The neck ages faster than the face and gets attention last. Patients who have maintained their face carefully for a decade often arrive having never treated the neck at all, and the mismatch is what makes them uncomfortable in photographs. The skin there is thinner, it has fewer oil glands, and it takes daily sun exposure that the face is usually protected from.
Sam Assassa, MD has directed hundreds of hands-on training courses for physicians and nurses across more than 15 countries and has performed over 25,000 aesthetic procedures since founding Beverly Hills Aesthetics in 1995. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and has served as Founder and President of the American Association of Aesthetic Medicine and Surgery since 2006.
“The neck tells the truth about age before the face does, and it is the area patients protect last. By the time someone asks me about it, the face has usually had ten years of attention the neck never got.” — Sam Assassa, MD
What Causes a Sagging Neck and Turkey Neck
Four separate changes produce what patients describe as a neck problem, and treatment depends on which ones you have.
Platysmal banding. The platysma is a broad sheet of muscle running from the collarbone up across the jaw. With age its edges tighten into visible vertical cords, the ropey bands people notice when they speak or tense. Those bands also pull downward on the jawline, contributing to jowling above them.
Skin laxity. Collagen and elastin decline, and neck skin loses the ability to recoil. This produces the crepey texture and the loose drape under the chin often called turkey neck.
Submental fat. Fullness beneath the chin blurs the angle between chin and neck. It is frequently genetic and appears in people who are not overweight.
Descending facial tissue. Jowls forming above the jawline break the line that separates face from neck, so the two read as one continuous surface.
The Neurotox® Nefertiti Lift for Jawline and Neck
The Nefertiti lift, named for the Egyptian queen whose sculpture is remembered for its jaw and neck line, uses a neuromodulator placed along the lower jaw and upper neck to relax the platysma where it pulls downward. With that downward tension released, the muscles lifting from above are no longer working against it, and the jawline reads as sharper and the corners of the mouth sit slightly higher.
It is a rebalancing rather than a lift in the mechanical sense, which is why it suits patients with mild to moderate change and does very little for a neck with substantial loose skin. Full effect develops at about two weeks and lasts roughly three to four months.
Please note: this is an off label use of botulinum toxin. These products are FDA approved for indications that do not include neck and jawline contouring, and off label use is legal, well established, and discussed at your consultation. It is also not a replacement for surgery.
Treating Platysmal Bands and Turkey Neck
Where the visible complaint is the vertical cords themselves, the same medication is placed directly into the bands. Relaxing them softens the ropey appearance during speech and expression, and the neck reads as smoother at rest.
What this does not do is remove skin. A neck with genuine laxity, meaning skin that hangs rather than merely looks crepey, needs either energy based tightening across a series of sessions or surgical correction. Relaxing a band beneath loose skin makes the band less visible and leaves the skin exactly as it was.
Neck Skin Tightening for Crepey Texture
Radiofrequency skin tightening heats the deeper layers of the neck to stimulate collagen production, firming texture and mild laxity gradually across a series of treatments. It suits patients whose concern is quality and crepiness rather than volume or muscle.
This is the slowest of the options here and the one requiring the most patience, since results build over weeks rather than appearing at an appointment. It combines well with injectable treatment, because the two address entirely different layers.
Laser Lipolysis for a Double Chin
Where fullness beneath the chin is fat, no injectable will remove it. Laser assisted lipolysis of the neck removes that fat and tightens the overlying skin, performed in the office under local anesthesia without general anesthesia and without a surgical facility stay. It is minimally invasive rather than non-surgical, and the recovery and consent process differ accordingly from an injectable visit.
Many patients turn out to have both fat and banding, in which case the two are sequenced rather than combined into one appointment.
Who Is a Candidate for a Non-Surgical Neck Lift
These treatments work genuinely well for mild to moderate change. Visible platysmal bands, early jowling, crepey texture, and submental fullness all respond, and a combination approach can produce a result patients are pleased with for years.
They do not substitute for surgery when the neck has significant loose skin. A patient with substantial laxity treated with injections will get a modest improvement and will still have the skin. That assessment is made honestly at consultation, because the alternative is spending money in stages on something that was never going to deliver what you wanted.
What to Expect From Neck Treatment in Beverly Hills
Injectable treatment takes twenty to thirty minutes with results developing across three to seven days and settling at two weeks. Most patients return to normal activity immediately, with bruising possible and mild tenderness common. Radiofrequency requires a series with results building across weeks. Laser lipolysis involves a longer appointment, a compression garment, and a recovery period discussed in detail beforehand.
