As we age we tend to focus on pampering and protecting our face and often overlook the neck and chest. We don’t moisturize these areas or apply sunscreen regularly while these areas are regularly exposed to the damaging rays of the sun. Our neck and chest tell the truth about our age.
Photoaging is responsible for 90% of visible skin changes including pigment changes, and deterioration of elastin which gives the skin flexibility and collagen the skin’s structural support. Chronological aging causes skin thinning, reduced elasticity, and loss of skin tone and firmness which causes wrinkles and sagging.
Characteristics of the aging neck and chest
The aging neck is often called a turkey neck. It is characterized by skin laxity causing sagging at the jawline (jowling), and the neck, fat deposits and horizontal neck lines, wrinkles and sunspots.
The aging chest or décolleté is the area below the neck and between the breasts. The skin on the décolleté is more delicate and thinner with fewer oil glands than other areas of skin which makes it susceptible to dryness and easy wrinkling. It is also subject to gravity, sun damage, hyperpigmentation and vertical lines and wrinkles. Side sleeping and unsupportive bra can contribute to vertical wrinkles on the chest.
What treatments are available to rejuvenate the neck and chest?
CO2 laser skin resurfacing
Fractional CO2 neck rejuvenation is an effective treatment option with long-term efficacy for patients who have neck laxity and jowling with skin surface pigmentation. Laser skin resurfacing can refine and enhance the skin, improve tone and texture, and remove superficial wrinkles, sun damage and age spots.
Fractional CO2 lasers break laser energy into thousands of rays of energy that create microchannels of vaporized damaged skin and ultimately remodel collagen and elastin for firmer, smoother skin. For the first week after treatment the skin will feel like sand paper as the old dead skin is sloughed off to reveal new healthy skin that will be visibly smoother and tighter. However, synthesis of new collagen and elastin can take 3-6 months.
Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)
IPL photorejuvenation improves the tone and texture of the skin using light energy that penetrates the skin and heats the subsurface layers to improve the appearance of discolorations, wrinkles, spider veins and enlarged pores.
The Ellipse IPL™ treatment rejuvenates your sun-damaged skin and makes it look clear and bright by delivering short bursts of light that directly target the blood vessels or melanin within your skin. Potentially harmful wavelengths are removed using a patented Dual Mode Filtering system. The remaining wavelengths are absorbed by the hemoglobin in treated blood vessels, and the melanin in your freckles, sun spots, and other pigmented lesions.
Treatments do not damage the surface of the skin. Treatments stimulate the synthesis of new collagen to smooth wrinkles from the inside. There is no downtime and results are long-lasting. For optimal results a series of treatments may be recommended.
Radiesse® and Sculptra® combination treatment for the neck and décolleté
Radiesse is a calcium hydroxyapatite gel filler that can rebuild lost skin structure providing instant volumization to smooth moderate to severe wrinkles and folds and promotes the synthesis of new collagen over the course of a few months to restore lost volume.
Sculptra Aesthetic uses poly-L-lactic acid to increase skin thickness gradually by stimulating collagen production for lasting results that appear over several treatments.
The combination of these two fillers restores lost collagen and improves skin elasticity for better tone and texture and smooths chest and neck wrinkles. Several treatments over the course of six months provide the best results. Although results can take some time to become apparent, the volumizing effects can last 2 or more years.
Dr. Hashemi often recommends IPL treatments for pigmentation in addition to filler treatments for neck and décolleté rejuvenation.
During your esthetic consultation with Dr. Hashemi at University Skin Institute, she will listen to your concerns and goals, examine your skin and provide a plan to address your concerns and goals. She will explain her recommendations and answer your questions. Contact Dr. Hashemi to schedule a consultation today.