety value.

Limit foods with high salt content

Salty food intake is not related to face fat, but it can cause temporary facial puffiness and water retention. Dietary salt is rich in sodium, a mineral nutrient that, when in excess, makes the body hold onto excess water. This causes facial swelling and swelling in other parts of the body.⁵Rakova N, Kitada K, Lerchl K, Dahlmann A, Birukov A, Daub S, Kopp C, Pedchenko T, Zhang Y, Beck L, Johannes B, Marton A, Müller DN, Rauh M, Luft FC, Titze J. Increased salt consumption induces body water conservation and decreases fluid intake. J Clin Invest. 2017 May 1;127(5):1932-1943. doi: 10.1172/JCI88530. Epub 2017 Apr 17. PMID: 28414302; PMCID: PMC5409798.

Examples of high-salt foods include instant noodles, canned meats, salted fish, crackers, and some fast foods earlier listed.⁶Haron H, Hiew I, Shahar S, Michael V, Ambak R. A Survey on Salt Content Labeling of the Processed Food Available in Malaysia. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Apr 4;17(7):2469. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17072469. PMID: 32260382; PMCID: PMC7178129..

Reduce alcohol intake

Excessive alcohol intake can contribute to face fat because alcohol contains high calories (approx. 7kcal/g) with no nutritional value—empty calories. It is also considered the least satiating macronutrient in the satiety hierarchy—despite being calorie-dense, it provides little or no dietary satisfaction, which contributes to overeating.⁷Hetherington, M. M., Cameron, F., Wallis, D. J., & Pirie, L. M. (2001). Stimulation of appetite by alcohol. Physiology & Behavior, 74(3), 283–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9384(01)00598-4

The body treats alcohol as a toxin that must be degraded and cleared. It is not stored and needs to be metabolized before other dietary sources like fats or carbohydrates. This priority preference can suppress fat oxidation, thus may promote facial fat accumulation over time.

2. Adequate physical activity

For overall health, adults need at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity every week, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. Adequate physical activity helps to balance your calorie intake with your calorie expenditure.

Though the body requires energy for essential functions, eating too many calories than you are using per day can cause accumulation of fat in depot areas, including the face, belly, and thighs. Being physically active improves your metabolism and enhances facial and overall fat loss.

Combining cardio (aerobic) and muscle-strengthening exercises is essential for efficient fat metabolism and better overall health. Cardio and muscle-building exercises enhance metabolism and fat loss. In addition, cardio exercises strengthen the heart and lungs and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Cardio exercises include brisk walking, jogging, running, and swimming, while muscle-strengthening activities include push-ups, planks, squats, etcetera.

3. Get consistent and adequate sleep

Getting consistent and adequate sleep has been linked to better weight management, while insufficient sleep is associated with weight gain, including facial fat accumulation. Poor sleep leads to abnormal eating habits by altering the levels of appetite-regulating hormones such as ghrelin and leptin.⁸Papatriantafyllou E, Efthymiou D, Zoumbaneas E, Popescu CA, Vassilopoulou E. Sleep Deprivation: Effects on Weight Loss and Weight Loss Maintenance. Nutrients. 2022 Apr 8;14(8):1549. doi: 10.3390/nu14081549. PMID: 35458110; PMCID: PMC9031614.

While the mechanisms through which inadequate sleep causes weight gain are many, here are some other ways poor sleep can contribute to face fat accumulation and overall weight gain.

• Longer eating window: Being awake longer provides more hours to eat in a day, often leading to late-night snacking and subsequent weight gain.
• Increased cravings: Sleep deprivation activates the brain’s reward centers that drive cravings for high-fat, high-carbohydrate, and sugary snacks.⁹Papatriantafyllou E, Efthymiou D, Zoumbaneas E, Popescu CA, Vassilopoulou E. Sleep Deprivation: Effects on Weight Loss and Weight Loss Maintenance. Nutrients. 2022 Apr 8;14(8):1549. doi: 10.3390/nu14081549. PMID: 35458110; PMCID: PMC9031614.
• Elevated cortisol: Poor sleep raises cortisol levels, a stress hormone that promotes fat storage in the body’s fat depot. It also contributes to fluid retention in the face. This appearance is often colloquially described as “cortisol face” on social media.¹⁰Leproult R, Copinschi G, Buxton O, Van Cauter E. Sleep loss results in an elevation of cortisol levels the next evening. Sleep. 1997 Oct;20(10):865-70. PMID: 9415946.

How Long Does It Take to Lose Face Fat?

