I have very prominent SCM muscles on the front of my neck. What are my options to smooth these out? (photo)

Thank you for your question. Your options would include surgical and non-surgical treatments. Perhaps you would be more comfortable starting with non-surgical injectables before moving towards a more permanent solution with surgery. I suggest that you move forward and consult with a board certified facial plastic surgeon to discuss your candidacy.
Best wishes,

Hi Ardenama,Don’t worry!  Skeletons don’t have muscles, so you don’t look “skeleton-like”!  In fact, you appear very fit, so congratulations on the success of your lifestyle.I recommend at most pursuing, as one contributor pointed out, make-up techniques for removing shadowing.  Botox, even if it did work, will cause muscle dysfunction.  And you’d have to have it repeated every 3 months at relatively large doses.  And I doubt you’d find any board-certified surgeon to surgically debulk the muscle; even if you did find someone to do this, there’d be a long recovery period healing and learning to the work with the residual muscle.Best wishes,Dr. Jay

I'm sorry that this answer might disappoint you, but there is no really good way to reduce the appearance of the SCM muscle surgically.  It is a very strong muscle and I have doubts about even Botox helping.  In most people, the SCM is camouflaged by surrounding fat but you likely don't want to get the area fatter just to improve camouflage.  I can't think of a way to help you.  Best of luck in your search!

There are non invasive options for improvement to the neck, which include:
botox, dysport or xeomin and/or fillers to help platysmal bandsthermage radiofrequencyultherapy high intensity ultrasoundPDO nova threads or instalift for liftingsculptra injections for collagen productionbtl exilis ultra, venus legacy, and thermi250 for constant collagen stimulationJ plasma or thermiRF internal tighteningI recommend getting a formal evaluation with an expert. Best, Dr. Emer

From the single image submitted I can discern a fit and thin young female.  To have a very visible scm outline in a thin neck is a normal landmark.  I would not advise any surgical or even injectable intervention.  I would suggest that your experiment yourself or consult a makeup expert to explore how different makeup shadowing will diminish the contrast of these normal structures.I see what you are concerned about; I would approach this in a tempered fashion as suggested,Good luckBe well and best regards,Fred G. Fedok, MD FACS

Hello ardenama, Thank you for your question and sharing your images.  Unfortunately, there is not a straightforward way to treat prominence of the SCM as it is a normal and functional structure in the neck.  Your best option would be to consider Botulinum toxin injections to reduce muscle strength and possibly bulk over time, but there would be a risk of impacting the muscle function and your ability to turn your head, so I would not necessarily recommend it.  I hope this is helpful.All my best!  Dr. ElizabethFellowship trained Double Board Certified Facial Plastic SurgeonAmerica's Top Plastic Surgeons (Castle Connolly)"This information has been provided without seeing the individual and should not be construed as medical advice."

Thank you for sharing your question and photograph.  Unfortunately your SCM musculature is difficult to "treat" as they would not be addressed with a neck lift or conservative management.  The ways to reduce the prominence of any muscle is either to surgically reduce the bulk, which would lead to weakness turning your head left or right, or applying Botox to reduce its muscle strength leading to atrophy over time.  This too would weaken your ability to turn your head.  I would not recommend either.

Thanks for the question and your photo. It is best to seek information from a board certified plastic surgeon who performs botulinum toxin injection. This will soften the bands easily without the need for surgery. Good luck.