Why does neck skin sag with age?
Key takeaways
- Neck skin loosens with age for three reasons: less support from facial volume, years of gravity, and lower elasticity.
- Younger skin snaps back like an exercise band; older skin behaves more like a thin elastic band that can stay stretched.
- Making older neck skin too tight can backfire, because it tends to stretch out again.
- It's common for the neck to feel very tight after surgery, then relax a little over the first six to eight weeks.
Three reasons the neck loosens
It's one of the questions Dr. Thomas Buonassisi, MD, FRCSC, a facial plastic surgeon with over 25 years of experience, hears most often. As we get older, we lose some of the support that volume in the face once gave. We've also lived with gravity for longer. And the skin of the neck becomes less elastic.
Exercise band or elastic band
Young neck skin behaves like an exercise band: stretch it and it snaps back. Older skin is more like a thin elastic band. Stretched too far, it bags out and doesn't spring back, and it can even end up looser than before.
What that means for neck lift surgery
Because of this, making older neck skin as tight as possible isn't the goal. Right after surgery the neck often feels very tight, whatever your age. Over the first six to eight weeks, skin that has lost some elasticity tends to relax a little, and some people notice slight looseness in the middle of the neck. Dr. Buonassisi talks this through in advance so you know what to expect.
Planned for your neck
How much can be tightened, and how, depends on your skin and your anatomy. Read more about the neck lift at 8 West Clinic in Vancouver and North Vancouver.
