Yes, you can fix your ageing neck
When it comes to cosmetic treatments, the face may get all the attention, but the neck deserves love too. Novel technologies that go beyond creams deliver lifted, sculpted necks—without surgery.
You could spend days doing trials on various devices, professional treatments, and high-tech formulas designed to lift and firm the skin on your face, but necks get far less attention. Not only is the area below your jawline often neglected when it comes to skin solutions, but it’s far trickier to treat. “When people come in for a facelift, they always point to the neck and under-chin area first as their biggest issue,” says Reno, Nevada, plastic surgeon Erez Dayan.
Take it from Nora Ephron and her 2006 book, I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman: There’s long been a desire to have a smooth, youthful neck, as the fragile skin in that area shows the first signs of ageing. It’s why dermatologists always preach about bringing your skincare as far down as your bra. “The neck area presents a unique challenge because the collagen there is thinner and deteriorates more quickly, causing signs of ageing to appear sooner than on the face,” says New York dermatologist Shereene Idriss. Less collagen is why the skin on the neck loses its firmness and elasticity, resulting in crepiness. Treating the neck isn’t as simple as treating the face: Hyaluronic-acid-based fillers, which add volume to a sagging face, cannot improve lax skin on the neck, and high-heat lasers can actually deplete the delicate collagen in your neck.
While gravity always has the upper hand, there’s no denying that scrolling TikTok has resulted in more cases of “tech neck,” the horizontal lines caused by repeatedly looking down at a phone or computer. “While everyone has a genetic predisposition to these lines, they’re now appearing deeper and at a younger age due to modern tech habits,” Idriss explains. And that’s all before taking into account sun damage, especially since SPF on the neck and décolletage is usually an afterthought.
As neck-care needs have changed, so have the solutions. What used to be limited to creams that promised to firm the skin—but were only so effective—now includes ultrasound and radio-frequency devices and new uses for injectables.
Ultherapy is a noninvasive option for lifting skin that uses ultrasound heat and real-time imaging to precisely trigger collagen and elastin production. The new kid on the block is Ultherapy Prime, a faster, more personalised version of the technology. Its larger screen allows doctors to see clearer imaging for a more accurate treatment and even longer results, says Jennifer Levine, a facial plastic surgeon in New York. “Ultherapy Prime is best for those who have loose skin on the neck or jawline but aren’t ready for a surgical facelift,” she explains. While results vary, Levine says taut skin should appear over two to three months, and yearly touch-up sessions will help maintain results.
Dayan’s new go-to minimally invasive treatment for necks is QuantumRF, which creates short bursts of extreme heat (at a boiling temperature of 212 degrees in as quick as 250 milliseconds) to trigger an injury at the superficial fascia (the connective tissue directly under the skin) so that collagen and elastin rebuild. “Other devices like radio-frequency microneedling lack control and could burn the skin or even cause volume loss,” he says. Not only is the recovery time as quick as just one day post-treatment, but the results are more immediate, as the device’s targets are so close to the dermis. Only one treatment is needed for long-term results, Dayan says, and it even stimulates your lymphatic system, which means less swelling post-treatment and the ability to couple it with other technologies, such as Morpheus8 radio-frequency microneedling to further boost collagen production and resurface the skin.
One of the most exciting innovations in neck treatments isn’t brand-new to the scene but rather the new use of a tried-and-true method. Botox, the popular neurotoxin, recently received FDA approval for the lower face and neck area. While your doctor may have already injected your neck or jawline to rid bands caused by contraction of the platysma muscle (also known as platysma prominence), it technically wasn’t well studied—until now. “When using Botox for platysma prominence in the past, we didn’t have a proper technique,” says New York plastic surgeon Sachin M. Shridharani. “It was all based on our anecdotal experience using Botox off-label.” Now that Botox is approved by the FDA, injectors will have best practices for treating the neck, which will mean safer, more precise results.
Even artificial intelligence is being used to address neck woes. EveLab Insight’s Eve V, a skin-analysis technology that creates a 3D scan of one’s face and analyzes it with AI, has been used by brands like Shiseido and Beiersdorf, which use it to assist in product development, as well as stores for brands like Dior and Amorepacific, which can offer consumers bespoke product recommendations. After success with the face, Singapore-based EveLab announced the expansion to neck scans for both brands and doctors to adopt in the coming year.
All these new technologies are not intended to replace topical products. Both Dayan and Idriss recommend incorporating ingredients like retinol (the gold standard in wrinkle reduction), peptides, and growth factors to help boost collagen. Even at-home tools like red-light-therapy collars, which reduce inflammation and stimulate collagen production to diminish the look of fine lines and wrinkles, can help amplify and prolong in-office results.
As delicate as the neck is, don’t be afraid to pile on topical, injectable, and nonsurgical treatments. To transform the neck, more is more. “Neck treatments aren’t single-method solutions,” notes Idriss. “They should be customised to each individual and their needs, utilising a multimodal approach.”
Lead image credit: Pexels
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