Youthful face, ageing neck

The looseness of the skin on the neck has the cartoonish name of “turkey neck” but while the name might sound cute, there is nothing cute about wrinkly, old-looking sink that looks like a turkey’s wattle.
Turkey neck is caused by ageing, weight loss or improper care, the most common of which is failure by most of us to ignore the neck when applying skincare products and sunscreen to our faces. Over time, the lack of protection and nourishing causes the skin on the neck to age at a much faster pace than the protected and pampered facial skin.
However, turkey neck can happen eve with regular and liberal applications of sunscreen and moisturiser. Generally, neck skin is thinner and has less collagen than facial skin and is thus more vulnerable to environmental damage. Another factor that causes the neck skin to become loose is the platysma – the muscle that gives your neck its youthful contour. When the platysma muscle sags, whether because you don’t use it much or because of ageing, the skin becomes loose.
Many people have asked me whether “facial yoga” can help firm up the neck skin. I think it might help to a certain degree, but there is no strong evidence to support this idea. Also, in order for the facial exercise to yield visible results, you have to do it often and for an extended period of time.
If you are unable to commit to a long-term exercise programme, there is a non-surgical treatment – Ulthera – that uses ultrasound technology to encourage collagen growth. Ulthera uses time-tested ultrasound technology to heat tissues below the skin’s surface, stimulating collagen production. The production of new, stronger collagen will make the skin appear more youthful and tighter in a natural-looking way.
Immediate tightening and lifting can be noticed after the first treatment, and results will continue to improve during the first six months. Results may last a few years or more, depending on how well you take care of your skin, as well as genetics. The technology is approved by the FDA in the United States to lift skin on the neck.
While the technology is no replacement for a surgical procedure, it is effective enough to significantly improve the appearance of the skin without any downtime involved. Ulthera is ideal for those who are in the early stages of ageing, with mild to medium skin laxity. If the skin is extremely loose, surgery might be called for.
Prevention is better than cure, and early cure is definitely better than leaving the problem until it becomes severe.