New Ways To Get A Younger Looking Neck

It may have been the forgotten part of the body at one time, but no longer. Women are focusing more on the neck because they don’t want what’s below the face to give away their age. There are skin care fixes for fat deposits, sagging and wrinkles. So, it’s time to say chin up! Experts say give the neck a little TLC with both non-invastive options and more extensive cosmetic surgery treatments and see how much younger you look and feel.

By Dawn Tongish
The Plastic Surgery Channel

Nadine is like many younger women who tend to notice necks because she thinks they are a sure giveaway of a woman’s age. “I look at a woman’s neck and see a few lines and I just know that she is probably in her 40’s or maybe older.” Let’s face it. When you get to a certain age, the lines begin to appear in the neck. Women tend to pamper the skin on their face, but neglect the neck area. The ole’ neck skin just doesn’t get the same beauty routine.   

“I think women just don’t think the neck needs all of the attention like the face, when it really does” a dental hygienist added. She thinks women are starting to show their necks the necessary attention. There is no arguing, the neck takes a beating through the years. Experts say it is the thinnest skin on the body, leaving it vulnerable to spots, wrinkles, rolls and loose skin. Often, all of those signs start to become noticeable in the mid 30’s.

Chin Up! There is Help

Many times women will start to notice a difference in the skin on their necks about the time they start to get their first non-invasive cosmetic treatments. “Women will start getting Botox or other fillers to the face and then suddenly the neck and hands look older and out of sync,” says Dr. Mary Lupo. Dr. Lupo, a board-certified dermatologist in New Orleans says after seeing that stark difference, women often want to get proactive and provide their neck with a little more TLC.

Dr. Lupo points out that too much sun exposure is the biggest culprit to an aging neck. She advises women and men to lather up with sunscreen early in life and often throughout the years. It’s also a good idea to bring your face regimen down to your neck. The same anti-aging products that work on your face, will work on your neck, but if the aging is too advanced it may require an in-office, non-surgical treatment, like Botox, into the neck muscle which is called the platysma. 

“I will use very strategically placed Botox into the platysma muscle to relax it, so that it isn’t pulling the jaw line down and causing further sagging. The other thing we do is augment the jaw line with fillers that help to pull the neck up a little bit.”

Steady, Healthy Weight = Pretty Neck

It’s best to think of the neck skin as a very stretchy rubber band, according to medical experts. You don’t want to stretch it too much when you get older because it is less likely to snap back. It acts more like a rope, than a rubber band. It just sags as you get older. One way to prevent all of the stretching and pulling is to keep a steady weight. Try not to go up and down with your weight. “People who maintain their weight their throughout their life end up with a nicer neckline for their entire life. People who gain and lose, tend to stretch their skin,” Dr. Stephan Finical says.

Finical, who is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Charlotte, North Carolina advises maintaining a steady, healthy weight to prevent fat storage in the neck area. He says, if there’s a need to remove fat from the neck area, liposuction is a good treatment option.

“The neck is a good fat storage compartment and sometimes all people need is a little liposuction to take that away. It is a fairly easy process to achieve a better look.”

Neck TLC, The Non-Invasive Way

There are less invasive and less aggressive ways to achieve a younger looking neck, utilizing some of the newest devices. Thermi RF is an advanced skin tightening system that is available for use in the neck area. It is being used for fine lines successfully for patients who don’t want much down time.  Experts say laser treatments may also be a good option.

The best advice for those wanting a better looking neck is to know there is help. You just need to get ready to leave the turtleneck behind and say hello to a prettier, new neck.