3 Nonsurgical Treatments for Neck Lines

Women who have conscientiously followed a daily skincare regimen for years to keep their faces looking youthful come to our practice to address concerns about the appearance of their necks. Even though they’ve applied sunscreen and moisturizers to their faces, they often neglected to include their necks and have ended up with wrinkles and lines. Fortunately, nonsurgical treatments such as Ultherapy® can help our Fort Myers and Naples, FL, patients.

Your neck’s delicate skin requires just as much care as facial skin, and it’s never too late to start. Whether you’re concerned with preventing neck wrinkles from forming, or you’re looking to treat existing neck wrinkles, you can take steps to restore the youthful appearance of your neck. In this blog post, I’ll describe 3 nonsurgical treatment options that address neck lines and then offer some tips that can help prevent the neck from aging prematurely.

First, it’s good to know what causes lines and wrinkles on the neck. The causes include:

• Aging
• Sun damage
• Sleeping on your side
• Looking at your smartphone or tablet (“tech neck”)
• Smoking

Quitting smoking is a good idea for all sorts of reasons, but it is truly 1 of the worst culprits when it comes to making skin look older and unhealthy.

Treatment Options

A couple of decades ago, people concerned about sagging or wrinkled neck skin needed cosmetic surgery to improve their necks’ appearance. The development of minimally invasive and non-invasive treatment options has changed the landscape of the aesthetic field. Some patients may still require neck lift surgery to get the best outcome, but nonsurgical options can be a very effective path for patients who aren’t ready for plastic surgery or who just want to avoid it.

Treatments offered at our Naples-Fort Myers med spa include:

1. Dermal fillers: Certain hyaluronic acid fillers such as JUVÉDERM® or Restylane® products can help smooth the lines that develop on the neck. Fillers with thinner gels are often used to reduce neck lines because they have a lower risk of causing the “Tyndall effect.” This occurs when injectors use fillers too close to the skin, creating a bluish-green hue. Fillers can produce results that last several months to a year.
2. BOTOX® Cosmetic: This versatile treatment is well-known for reducing the appearance of crow’s feet and worry lines around the eyes and minimizing horizontal forehead wrinkles, but it’s also effective when used in the neck. BOTOX injections reduce the appearance of platysmal bands on the neck that becomes more prominent with age.
3. Ultherapy: This treatment is among the most popular nonsurgical skin tightening procedures we offer. It’s a non-invasive procedure that heats the skin’s deeper layers using ultrasound energy. The heat triggers the production of new collagen, which helps both tighten and lift the skin on the neck.

Preventing Neck Lines

Necks tend to show signs of aging earlier than the face because we don’t really think about skin care for the neck until we see lines and wrinkles. But it’s never too late to begin a daily regimen that includes the neck. Here are some tips for preventing neck lines:

Moisturize: The routine you follow to help prevent facial wrinkles can be used for the neck. Moisturizing your neck daily helps keep skin hydrated so the collagen and elastin can do their jobs keeping your skin taut and plump. Use an oil-free formula to avoid clogging the pores.

Apply sunscreen: Most people already know the benefits of using sunscreen every day, but have not applied it to their necks. To begin, use a high-quality product with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 that blocks both UVA and UVB rays.

Take screen breaks: This is really about paying attention to your posture. Most of us are tucking our chins to look at phones or laptops much of the day, and that can take a toll on the elasticity of the skin on your neck. It’s also a good idea to help preserve your vision health, too.

Neck exercises: Strengthening the neck muscles can help keep your skin smooth. How? When your muscles are tighter, they pull on the skin the covers them. This can result in a tightening of sagging skin and smoothing of neck wrinkles.

If you’ve been distracted by the appearance of your neck and think it makes you look older than you are, contact us using the online form to request a consultation. Or call us at (239) 262-5662 to schedule an appointment.