There is no established number of weeks for visible facial fat loss. Research has measured reductions in facial fat after six months of dietary and lifestyle adjustments, but noticeable reductions could occur in less than six months.¹¹Tsaban G, Bilitzky-Kopit A, Yaskolka Meir A, Zelicha H, Gepner Y, Shelef I, Orr O, Chassidim Y, Sarusi B, Ceglarek U, Stumvoll M, Blüher M, Stampfer MJ, Shai I, Schwarzfuchs D. The Effect of Weight-Loss Interventions on Cervical and Chin Subcutaneous Fat Depots; the CENTRAL Randomized Controlled Trial. Nutrients. 2021 Oct 27;13(11):3827. doi: 10.3390/nu13113827. PMID: 34836081; PMCID: PMC8617936.

Loss of face fat depends on the intervention and follows overall weight loss. In a study, steady calorie restriction of about a 25% reduction in daily calorie requirement (approx. 700 fewer calories per day) resulted in an overall fat loss of 0.22kg per week. This produced almost similar results when exercise was used to produce similar calorie deficits throughout the period.¹²Redman LM, Heilbronn LK, Martin CK, Alfonso A, Smith SR, Ravussin E; Pennington CALERIE Team. Effect of calorie restriction with or without exercise on body composition and fat distribution. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Mar;92(3):865-72. doi: 10.1210/jc.2006-2184. Epub 2007 Jan 2. PMID: 17200169; PMCID: PMC2692618. With overall weight loss, face fat loss also occurs.

Do Facial Exercises Help Reduce Face Fat?

Facial exercises do not burn facial fat, but they may improve facial muscle tone and facial appearance. Facial fullness, often mistaken for face fat buildup, may be due to weak facial muscle tone.¹³Lim HW. Effects of Facial Exercise for Facial Muscle Strengthening and Rejuvenation: Systematic Review. J Kor Phys Ther. 2021;33:297-303. https://doi.org/10.18857/jkpt.2021.33.6.297

Examples of facial exercises include the cheek puff, the big smile and teeth-clench, and the neck stretch with tongue press exercises. These exercises may result in facial rejuvenation and improved appearance not linked to fat loss. Facial fat loss is driven by a systemic process of caloric deficit, metabolism, and hormonal regulation.

What about chewing gum? Chewing gum engages the masseter muscles and other jaw muscles, but it does not reduce face fat. Regular chewing activity strengthens the muscles of chewing without significantly affecting facial fat or the shape of the face.

When to See a Doctor for Face Fat

Certain medical conditions and medications are linked to face fat accumulation. These include Cushing’s syndrome/disease, hypothyroidism, and chronic intake of corticosteroid medications.

When there is persistent or unusual fullness, it might be time to see a doctor. Your doctor will examine you and carry out some investigations to determine and treat the underlying cause.

Weight Loss Medicines and Face Fat

You’ve probably heard of “Ozempic face”—facial volume loss that can occur with significant weight loss. Medicines such as semaglutide (Ozempic), GLP-1 agonists, and tirzepatide (Mounjaro), a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist, do not directly target facial fat. They cause overall body fat loss, which frequently leads to noticeable facial volume reduction.

Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist medications work by reducing appetite, increasing feelings of fullness, and slowing gastric emptying, helping people consume fewer calories.

These drugs are approved for prescription treatments for type 2 diabetes and chronic weight management in eligible patients. Their use may require medical assessment, as facial fullness alone is not an indication for their use.

Can Cosmetic Procedures Reduce Facial Fat?

Cosmetic facial procedures like face liposuction, cheek reduction, and face lift can reduce facial fat quickly, especially when diet and exercise do not work. These procedures involve removing buccal fat pad, superficial subcutaneous fat, and excess jowl fat, respectively.

Cosmetic facial procedures are carried out by plastic surgeons specialized in cosmetic surgery. Your surgeon will take precautions to prevent complications and ensure that only the appropriate amount of fat is removed. According to Dr Megan Noe, M.D at Harvard, over-removal of fat can lead to a prematurely aged look as natural facial volume declines with age.

Dr Kofi Boahene, M.D., a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at John Hopkins, also pointed out that doctors typically recommend waiting till the ages of 18-20 years before removing buccal fat. The face shape and buccal fat pads change as the face matures, and some people with a rounder face may outgrow it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final words

Losing face fat does not work as a spot reduction through targeted facial exercises. It occurs through long-term improvements in diet and general lifestyle over time.

Rather than looking for some miraculous pills for sudden facial fat loss, watch your calorie intake, get more physically active, and cut down on alcohol. These beneficial modifications can significantly improve your overall health in addition to the body and face fat loss benefits.