I'm 24, female, and I have horizontal ring like folds that circle the entire circumference of my neck. What can I do?

Question

Each line on my neck forms separate compartments of fat deposits, creating a sausage like appearance of ‘neck folds’ or ‘neck rings'. No matter how much weight I loose I still have the problem. I dropped down to 55kgs and I am 5'7. Although my neck smoothed out a lot, the lines remain very visible. Even the slightest movement of my neck creates the sausage like effect. This is especially noticeable when I lie down. Besides my 2 sisters I have only met another 3 people with the same problem.

James Bonaparte, MD, MSc, FRCSC · Answer

Thanks for your photo's, they are very helpful. It looks as though you may have lost some weight and possible have abit of extra skin. At your age and with this problem, i'd recommend non-surgical options. Radiofrequency skin tightening - This is a technique that can gently heat the skin and literally tighten it. This often will reduce some of the folding you see. But keep in mind, some people have anatomy that just lend them selves to this problem so It likely wont't get rid of 100% of it, but I am sure it would helpOther than that, there are other forms of skin tightening, but I would advise one of my patients with our probelm against anything surgical at this time. I would try another method first. James P. Bonaparte, MD, MSc, FRCSCOtolaryngology - head and Neck SurgeryFacial Plastic and Reconstructive SurgeryOttawa, Ontario, Canada

Erik Hoy, MD · Answer

Hi , Amena-- thanks for your question.  Everyone has these neck creases to some extent.  Maintaining a healthy diet and weight is paramount.  At rest you have a very normal appearance to the neck, and everyone develops these creases when the neck is flexed or extended.  You may just have a greater propensity of these areas of the creases to pigment, or to form more prominent folds.  I don't think you will be happy with Ultherapy to these areas of very minimally lax skin...just my opinion.  Best wishes,--Erik Hoy, M.D.

Hal Michael Bass, MD · Answer

At your age, I would recommend a non-surgical treatment, and Ultherapy is especially effective for lifting and tightening skin in the area of the neck, chin and jaw line. The procedure is completely non-invasive, using the energy of ultrasound to reach deep below the skin's surface where it stimulates collagen production much the way a surgeon's scalpel does - without any incisions. Your one-time session will take 60-90 minutes, and you should start seeing a smoothing of the your neck folds within a couple of weeks. This smoothing will continue to improve week after week, and you'll see optimal results within three months of your treatment.

I'm 24, female, and I have horizontal ring like folds that circle the entire circumference of my neck. What can I do?

Answers (3)