Beauty And The Blog

Anti-aging skin care for the neck. Yes, your neck. And your decolletage (that area between your collar bones and the top of your breasts). Ever think about it? Or do you just zoom in with that magnifying mirror on every little line on your face? By the way, both my dermatologist and I recommend that you lose that magnifying mirror. I used to stare into one myself. So every single imperfection became larger than life. No one, I repeat, no one, sees what you see when using a 4x or 5x magnifying mirror. So stop torturing yourself. If you must use one for the application of eye makeup, OK. But stick to the eye makeup and move on.

Back to the neck. Yes it ages just like your face does. As we age we lose the nice layer of subcutaneous fat (baby fat, so it’s sometimes called). Our faces and neck are the one area we don’t really want to lose fat, now is it? Because the fat in that area is what can keep your skin looking plump and youthful. Sadly, without it the skin sags. Around the eyes, cheeks and the neck.

So have you been ignoring your neck and decolletage when performing your morning and evening anti-aging regimen? Yes, you have? Time to start paying attention to that area.

The exact same cleanser, toner, exfoliate, serum, day cream with SPF and night treatment moisturizer should be going on your neck and decolletage (and that moisturizing mask as well). The same anti-aging ingredients are needed. Retinol/Retin A, antioxidants, skin identical and cell communicating ingredients (learn more here).

There are some products made that are specifically designed to treat the neck and decolletage. I have always used what I use on my face and find it works well. If you have the inclination and the budget to add further products to your anti-aging weaponry give some of those a try. Can’t hurt. But it isn’t a necessity as what you already have as far as anti-aging skincare for your face is fine (and you do have that, don’t you? If not, there is great stuff right here for you, check out the sidebar).

In addition to the loss of the subcutaneous fat layer there are other factors that add to the aging process of the neck and decolletage. Sun is a big factor. Smoking is another big one. Poor diet. A lack of moisture and reduced cellular turnover. All sound familiar? It should, it is the same as your face. The anti-aging routine should be the same.

So what if your neck is already showing obvious or pronounced signs of aging and you don’t think your usual skin care is going to do the trick? Or you have been using the same anti-aging products you use on your face and are still not happy (your neck can age faster than your face, yikes!)

Fillers such as Juvederm and Restylane are not an option for the neck. The area that would need to be filled is just too large. And it can leave behind unsightly bumps that may or may not recede. Botox is also not for the neck. It just doesn’t do the job and could cause issues with breathing. Personally, I like to breath.

Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is an option. It is non invasive, not too terribly expensive and can produce a nice result. Often tightening the skin by 15% to 20%. A chemical peel can provide the same smoothing and tightening result, but there can be blistering and peeling to deal with. That means down time, an obvious recovery. IPL does not have a recovery down time.

If you don’t mind an invasive procedure and have money you are willing to spend (lots), there are some other choices. These are surgical procedures.  There are three. Sometimes performed individually but often all together to achieve the best result, and called a Neck Lift.

Platysmaplasty gets rid of the banding look the neck often develops. The muscles of the neck are removed or altered (huh? and yuck). This procedure can cause neck, jaw and ear bruising as well as significant swelling. There is a recovery time of at least 10 days.

Next there is Cervicoplasty. This procedure will remove excess skin caused by sagging or weight loss. The bruising and swelling is the same as Platysmaplasty, as is the recovery.

Last, Liposuction. This is to remove fat deposits in the neck. Liposuction will also result in some bruising and swelling.

All of these procedures carry risks and possible complications. Any surgery does. There is the possibility of infection. It’s possible to have a reaction to anesthesia. There could be numbness of the skin but this is rarely permanent. Scar tissue and puckered looking skin could occur.

And there is also the possibility of getting exactly the result you are looking for, risk and complication free.

Choose your Cosmetic Plastic Surgeon carefully. Please. Do your research. Interview several surgeons. Find out if the surgeon can provide an Endoscopic Procedure (smaller scars, no general anesthesia, less bruising and faster recovery).

Don’t be in a rush. This is serious stuff and you will live with the result for the rest of your life.

So, what are you going to do about your neck and decolletage? Hmm? Your first step should be to use those anti-aging products you already use on your face, starting today…