This New Exosome Serum Helped Get Rid of My Double Chin

Testing beauty products is literally written in my job description. After doing it for the last 17 years, very few formulas knock my socks off. But this one—SickScience ShapeShift V-Line Jaw Defining Serum ($58)—did just that.

Let’s rewind: A few months back, I did a Zoom call with the cofounders of a new biotech brand, SickScience. The molecular scientists, Merve Yildirim-Canpolat, PhD, and Polen Koçak-Denizci, PhD, met in chemistry class in college more than 10 years ago. Both have backgrounds in genetics and bio-engineering and PhDs in biotechnology. While working on research to cure a rare type of cancer, they discovered the power of plant-derived exosomes. They decided to apply their technology (“NX35”) to beauty products, and SickScience was born. Their secret sauce—a patent-pending exosome technology using pineapple-derived enzymes—supposedly sends precisely coded instructions to cells, triggering a specific and effective response.

Their first launch, a vegan gel-serum, promises to contour the skin by “retargetting lipid droplets without harming the fat cells.” The result: a smoother, more sculpted-looking jaw and neckline with twice-a-day use in as little as four weeks. And although the serum was made to target that stubborn pocket of fat under your chin, people in their clinical tests used it on their thighs and belly with promising results. Of course I was thinking exactly what you are thinking: this sounds too good to be true. But as a newish mom of two who is turning 40 this year, it’s not my postpartum stomach that bothers me; it’s my fuller chin and neck area that stress me out. And after asking all of my go-to dermatologists about my concern, they all provided similar feedback: the jawline and under-chin areas are notoriously tough to treat, especially with at-home products. So, you better believe I threw the purple and silver capsule into my bag, brought her home, and slathered her on that night.

As I was testing it, I also sent bottles to a few Real Simple superfans to review for our Beauty Awards as well. The serum is light and free of fragrance and dyes. And unlike most tightening products that contain caffeine and peptides, this formula is said to target fat at a molecular level. I swept it on in an upward motion onto my neck and jawline twice a day. As I was noticing a difference, others were too. Cathy Vix, a 65-year-old reader in Goodyear, Arizona emailed me. “This gel is brilliant,” she wrote. “I don’t have tons of wrinkles, but my jawline has sagged. I’ve been applying it twice daily, and I’ve noticed fewer wrinkles and less sagging.” We all loved it so much, the serum won a 2024 Real Simple Smart Beauty Award. I featured it on a tv segment that resulted in selling out the brand’s inventory in a few hours and a 4,000-person waitlist. (Good news, they’ve since restocked.)

I don’t think I’ve ever told more friends and family members about a single product. I love that it’s not super expensive, it’s easy and painless to use (I’ve tried a few ouchy in-office jaw and neck-lifting treatments, and yowza), and with consistent use, you can actually see a difference. Full transparency, since taking the first picture (in February), I did lose some weight, but the newfound tightness I can see (and feel) along my jaw and along my neck is striking and a testament to the efficacy of this formula. Also, weight loss can cause sagginess in this spot, which I believe the serum helped to prevent. I still have a few horizontal neck lines (because tech neck), but I truly feel this serum helped sculpt and snatch my jaw and neckline, giving me a much-needed postpartum pep-in-my-step. The company’s second launch, PowerCycle Scalp Treatment Serum, promises to promote hair growth, and you better believe I’ll be slathering it on my scalp soon.