For a turkey, neck wattles rank right up there with washboard abs when it comes to attracting the opposite sex. For people — not so much.
Sagging, drooping, wrinkled neck skin is one of the fastest ways to look older. That’s why in the United States, about 200,000 neck lifts are performed each year, making it one of the most popular cosmetic surgery procedures overall.
At Sanctuary Cosmetic Center in McLean and Dulles, Virginia, Soheila Rostami, MD, helps women and men get rid of their turkey wattles using advanced surgical techniques, for a slimmer, sleeker, more youthful profile. Here are four reasons why you might want to consider a neck lift with Dr. Rostami.
Everyone knows wrinkles become a lot more common with age. That’s largely because as we get older, our skin undergoes some key changes, with significant reductions in collagen and elastin production.
Collagen and elastin work together to keep our skin toned, supple, and taut. As skin ages, production of both collagen and elastin slows down dramatically, leaving skin a lot more prone to sagging and wrinkling. Sun damage, illness, and even genetics can play a role, too.
These age-related changes are a major cause of wrinkles and lines on your face — and also in your neck, chin, and jawline.
Your skin is designed to stretch a little bit to accommodate minor fluctuations in weight. Once you lose the excess weight, your skin gradually “re-conforms” to your new, slimmer contours.
But if you’ve gained a lot of weight, your skin can be stretched beyond its capacity to “bounce back” after you drop those extra pounds. That means that even once you reach the end of your weight-loss journey, you can be left with sagging, drooping skin in your chin and neck areas.
No amount of “facial exercises” can restore skin that’s been “overstretched.” If you’ve lost a lot of weight, a neck lift can restore your slim profile by getting rid of excess tissue and “toning up” lax muscles.
Lax skin doesn’t just hang and droop. Sometimes it creates visible bands or folds — either horizontally or vertically.
Vertical bands are sometimes called platysmal bands, because they reveal the underlying platysma muscles. But no matter what you call them or what causes them to appear, neck bands and folds aren’t going to go away on their own.
Some areas of excess fat are easily targeted with a little extra exercise. But other areas — like the area under your chin — just won’t budge. In fact, under-chin fat can happen even if the rest of your body is trim, toned, and fit.
The problem with under-chin fat (also called submental fat) is that it can make your whole face look puffy. And since your face is what most people notice, you can wind up looking overweight, even if you’re not.
Despite what you might see on TV or the internet, facial exercises really can’t do much (if anything) for submental fat. A neck lift can slim down the area by permanently eliminating extra fat while also tightening up sagging skin and muscle tissue.
By eliminating sagging and drooping, a neck lift can redefine your jaw line, your chin, and your neck, giving you a more youthful profile and improved self-confidence. To learn more about neck lift surgery with Dr. Rostami, call the practice or book a consultation online today.
