What happens when you start noticing the difference between your face and decollete?

First, reassure yourself because it happens to all of us!  We invest so much care and product love into our face over the years.  It’s something our mothers did and we followed, but a lot of us forgot about our neck and chest area and now it’s showing. 

Never fear…There are solutions! 

First, we have to decide what needs correction.  Is it dry and dull? Are there lines? Are we noticing bands?  And what the heck are these anyway?  Or are we just sagging?

Is pigment bothering you?  If you want a quick fix, the Cutera laser improves the pigment and redness while improving the skin tone.  Patients are very impressed with this painless and effective procedure.  The downside is the brown spots will be darker for a couple weeks until they slough off leaving a more youthful appearance.  We often pair this with products that will hinder reoccurring pigment such as the SkinCeuticals Discoloration Defense. 

Does your neck feel dehydrated and you are noticing lines on the décolleté?  Grabbing a neck cream should be your first action.  And I have the perfect one for you!  Alastin Skincare Restorative Neck Cream really does restore!  This grace-of-god neck cream when applied to the neck and décolleté area builds elastin and collagen, hydrates, and reduces the signs of redness and photo-aged discoloration.  It should be in everyone’s bathroom cosmeceutical lineup. 

What are those so called bands in your neck?  They are part of the platysma muscle in the neck which has a pulling down effect on the face.  They get more noticeable with age, fat loss, and skin laxity.  You could be making them worse by making chronic grimacing or straining faces such as during your workouts.  Putting small amounts of Botox or Dysport in the bands will help soften these annoying irregularities and hinder the pulling action on the face. And you just might notice some improvement with those jowls as well.

Do you feel like it’s sagging?  As crazy as it sounds, a lot of times, a sagging neck comes from a sagging face.  Making sure you have maintained fillers in you face and have the tightest skin and muscle possible with procedures like Utherapy, will help.  After that, we can venture to the neck with threads.  These are my procedure of choice for lifting the neck once I know the face is at its best.

And above all, no matter what you add or don’t add to your daily regimen, YOU MUST add SPF to this area EVERYDAY!  My new favorite is the Colorescience Face Shield.  It is so light weight.  I do not even notice I have anything on.  And It’s colorless so it will not rub off on the clothes.

XOXO Loralee