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How to Get Rid of Excess Neck Skin

asked 3 years ago by amoureux_de_chocolat in Chicago, IL
Latest answer by Tom J. Pousti, MD
Question viewed 31,908 times
Tags: age 45-54, neck, female, sagging, non surgical

I am an active, fit, thin 49yr old woman. However I have one issue that is making me uncomfortable about my appearance. I have a fold of excess skin running lengthwise under my chin. I don't have the sloping chin with excess fat. It seems to be just skin. My friends tell me that it's not noticable, but then I pull the skin back manually behind my ears and they are amazed. I quite litterally look 10 yrs younger! Are there any non surgical ways to get rid of this excess skin or are they a waste of time and money. Should I just go with a chin lift?

25 answers to How to Get Rid of Excess Neck Skin

Neck laxity and early facial drooping

Problems with facial drooping that look better when the skin around the ears is pulled back with the "magic fingers") call for a face and necklift for optimal correction. The face and necklift starts with a tightening of the neck muscles in the under-the-chin area. This is usually called a platysmaplasty. There are different types of platysmaplasty. We like the Neck-Lace platysmaplasty, an interweaving method of tightening the muscles, rather than tightening them down the center... more

Brent Moelleken, MD
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgeon

www.drbrent.com

+11

Improving the Neck

The neck is the one area in facial rejuvenation where a tighter and more toned surgical result looks natural and aesthetically ideal (as opposed to the face where ‘tight’ and ‘tighter’ just looks like surgery). Neck skin removal is accomplished through incisions around the ears which can be extended a short distance into the scalp if necessary. If the incisions are created and closed correctly and without undue tension, a very natural looking result can be obtained... more

Michael Law, MD
Raleigh-Durham Plastic Surgeon

michaellawmd.com

Neck issues are simple!

The problems of the neck can be broken down into anatomic structures and there findings as you age: 1. Sagging skin due to loss of elasticity Non-surgical treatment options - Laser Thermage IPL (Intense pulsed light) Chemical peels All have very little effect on the excess skin of the neck. Some believe their value borders on worthless. Surgical treatment options - Submental skin excision- either through a vertical or horizontal incision, skin can be removed from under the neck. The... more

Robert M. Freund, MD
New York Plastic Surgeon

No nonsurgical ways to get rid of excess skin in the neck

There are no nonsurgical ways to get rid of excess skin in the neck. Neck liposuction only addresses extra fat removal. A neck lift addresses fat removal both above and below the platysma as well as tightening the platysma anteriorly. When excess skin is present in the neck, a lower face/neck lift must be performed in order to tighten loose excess skin. The muscles have to be tightened underneath the neck in both the front of the neck at the level of the jawline and then skin tightened... more

William Portuese, MD
Seattle Facial Plastic Surgeon

You probably need an isolated neck lift without a facelift.

To amourei, Hi! It is very hard to give you specific advice without seeing you because every thing depends on the individual anatomy. There are literally 8 different causes for a "bad neck". Based on your description, a neck lift would help you. This is done through a short scar under the chin. If you have a weak chin, a small chin implant placed through the same incision can do wonders in redraping the skin of the neck. We do Thermage as a non invasive procedure to tighten... more

George J. Beraka, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

A necklift would be a nice, durable option

Your question is a very common one, and while most patients want to have the procedure with the least amount of downtime, I think an important question to ask yourself is if these nonsurgical procedures will create natural, durable results. With a necklift, the surgeon can control the variables that are contributing to the aged appearance of the neck, including relaxation and loosening of the muscles of your neck, not to mention excess skin and fat. The procedure is straightforward and... more

Shahram Salemy, MD
Seattle Plastic Surgeon

It sounds like you need a minilift.

From your description, it sounds like you have excess skin of your neck which is best handled by a minilift with the excision of skin with the incisions around the ear. The incisions can be hidden inside the ear. This is different than the small incision lifts with catchy titles. This is a facelift, but not as extensive as a full facelift.

Toby Mayer, MD
Beverly Hills Facial Plastic Surgeon

Excessive neck skin

Excessive neck skin can also include underlying muscle as well. If pulling your neck skin toward your ears gives you the dramatic look you desire, then likely a minifacelift or full facelift is necessary to achieve this look for you. If however the skin is limited to a small crepy area under the chin, then simply a minor neck muscle lift under chin with removal of the extra skin is all that is needed. Hope that helps!

Thomas T. Le, MD
Baltimore Facial Plastic Surgeon

Non surgical neck lift options

The skin can be treated in one of two ways: Excision of excess skin or redraping the skin over the course of the neck. The former requires an incision around the ears and the latter can be done without removing skin but by using sutures (there are several different methods) to redrape the excess skin over the length of your jawline.

Samer W. Cabbabe, MD
Saint Louis Plastic Surgeon

Non-surgical methods will not improve your profile much

I also think that non-surgical methods, whether laser resurfacing, liposuction, laser liposuction, radiofrequency tightening of the skin will only help so much. Shrink a shirt/Tailor a shirt analogy I think my colleagues have all made excellent points regarding surgery versus the non-surgical methods. I will use an analogy to help make my point. The non-surgical method is like trying to shrink an oversized shirt which you are trying to make fit skin tight.... more

George Yang, MD
New York Facial Plastic Surgeon

Neck lift

If you have redundant skin in your neck, limited contraction can be obtain with the use of Radiofrecuency but at your age if probably concider a surgical procedure for a more permanent results.

