Natural Needle Neck Lift + Neck & Decollete Treatments

Three years after I trademarked my Natural Needle Lift for the face, I created a separate lift just for the neck. The neck, under the chin and the decollete can be areas of concern for patients of all ages, but especially as the skin ages and people are looking for more intervention and lift in their face, they’ll notice the same aging in their neck. The purpose of the Natural Needle Neck Lift is to diminish the appearance of neck bands, tighten skin and increase the production of collagen in the neck area. In this third installment of the Natural Needle Lift Series, we explore the Natural Needle Neck Lift and combining this technique with complementary neck and decollete treatments.     

Don't miss the first two installments in this three-part series about the Natural Needle Lift! 
Part 1 of Natural Needle Lift Series: The Natural Needle Lift: 20's & 30's
Part 2 of Natural Needle Lift Series: The Natural Needle Lift: 40's & 50's

I do want to state first and foremost, it’s difficult to treat the neck without surgery. Ultimately, when people really complain about their neck, it's a surgical intervention that would make the biggest difference, but not everyone wants to do that or can do that, and we can certainly use preventative measures and make improvements to the neck through different modalities. The reason why I designed the Natural Needle Neck Lift to have so many different modalities is that there is not one change that can address all of the concerns someone might have with their neck - you need to come at different aspects with different tools to address all of the parts of aging skin on the neck.

4 Modalities Used in the Natural Needle Neck Lift

For the Natural Needle Neck Lift, I look at a combination of four different modalities, used together to build and stimulate the creation of collagen, tighten sagging skin and improve the skin’s ability to regenerate lax skin.

1. Micro-Focused Ultrasound (MFU) Therapy

Micro-focused Ultrasound (MFU) therapy is a skin lifting and tightening treatment that we can use on the neck and chest area as well as the face. This is one of the least invasive and least painful treatments to tighten the area; it’s a laser but it has no downtime. It targets the same foundational layer that’s targeted in a surgical facelift and uses microcurrent ultrasound technology to heat the structural tissue of the skin and stimulate new collagen in the area. We use ultrasound imaging here to target the areas that can benefit from the tightening specifically and patients will see their skin lift and firm as a result.

2. ThreadsThreads placed along jawlineImage by Tatyana at Adobe Stock

Next, I can use threads to target areas where the skin is sagging and lift them. Threads will help tighten and lift the neck, but we aren’t able to be as aggressive with threads in the neck as we are with the face. However, careful placement of a few will help to regenerate laxity in the skin as well as provide that immediate lift, and then we can use other modalities to upkeep the lifting that the threads provide.

3. Bio-Stimulating Filler

When I use bio-stimulating filler in the neck, I actually dilute it and use hyperdilute bio-stimulating filler to address texture in the neck. It acts as a collagen-stimulating agent in the neck and helps to retexturize. Depending on the amount of texture in the patient’s neck, you may need to provide a few treatments of bio-stimulator to get to the patient’s goal. I find that this works really well in combination with MFU when addressing texture in particular. However, some people are looking to address laxity more than texture in the neck, and for those patients, I may not use much bio-stimulator or may not give them multiple treatments, as it won’t provide the lifting and tightening as well as threads or other treatments will.

4. Neurotoxin Injections

Neurotoxin injections are a great compliment to the combination of hyperdilute bio-stimulating filler and MFU, as they will provide a bit of tightening around the jawline. This can help with both lifting and texture by creating a Saran Wrap-like effect on the neck near the jaw. By applying neurotoxin intradermally, we can relax the bands in the neck and create a sharper jawline.

Natural Needle Neck Lift + Neck Treatments

RF & MFU treatments are used to treat varying degrees of laxity.Image by Svitlana at Adobe StockSynchronized RF + HIFES Technology

In addition to the Natural Needle Neck Lift, we can use synchronized Radiofrequency (RF) + High-Intensity Facial Electromagnetic Stimulation (HIFES) technology to tighten the lower jaw area and target a double chin. This will address skin laxity under the chin and improve skin density and tone. Radiofrequency remodels and smoothes the skin by heating the dermis and increasing the levels of collagen and elastin fibers. The electromagnetic stimulation technology restores and elevates the support of facial tissues by contracting muscles and increasing the density and quality of muscle structure.

Synchronized RF + HIFES is the modality I reach for when I have younger patients looking to address their neck area. For someone who has more fullness in their lower chin area and is looking to reduce the visibility of a fat pad under their chin to get that more structured jawline, this treatment works beautifully here. Younger people likely won’t need anything as invasive to create that result. 

I can use this with older patients too, but older patients who are looking to address sagging and laxity will need a more aggressive initial treatment for structure. After a Natural Needle Neck Lift, synchronized RF + HIFES treatments every few months can help keep that area tight and maintain their results.

Subdermal RF

For those looking to address deeper skin laxity in the neck, decollete, jaw and below the chin, novel subdermal RF using Subdermal Induced Heat Technology (SIH) can be used for skin tightening. This innovative technology precisely directs radiofrequency energy below the skin’s surface, producing significant heat without harming the epidermal layer. This energy induces an immediate tightening of lax collagen fibers under the skin. It starts a biochemical process that stimulates fibroblasts to produce new collagen and elastin, essential for skin firmness and elasticity. The treatment is nonsurgical, but it is one of the more invasive treatments we offer. 

This would be a better option for someone with more aggressive laxity in the neck, often at a more advanced age. It will tighten the neck from the inside versus the outside so it will tighten the skin there more aggressively. Any treatment will need to be maintained, so I may start an older patient with subdermal RF to really tighten the skin there, and then a year later have them come back for a Natural Needle Lift and go in with MFU to keep their results up. 

Natural Needle Neck Lift + Decollete TreatmentsThreads can be used to help tighten and lift the neck and decollete area.Image by Mesonites treatment _focusandblur at Adobe Stock

Subdermal RF can be used in the chest and decollete area as well, and again could be an option for a patient who needs to address laxity aggressively. It’s one of the most aggressive skin-tightening treatments we can use before surgical intervention. 

I like the hyperdilute bio-stimulating filler and MFU combination for decollete areas as well. Because the bio-stimulator is diluted and thinner, it can be used over larger areas and is a great way to improve the texture of skin over the entire neck and chest area.