There’s a popular group of trends going around these days, some going by the name mewing, looksmaxing or aesthetics training, just to name a few. All of which are ways to train your body or face for aesthetic purposes using various techniques. Being into personal training myself, I’ve been interested enough to look into some of these techniques to see if any can be used to help my routine. I’m still a bit skeptical on mewing and some of the looksmaxing techniques, but one simple technique that seems harmless to try is gum chewing.
Admittedly I’ve chewed a lot of gum in my life. Most of the time it’s been some sort of minty sugar free gum to help my breath smell better, or just something to chew on while trying not to think about food when cutting weight. Even more recently it’s been a way to help me quit smoking and vaping. But I never thought it was something to use as a training technique until now.
From what I understand, this technique is fairly simple. You chew harder-than-average gum for an extended period of time in order to build up the masseter muscles in the jaw. Over several weeks of this, the jaw muscles will grow in size and can contribute to a more square jawline, which many people admire or find aesthetically pleasing.
So, if you choose to try to strengthen your jaw, then first thing to do is choose the right gum. There’s a lot of different options out there to select from, and to be fair there’s not many wrong answers when initially starting out. Really, at least when first getting going, you just want your jaw to get accustomed to chewing more frequently so it doesn’t get intensely sore with tougher gum. If you rarely or never chew gum then any standard gum at the grocery store will work to start. Just don’t buy too many, because you’ll be upgrading soon once you get used to chewing for long periods of time.
Once you’re comfortable with standard gum, the next step is finding an appropriate gum for training. There’s a couple name brand gums like Jawliner that are specifically made for jaw training, but those are typically much more expensive. Instead, there’s two types I’ll recommend that are fairly inexpensive and work well for getting those jaw muscles worked out.
Mastic Gum
Mastic Gum is the premier option for jawline training in terms of overall quality and hardiness. This gum originates in Greece, where it’s harvested as a sap-like resin that is excreted from Mastic shrubs. The native shrub is cut at intervals along the branches, where the sap then drains and collects on the sand. There it hardens into a rock-like, yellow substance. Once dried further and cleaned, this is now mastic gum. With this being the natural harvesting process, this is one of the most natural forms of chewing gum possible and contains no preservatives, no sugar, and no calories.
One of the biggest draws of mastic gum is the strength of this gum. I had read a review online that mentioned this gum is harder than average, but I didn’t realize how serious they were until sampling it myself. It is easily 10x harder than any standard gum sold in the US, if not more. I understand this gum comes in several different packages and sizes, so i can’t describe every form, but the type I got was a package containing an assortment of yellowish crystals of various shapes and sizes, mostly around the size of a peanut. The instructions indicated that I take a rock or two, place them in my mouth and let my saliva warm it up until it’s pliable, then start chewing. It seriously feels like you’re sucking on rocks at first, but then it slowly breaks down into a chewable mass.
I can assure you this gum is nothing like I’ve ever experienced. First, it’s definitely challenging to chew. I’d describe it as immediately being the texture of gum that you’ve been chewing for a week and has lost almost all elasticity. If that doesn’t connect visually for you, a similar example might be like a construction putty, one that needs to be kneaded a bit to be used. Once it gets going it’s not so aggressively dense, but you get a workout getting it started. You really only need maybe 10-20 minutes of chewing to see some results, but you can go longer. I’ve gone up to 4-5 hours or more to get the strain I want in my jaw. It really depends on how dense the specific piece you are chewing on is that day. Being that it’s all natural, you can expect a little difference in each piece you chew. Ideally, you can chew this every day or every other day for the best results.
Then there’s the discussion of taste. This is not a flavored gum by any means. Some say there’s no flavor at all, but I think that’s because it’s an all natural flavor. To me it tastes like what I imagine pine sap flavored chewing gum would taste like. Or in general what I expect tree resin to taste like. It’s not glamorous and it’s not exactly appetising, but it’s there. Some like it and some don’t. Personally I don’t mind it, i think it’s different and a great way to cleanse the palate after a meal. A review i read claimed it tastes like manliness, which I can get behind. It’s not exactly a flavor I love, but it’s easy to chew for hours with just that hint of flavor rather without being too overbearing or dull.
