Raise your hand if your first priority in your anti-aging pursuit is your face. Everyone? Obviously, right? I mean it’s your face! It’s what identifies you as you, and it holds your most defining and essential features. It makes sense to make your face the primary focus when investing in anti-aging treatments. The thing is, well…have you looked at your neck lately? Many of us are walking around with youthful, well-treated faces sitting atop stringy, saggy, spotty, multi-toned necks. Nora Ephron even wrote a book titled, “I Feel Bad About My Neck” describing this and other seemingly inevitable degradations related to getting older. We’ve heard it’s a great read if jaunty memoirs are your go-to genre. Although this book’s subject matter has more of a horror feel if you ask us…
But anyway, deep breaths! Many of the treatments we’ve applied to our faces can also improve the elasticity and texture of the neck as well. If your face and neck look 3 decades apart in age, read on to learn which treatments will remedy this.
Generally, there are three main problems to target when treating the neck.
The problem: DROOPINESS/SAGGING.
If it is excess skin that is causing droopiness and/or sagging;
- A skin-tightening treatment may help, such as TempSure Envi. TempSure Envi is a non-surgical skin tightening treatment that uses radiofrequency energy to firm up loose skin on the face and body. It’s a non-invasive, pleasant treatment with zero downtime.
- Other options include fillers, injected along the jawbone to pull slack skin taut, lifting and smoothing folds and creases.
- Neurotoxins such as Dysport, Botox and Xeomin can be used to relax the platysmal bands that run vertically from the jawbone to the clavicle tugging down on the skin, causing sagging and drooping over time.
- The latest technology developed for skin tightening is Fibroblast Therapy. Fibroblast is the only cosmetic treatment to use plasma to reduce the volume of excess skin. It delivers tiny arcs of plasma created by an electrical discharge, singeing the surface to tighten the underlying tissue. Low risk, minimal downtime. More affordable than surgery, but with very similar results.
If it’s fat that making the skin on your neck appear loose;
- a fat-dissolving technique such as Kybella could provide a solution. Kybella is a first-of-its-kind injectable treatment that destroys fat cells under the chin to improve your profile.
The problem: UNEVEN SKIN TONE.
Sun damage, acne scars, broken blood vessels, dark spots from hormonal changes, and redness from rosacea are among the conditions leading to uneven skin tone.
- IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) uses broadband light to target skin discoloration at a molecular level without incision. It is non-invasive, highly effective, and tackles multiple concerns with minimal application.
- Fraxel is another non-invasive, minimal downtime laser treatment available. A fraction of your skin is targeted with the laser, while the surrounding untreated tissue promotes accelerated healing, stimulates new collagen and adds firmness and resilience. Fraxel can repair sun damage, smooth wrinkles and diminish or eliminate acne scarring.
The Problem: WRINKLES.
- Oh the neck lines. They can be vertical or horizontal, like rings. The horizontal tree-ring looking lines are likely due, in part, to the amount of time we spend with our chins dropped toward our necks, looking at our phone or laptop screen. It’s a thing guys. With a name. It’s called, “Tech Neck”. A non-ablative resurfacing laser like Fraxel can also help here. Fraxel boosts collagen, resulting in tightening and smoothing of the skin.
- Radiofrequency treatment like TempSure Envi can aid here as well, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and improving skin elasticity along the neck.
- For some, vertical lines can be seen in the neck even when the platysmal muscles are not flexed. These vertical wrinkles can be greatly reduced or even eliminated by relaxing the muscles with a neurotoxin (Botox, Xeomin or Dysport).
Vampire Facial treatment can be considered when seeking resolution to any of the skin concerns mentioned above. Using blood-derived growth factors (PRP), the Vampire Facial Procedure is a safe procedure for renewing the skin of the face and other body areas for correcting texture and color. Through Microneedling, PRP is applied into the tissue resulting in tightening, smoothing, and increased blood flow.
The highly skilled providers at Amanda Rose Esthetics share your goal of looking and feeling YOUR best. So bring your lovely face on in for a visit and discover the possibilities awaiting your neck!
*IPL photo courtesy of racheljeffriesphotography.com