Is 25 Really Too Young for a Neck Lift?

It is very difficult to answer your question without seeing your pictures – you should consider posting images showing your areas of concern

"These are all natural parts of the aging process. What we can do is try preventative treatments or get a neck lift / face lift earlier in the aging process. There are numerous non-surgical options available, and some can be used in combination to get best outcomes, but you would need a consultation with an expert.

Some options for skin tightening include:

- Thermage radiofrequency to heat the skin, tighten it over time, and prevent the aging process
- Ultherapy high-intensity ultrasound to contract the muscle, tighten the face and neck, and prevent the aging process
- PDO NovaThreads or InstaLift threads for immediate lifting without surgery and long-term collagen production
- Sculptra injections for collagen production to areas of the face and neck with crepey skin or early sagging
- BTL Exilis Ultra, Venus Legacy, and Thermi250 for monthly collagen stimulation with facials
- ThermiRF, Renuvion (J Plasma), or Inmode BodyTite for internal heating and tightening with or without surgery
- Fillers (or facial implants) to contour the jawline and chin to improve the appearance of the neck
- Face lift / neck lift with fat grafting and fillers if you need a significant improvement​

​I would suggest getting a formal evaluation with a cosmetic dermatologist. Best, Dr. Emer​​​​"

Thank you for your question for sharing your concerns. Based on your age, I would recommend non-surgical approaches. I am finding that the combination of Kybella or Coolsculpting Mini to reduce the sub mental fullness and an energy device to tighten the skin are among the best non-surgical combinations to help your neck concerns.Kybella is an injection procedure that dissolves the fat an may require between 2-4 treatments spaced 4-6 weeks apart. There is some swelling and bruising potential, with the greatest amount with the first treatment.The Coolsculpting mini procedure cools the fatty tissue under the submental area and also reduces the fatty tissue under the chin.As far as energy devices, I would recommend Ulthera if you are looking for something with no downtime, or Profound if you could tolerate some downtime. Ulthera is an ultrasound based energy that heats the underlying tissue and stimulates collagen in response. Profound is a radio frequency microneedling device that allows for the creation of Elastin, collagen and hyaluronic acid and hence restores some of the lost elasticity in the neck. It has more visible downtime with the possibility of some swelling and bruising that diminishes in about a weeks time.

Hi CrnberySocr,

20's is generally too young for facelift surgery, including minilift. Poor skeletal structure may be present rather than aging. Better options to improve appearance of the jawline and neck may include liposuction and chin implants. Other aesthetic options to improve one's appearance at this age include such treatments as skin care, laser, light peels, or tretinoin.

Some younger patients might benefit from tightening the neck muscles, without removing any skin. This muscle tightening is commonly performed with neck liposuction via small incision under the chin.

Only after a comprehensive evaluation by a plastic surgeon can he/she help determine appropriate options for you. Best of luck.

Without physical exam, it is impossible to make a diagnosis, and thus not wise to offer advice. What you mean by a "weak" profile is unclear. Muscle is not likely involved at age 25, unless your digastrics are hypertrophic (overdeveloped). If so, and they bother you, young age isn't a contraindication to fix the problem. In my experience, open neck plasty with clearing sub and supra-platysmal fat can make a remarkable difference for young patients with a full neck and obtuse cervico-mental angle, trimming the neck significantly. The younger and sooner you have the procedure done, the longer you benefit from the result, and thus, the more valuable the procedure. Your surgeon should desire for you the greatest value.

In general, 25 years is an unusual young age for a neck lift. But at the end, I don't treat the patient's age but rather  the face an neck anatomy. Based on your very particular situation, management options can be discussed with their pros and cons - and maybe a necklift is one of them. A neck lift in younger patients can sometimes be the right answer in order to achieve the definition that you never had and other procedures simply cannot deliver.

Thank you for the question.

Without pictures or direct examination it is now possible to give you good advice. Consultation with several well experienced  board-certified plastic surgeons will be helpful.

Best wishes.

First you should get multiple opinions on this first. You can send me photos to fully answer your questions as well.  But a chin implant could improve your profile and neck line to a degree.  Some people are just born with neck laxity in the under chin area.  LIposuction could help you but you may still need a neck lift.  25 is young for this procedure. But I have had patients that I've done neck lifts at the age of 40 and above that told me they never had a defined neck as they had after a neck lift procedure that I've done for them. 

It is important to look at what is causing the problem in the jaw line definition irrespective of the age of the patient.  A chin implant will certainly give more augmentation and chin projection when there is a recession and retrusion to the lower jaw line.  In the neck itself there is fat located both above and below the platysmal muscle which must be addressed.  Men tend to have thicker skin in the neck, which does not give as much jaw line definition as woman from the neck lift procedure.  A platysmaplasty will also give more of a jaw line definition once any subplatysmal fat has been removed.  

The shape and elegance of the neck depend upon the shape and construction of the alternating layers of fat and muscle beneath the skin. In some people, those fat and muscle layers are built in such a way that the neck appears diagonal, with little definition. Although their neck hasn't actually "fallen", In these patients, a necklift done from under the chin can make a dramatic improvement. I have done several necklifts in young women with very gratifying results.