One of the great things about mastic gum is that it doubles as a boost for your body’s natural defenses and is quite healthy for you. Several studies have proven that chewing mastic gum for just 20 minutes a day significantly reduces mouth bacteria, and others have indicated it may positively affect gut health as well. Speaking from personal experience, my mouth definitely feels cleaner for longer after chewing this gum than when chewing other gums, and my stomach has had seemed less irritable since I started chewing mastic gum.
Here’s just a few tips I learned along the way that might be helpful:
- Mastic gum can technically last forever if stored properly. I like to store my chewed piece in a shallow cup of water or on the edge of a mug, and then refrigerate until I want to chew again. This can be done any number of times until you decide to start a new piece. This is especially handy knowing that this gum is a bit more expensive than others.
- Don’t chew mastic gum with food in your teeth. It will get stuck in the gum and it will be annoying.
- Drink a glass of water before chewing mastic. It helps wet the gum and is a good idea in general to hydrate more.
- Mastic gum can melt if not stored properly. Keep the package in a fridge or cool place, otherwise it will melt into a large mass of goo.
- Mastic gum can dissolve in your mouth after several uses. This seems to depend on the size of the piece used and how long its been chewed for, but I’ve randomly had the entire piece just disintegrate in my mouth after chewing for a day or so. As far as I know there’s nothing you can do about it, just get a new piece.
- Mastic gum is not a replacement for regular dental care. It can be used as a supplement to regular care for extra benefits, but this does not replace the work of regular dental hygiene. This tip is mostly geared at 10 year old me that would have absolutely tried to argue for this anyways.
Falim Gum
Another popular type of gum for training the jawline is Falim gum. To be clear, Falim gum is technically just a brand of mastic gum that is made in Turkey. This took me forever to realize since many websites don’t really explain this. The main difference is that Falim is a name brand that is processed in a factory into commercially packaged products, while mastic gum is the umbrella term for gum harvested from the mastic shrub. Falim comes wrapped with several different flavors in standardized sizes. It’s much cheaper overall as well, so it’s easier on the wallet if you prefer to use a fresh piece each time. The standard flavor is nearly identical to standard mastic, so no major differences there. However, the drawback is that it’s not as difficult to chew as pure mastic. If mastic is 10x harder than regular gum, then I’d say Falim is closer to 4x. Still a good workout, but not as much of a strain than pure mastic.
I’ve tried both and switch between the two types regularly. Falim I like to use when I’m out and about because it offers more flexibility (if I choose to throw it out I don’t feel like I’m wasting it) and I can easily put it back in the wrapper for later if i want to reuse. Mastic is not as easily stored on the go, and is normally best if you chew until you can properly store it or throw it out. Comparatively, I’ve found Falim is very easy to reuse without much fuss other than finding the wrapper. I normally have to use 2 or more pieces to get the full size I want to chew, but i’ve found this lasts an incredibly long time and the flavor sticks for as long as I’ve been able to chew it.
The one major downside to Falim is the reduced toughness, so you have to chew longer for the same workout. It’s also slightly less healthy being that it’s manufactured and likely mixed with other components. However, the gum still boasts being approved by dentists, so there must be something still working for it. Plus its easily transportable and does not melt, so it makes for a great alternative in a pinch.
Final thoughts
Between the two gums, it’s hard to go fully wrong either way. There are some pros and cons to each and it’s definitely not everyones cup of tea. But if you do choose to train your jaw with gum, I think both of these options are great places to start. I found both gums on Amazon for less than $20 total (the Falim was $5 for a pack of 100). I will suggest to start with Falim, as it’s less of an investment and gives you an idea of the flavor. If you can handle the taste and difficulty of the chew, it may be time to upgrade to full on mastic gum for the best results.
When purchasing mastic gum, I’ve had the best luck with the packages directly out of Greece that contain pure Mastic pieces. I believe you can get this in a powder as well. I have not tried this, but other reviews have mentioned the powder is more difficult to use, so I would recommend against that form.
I’ve used both interchangeably for the past few weeks and can positively say I can see my jaw increasing in size and strength. I can already chew for much longer than when i started, and my jaw is less sore after chewing all day. The best part is that I’m not growing tired of the flavor, and oddly enough I even sometimes crave it. This has helped me want to keep chewing and stay on goal, which is always an appreciated bonus.
In my research studying these gums, i was hoping to find a guide that gave a good description of both products along with how to use them for best results. I never found that guide. I hope this can now act as a starting point for others in a similar bind looking to make some improvements in their jaw structure.
As always, thanks for reading. Rock on, stay strong.