Non-Surgical Neck Lift Risks and Safety
Neuromodulator treatment in the neck carries considerations that facial treatment does not. Excessive dosing or imprecise placement can affect the muscles involved in swallowing or in neck flexion, producing temporary difficulty swallowing or a feeling of neck weakness. These are uncommon, they resolve as the effect wears off, and they are the reason dosing here is conservative and placement is specific.
Bruising, swelling, and tenderness are common and temporary. Asymmetry can occur and is usually correctable at follow up. Radiofrequency carries a risk of burns and pigment change when settings are not matched to the skin treated. Laser lipolysis carries the risks associated with any minimally invasive fat removal procedure, including contour irregularity and prolonged swelling, and these are reviewed in full before treatment.
Individual results vary and no outcome can be guaranteed.
Frequently Asked Questions About Non-Surgical Neck Lifts
Can a non-surgical neck lift fix turkey neck?
It depends on what is producing it. If the appearance comes from platysmal bands and tension pulling the jawline down, relaxing those muscles improves it noticeably. If it comes from skin that has genuinely lost elasticity and now hangs, injections will not fix that, and energy based tightening helps only at the milder end. A neck with substantial loose skin needs surgery, and you should be told which category you are in before you spend anything.
How long does a Nefertiti lift last?
Roughly three to four months, in line with neuromodulator treatment elsewhere. Some patients report slightly longer intervals after several rounds, since muscles treated repeatedly tend to weaken over time and require less frequent maintenance. Most patients settle into treatment three times a year. Filler, fat, and energy based treatments used alongside it follow their own separate timelines.
Does Neurotox® in the neck affect swallowing?
It can, rarely, and it is the reason neck treatment calls for conservative dosing and precise placement rather than a standard pattern. The muscles involved in swallowing sit near the treatment area, and product affecting them can produce temporary difficulty swallowing or a sense of neck weakness. It resolves as the effect wears off. The risk is low in experienced hands and it is a real reason not to choose this treatment on price.
Will a neck lift with injections get rid of my double chin?
Not if the fullness is fat, and it usually is. Neuromodulators relax muscle and do nothing to fat volume, so a neck treated only with injections will keep its submental fullness. Fat under the chin is addressed with laser assisted lipolysis, performed in the office under local anesthesia. Patients frequently have both fat and banding, and the two are treated separately rather than with one appointment.
Is a non-surgical neck lift better than a surgical one?
For mild to moderate change, non-surgical treatment gives a real improvement with no anesthesia and no meaningful recovery, and it is a reasonable choice. For significant skin laxity, a surgical neck lift produces a substantially larger and longer lasting result that injections cannot approach. The two are not competing options so much as options for different stages, and the honest assessment of which stage you are at happens at consultation.
How much does a non-surgical neck lift cost in Beverly Hills?
Cost depends on which treatments the plan includes, and injectable treatment, a radiofrequency series, and laser lipolysis occupy quite different ranges. Pricing is confirmed at consultation and current figures are published on the fees page. Cosmetic treatment is generally not covered by insurance and several payment options are available.
Why Patients Choose Beverly Hills Aesthetics for Neck Rejuvenation
- Cause Based Assessment: Banding, laxity, fat, and descending tissue distinguished before treatment is planned.
- Physician Performed: Dr. Assassa evaluates and injects the neck himself.
- Conservative Neck Dosing: Placement and dose kept precise, since this region carries swallowing related risk.
- Full Range Of Options: Injectable, radiofrequency, and laser lipolysis available under one roof.
- Honest Candidacy Assessment: Patients with significant laxity are told surgery will serve them better.
Schedule a Neck Lift Consultation in Beverly Hills
If your neck has started to look older than your face, the useful first step is identifying which of the four causes is actually driving it, since the treatments are not interchangeable and the wrong one produces a disappointing result. Dr. Assassa will assess your platysma, your skin quality, and your submental volume and tell you what each approach could realistically deliver. Beverly Hills Aesthetics serves patients from Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, West Hollywood, and Century City. Request a consultation or schedule your appointment online.
BEFORE & AFTER
For more information or to find out the right option for you, call Beverly Hills Aesthetics at 424-284-8933 Or Request a Complimentary Consultation with Dr. Assassa. We look forward to meeting you.