You get Botox, maybe even fillers, do an annual collagen booster, have a 6-step skincare routine, and apply SPF religiously. All of which is great, even admirable, but how much of those acts of self-care stop at your chin? It’s a natural habit, and most of us easily forget, but neglecting your neck can and will lead to notable signs of aging.
It’s true, the skin on your neck is thin, making it age faster than almost any place else on the body. Whether it is sagginess, crepiness, fine lines, neck bands, dark spots or rough texture, visible signs of an aging neck can be as diverse as the reasons they occur.
Tell Me Why…
Genetics/Lifestyle - While some people are born with deep set lines, others acquire them from years spent looking down on their phones or computers.
Gravity - Unfortunately, from the moment we're born, our neck and all of its structures are subject to descent from the force of gravity
Sun damage - Even if you remember to apply SPF at the beach, failing to do so daily, repeatedly for years eventually adds up.
Collagen loss - This happens as we age, and is exacerbated during menopause when our hormone levels drop.
Neglect - This doesn’t just apply to SPF, but your skincare and skin treatments too. If you give all the TLC to your face and skip out on your neck you may find yourself staring in the mirror wondering why your neck looks 10 years older.
Too Little Doesn’t Always Mean Too Late
So you’ve ignored her for years, it’s never really too late to start giving her, and that area below her, your décolletage some love. Depending on your main concerns, at Skin Worthy, there are a variety of modalities and Skinergy treatments that can help you and your neck looking its best.
Problem: Deep Lines aka Necklace Bands
These deep lines or bands that appear on the neck may be hereditary and present in childhood, but for many they become more prominent as we age due to loss of collagen and/or weight loss. And yes, we can’t forget tech neck. While many of us spend our days in front of a computer, we also on average spend 3.5 hours scrolling through our smart phones. The constant motion of looking down, can cause the muscles in your neck to be constantly strained, leading to the appearance of neck bands and wrinkles. While taking breaks from our desks and practicing good posture have benefits outside of forming neck lines, there are also in clinic treatments that can help to lessen their appearance.
Our Fix: Depending on the severity of your bands your treatment will consist of either hyper dilute dermal filler or a combination of dermal filler with the Beauty Booster to yes, boost hydration with our Skinergy treatment Neck Worthy. Dermal filler is injected in small boluses into the necklace bands to help smooth out any deep set lines and the Beauty Booster is then used immediately afterwards to further blur the lines and improve overall hydration. Our Neck Worthy treatment is 2 sessions done 4-6 weeks apart. This is for optimal outcomes, often 1 session is not enough.
Problem: Fine Lines + Dark Spots
You can attribute most of this to sun damage, along with other external factors and natural signs of again. Our necks are on display year round in t-shirt, blouses and sweaters, and protecting them from UV rays is important, so if it is an area you may have missed, try including it going forward. But what about the damage we’ve done?
Our Fix: Broad Band Light or BBL. The heat and light energy from BBL penetrates into deeper layers where it destroys pigment in cells and broken blood vessels to help normalize skin tone and stimulate collagen growth for more youthful and even toned appearance. A series of treatments are required for visible and even improvement to help fade discolouration and stimulate collagen growth for more youthful and plump looking skin. Even better? Try our More Than A Filter that combines BBL with the Beauty Booster for extra hydration. Similar to the BBL, best results will be seen after a series of treatments.
Problem: Loose Skin
Sagging skin along the jaw, neck, and décolletage occur over time as collagen and elastin start to break down. And as it ages, skin becomes thinner, crepey and less elastic, and it doesn't have the ability to bounce back like it used to.
Our Fix: Morpheus8 is our go to for all things skin tightening. Morpheus8 is a non-surgical advanced micro-needling treatment that uses radio-frequency to stimulate collagen production to tighten and improve skin quality. When it comes to the neck, this device is ideal for thickening skin, reducing laxity, increasing collagen and helping to create a contoured appearance. A series of 3 treatments is required as a base treatment to start seeing results.
Problem: Poikiloderma…poika what?
Poikiloderma is a skin condition that occurs due to excessive sun exposure. Symptoms of it include crepey skin, sun spots and redness from broken capillaries. Due to the multiple visual symptoms of this condition, combination therapy (that involves two or more modalities) is the ideal solution.
Our Fix: The Glow Getter. Combining the powers of BBL and Halo for extraordinary results. The BBL helps to target discolouration and boost collagen, while the Halo laser utilizes both ablative and non-ablative wavelengths to provide resurfacing results without the extended downtime. Add in Alastin Skin Nectar to speed up cell renewal, reduce healing time and enhance the results? Sign us up!
Problem: Prominent Vertical Bands
As our neck muscles weaken they tend to bow out, creating up and down lines in our neck. These vertical neck muscles known as platysma have a stringy, rope like appearance and are mainly prominent when clenching the teeth, clenching neck muscles, and pulling the jowls downwards. Strong platysma bands tend to be genetic and can be corrected with surgery however there are non-surgical options to soften their appearance and lengthen the neck.
Our Fix: Botox injections can be used to relax the platysma muscles in the neck. Small injections into the bands, allow the platysma to shrink, and therefore, the band to flatten. The effects of the treatment last for up to three to four months and can also help to lessen the pulling down of the jowls on the face and add some contour to the jawline.
By definition your face may indeed end at your chin, but your skin certainly doesn’t. So stop neglecting your neck (and décolletage) and start giving them the same attention and adornment that you do for your face. Let this apply to your face wash, your anti-oxidants, your retinol, your vitamin C, your SPF and yes, your skin treatments! Neck and décolletage add-ons are available for almost every solo and Skinergy treatment in clinic, so take advantage of them, and get yourself a face and a neck that look the same youthful age.
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