Does chewing gum make your face bigger?

You’ve probably heard the hype around the wonders chewing gum can do for jaw growth. But is it true, overblown, or just a scam?

The effects chewing gum has on the face has caused discourse for a while in the looksmaxxer scene. Is it an effective tool for strengthening and growing jaw muscles, making your face wider, and achieving the coveted defined jawline, or does it just make you look bulky and bloated?

What “bigger” really looks like at different body fat levels

Whether or not your face will look bigger from chewing mastic gum depends on your starting body fat level. Men generally see jawline definition around 15% body fat or below, with 10-13% considered the ideal range for chiseled features. For women, jawline definition appears closer to 20% body fat or below. Masseter growth on a lean face will be more visible than the same growth on a face with higher body fat.

Above 15% for men and 20% for women, your jawline will likely be masked under excess fat in the face, resulting in softer, less defined features. Even if you chew gum, muscle growth won’t be visible. Dropping below 10% body fat for men and around 13% for women can result in very sharp, gaunt facial features.

How face shape, gender, and anatomy change the outcome

The effects that chewing gum has on face growth differ depending on gender and facial structure. If you have a naturally wide jawline or bigger masseters, chewing may not do as much for you since you’re starting from an already ideal structure.

Men usually have more defined muscle in general, so masseter growth tends to be more visible, resulting in a squaring out of the lower face. The effect is subtler for women.

Some women worry that their faces will become too bulky and masculine, like a Quora user who asked, “Does chewing gum alter a woman’s face shape negatively?”² To some people, especially women, a slimmer jaw is considered the beauty standard, with serious beauty-seekers even paying for Botox to shrink their masseters.

Women have different bone structures than men and don’t put on muscle as easily. Unless you already have a very square jawline, you have nothing to worry about.

What to expect at a month, three months, and beyond

Gum chewers have shared their experiences with various hard gums on TikTok, Reddit, and elsewhere on the internet. Generally, the best results were achieved with mastic gum.¹

One mastic gum user tested Greco Gum to try to bulk up his jaw.¹ Before chewing mastic gum, he had tried regular gum, but that didn’t provide enough stimulus. Prior to his gum use, he hardly had a jawline. His jaw seemed to merge right into his neck.

He chewed every 1-2 days, periodically switching the gum to the other side of his mouth as he chewed. He noted that after chewing, he experienced jaw soreness similar to what you feel after a workout. Ultimately, his jaw muscles grew and now hardly ever get tired. But his results were not very visible, which he attributed to his genetic facial structure.

Based on the testimonies of different gum chewers, we can put together a timeline of what to expect:

After one month:

• A TikToker tested out hard chewing gum for a month and shared that in the end, he achieved a slightly pointier and stronger jaw.³
• A Reddit user showed her more defined jaw after chewing mastic gum for a little over a month.⁴
• The general consensus is that after a month, your jaw will likely feel stronger, and depending on your body fat percentage and facial structure, you may see subtle visible changes like a widened, squared-off lower face and more defined jawline.

After three months:

• One man on Reddit posted his jawline transformation after a year of mewing and three months of chewing.⁵ His efforts resulted in a significantly wider jaw and more defined jawline.
• A TikTok user shared that after three months of using hard gum, he didn’t see much difference from the front, but from the side he saw an increase in mass.⁶
• By the three month mark, you’ll likely feel and see more significant improvement if you chewed consistently. Again, the physical growth will depend on your genetic facial structure and body fat level.

After six months and beyond:

• After six months, consistent chewing is key to continued long-term results.
• One man on Reddit used Falim gum for six months and asked the community for advice since he’d barely seen any difference.⁷ However, he only chewed three times a week. The best results are usually achieved by daily chewing.
• To keep the results you’ve seen, continue chewing regularly. Don’t stop once you start seeing growth.

Most successful chewers saw steadily increasing jaw widening and musculature over time, but some furthered the process with extra measures like mewing and weight loss. Everyone will have a different threshold for what they consider a satisfactory end goal.

If you’re worried about overdoing it, expect that your face could continue to grow if you chew gum with the same intensity. You can always chew less frequently to prevent unwanted further growth. However, in five years of selling mastic gum, we’ve never received a complaint from a customer about their faces getting too big.

For more information on how jawlines change from before chewing gum to after, check out our new article. You can also see our breakdown of the best gum for jawline enhancement.

Will chewing gum actually make my face visibly bigger or wider?

Regular gum doesn’t provide enough resistance to make much of a difference, but if you chew mastic or another tough gum, it often results in a visibly wider and more muscularly defined jaw.

Is this a real way to get a more defined jaw?

Yes, the effects of chewing gum on the masseter muscles are backed by basic anatomy, and many chewers have attested to its effectiveness.

Will I end up looking blocky or bloated?

It’s unlikely that the increase in facial musculature will be so significant that it produces a blocky/bloated look unless you chew intensely for upwards of a year.

When should I stop chewing mastic gum if I don’t want my face to get too big?

How you want your face to look is up to you, and you can decrease your chewing if you want to slow down growth. To keep your jaw muscles strong, we recommend chewing mastic gum consistently so they don’t atrophy.

As a woman, will chewing gum make my face look too masculine?

It’s unlikely that a woman’s facial muscles grow so much from chewing that her face looks bulky or too wide. It’s more realistic that she would get a stronger, more defined jaw, which is generally considered attractive and healthy for both men and women.