Alejandro J. Quiroz, M.D.
Mexico Plastic Surgeon

An isolated neck lift can dramatically improve the appearance of woman who have excess skin in the neck

A well contoured neck is one of the cardinal signs of a youthful appearance, and results with a neck lift, or vertical mini facelift, can be very dramatic. SImply put, if you look in the mirror, put your hands in front of your ears, pull up, and love the effect on your neck, this procedure can be the best one for you. We use a short scar technique, hidden in the contour shadows in front of the ear, and remove the excess skin surgically. Further contouring of the neck with liposuction can... more

Michael H. Rosenberg, MD
White Plains Plastic Surgeon

Non-surgical treatment of excess neck skin

There are several lasers and radio frequency devices that purport significant skin tightening, but in all honesty they can probably improve the skin laxity by about 10-15%. True lifting requires a neck lift surgical procedure.

Steven Wallach, MD
Manhattan Plastic Surgeon

Necklift is the most effective way to remove excess neck skin

There really aren’t any good non-surgical options to get rid of excess neck skin. Laser resurfacing and chemical peels do not work, and unfortunately the wonderful nonsurgical (injectable) tools we have that work really well for the face, work poorly for the neck. Neck liposuction does not work either, as that only addresses excess fat, not excess skin. The most effective way to remove excess neck skin is to have a neck lift procedure. During this procedure, tissue and excess skin are... more

Scott W. Mosser, MD
San Francisco Plastic Surgeon

Excess neck skin needs to be surgically treated

Excess neck skin needs to be surgically treated. Unfortunately, there is no way that works with the neck except to pull or tighten it and remove the excess. The neck does not resurface well from lasers or chemical peels due to the lack of sweat glands that aid in healing. Also, fillers have not been useful in the neck to create a lifted or tightened result. Even chemical peels have to be done at lower strengths on the neck due to the sensitivity of neck skin. There are several options for... more

Scott Trimas, MD
Jacksonville Facial Plastic Surgeon

There are several options...

As always, it is difficult to assess things without a full consultation where your goals and desires can be discussed in detail and a physical examination can be done. Besides the actual physical deformity, other considerations include how much downtime you are willing to tolerate and the degree of correction of the deformity that you want. In most cases, if there is excess skin of the neck, the best way to excise it is with a necklift +/- lower facelift. This will give the best result but... more

Scott Greenberg, MD
Orlando Plastic Surgeon

Neck Lift?

Thank you for the question. Unfortunately, it is not possible to give you accurate advice without direct examination or viewing pictures. However, based on your description you will most likely benefit from a neck/face lift procedure to get rid of the “fold of excess skin” It would be in your best interest to meet with a well experienced board-certified plastic surgeon. Best wishes.

Tom J. Pousti, MD
San Diego Plastic Surgeon

Vertical neck folds

Most likely the vertical neck fold beneath your chin is a combination of loose skin and platysma muscle bands. Laser tightening with the LifeSculpt (SlimLipo) laser platform is the only non-surgical treatment that may minimize the neck fold. However, if there is excessive muscle laxity then a surgical neck lift would be more corrective.

Lewis J. Obi, MD
Jacksonville Plastic Surgeon

Neck Skin Tightening

If you review the answers from the previous doctors, you can see why all the responsers where surgeons. The lone dermatologist seemed to offer little non-surgical hope. The concern you have, especially when aleviated by tugging on the skin around your ears, is why the minilift and full facelift were developed. This common problem is a surgical problem and to date, though many alternatives have been attempted, nothing else comes even close to delivering the results you... more

John Bitner, MD
Salt Lake City Facial Plastic Surgeon

Excess Neck Skin Treatments

Non-surgical is certainly the buzz word in plastic surgery with a few exceptions- neck skin being one of them. There is not a non-surgical treatment available which can tighten loose neck skin. The key here is removal of the extra skin to rejuvenate the neck and jawline. There may be more anatomy changes which are present in addition to loose skin so a thorough evaluation by an experienced facelift surgeon will help assist you in this process. This can... more

Anil R. Shah, MD
Chicago Facial Plastic Surgeon

A necklift (cervicoplasty) might correct the problem.

Sometimes the platysma muscle creates bands that can be confused with excess skin. Fixing this problem through an incision under the chin is fairly easy to do and easy on the patient. If skin is truly in excess, there is no good way to significantly shrink it. A lower facelift would be required to remove excess skin.

Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD
Atlanta Plastic Surgeon

You may be a mini lift candidate

Hi, If you have a little jowling and slight neck excess -- you may be a candidate for a minilift. A minilift should tighten your jowl and neck line. This will be the most cost effective way to improve your look. I would waste time and money on short lived nonsurgical options. Best, Dr.S.

Oleh Slupchynskyj, MD
New York Facial Plastic Surgeon

A tightening device may help you

Some patients receive a good response with tightening devices such as Thermage and Titan. Others do not receive the good result. There is no guarantee and it is a costly treatment. Liposuction is a surgery but can improve the looseness as well.

Ronald Shelton, MD
Manhattan Dermatologist

Laser skin tightening , and ideally neck lift

Several options are available for having excess skin in the neck area. Mild skin excess could benefit from laser tightening. If platysmal bands or excess fat is present additional procedures will need to be performed (liposuction, plication etc...) In moderate to excessive skin conditions specially with drooping of the jowl area a formal neck lift is the best lasting option. Some improvement could still be achieved with non-surgical methods but I do not believe they will last. Some... more

Hisham Seify, MD, PhD
Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon

Neck versus Chin lift: Here are some options.

I want to clarify one point. You probably would benefit more from a neck lift as opposed to a chin lift. Although tightening the skin makes you look better, tightening of the skin of the neck ONLY can result in making the jowl region look worse or more prominent. A strong chin will enhance the result of a neck lift. Your non-surgical options include : Botox if the band is worsened with activity or facial expressions or laser/radiofrequency skin tightening techniques. However, given your... more

Otto Joseph Placik, MD
Chicago Plastic Surgeon

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