Hello. This is Woori Plastic Surgery.
As the weather gets warmer and people start wearing clothes that show the neck, neck wrinkles naturally become more noticeable. While the face can be covered to some extent with makeup or other care, the neck is difficult to conceal, which often leads to greater concern. During consultations, we often hear comments such as, “My face looks fine, but my neck makes me look especially old,” or “Choosing clothes is stressful now because of my neck wrinkles.”
In the past, many people considered neck aging unavoidable, but recently there has been an increasing number of cases that approach it by smoothing both sagging lines and neck wrinkles through neck lift surgery. Today, we will look at what neck lift surgery is and why it is often considered together with facelift surgery.
Why Neck Wrinkles Stand Out
The skin on the neck is thinner than the skin on the face and moves more often, so aging tends to appear relatively quickly. As elasticity decreases and the muscle layer becomes loose, horizontal lines deepen or the contour under the chin can look blurred.
In particular, when facial sagging progresses and the effect extends downward, neck wrinkles and sagging often appear at the same time. So in many cases, changes do not occur only in the neck alone; they tend to progress together with facial aging.
Neck Lift Surgery Alone?
During consultations, some people say, “My face is fine, so I only want to treat my neck.” Of course, depending on the individual, neck sagging can be more prominent, but it is relatively rare for the neck alone to drop significantly while the face shows no sagging at all.
In most cases, facial aging progresses to some extent and its effects extend to the jawline and neck, so when planning neck lift surgery, facelift surgery is often reviewed together. In fact, compared with performing neck lift surgery alone, the rate of correcting both the face and neck at the same time is higher.
Why Consider It Together with Facelift
Facelift surgery is a procedure that lifts and adjusts the SMAS layer under the skin upward, while neck lift surgery improves sagging lines and neck wrinkles by tightening the muscle layer beneath the neck skin.
Because these two structures are connected, if only the neck is pulled backward, the jawline and facial line may look disconnected. On the other hand, if the face and neck are lifted upward in the same direction, the jawline and neck line connect more naturally, creating a more harmonious appearance. For this reason, rather than correcting only the neck, it is often considered important these days to plan treatment by addressing the connection between the face and neck together.
Will the Surgery Time Increase?
Even if facelift surgery and neck lift surgery are performed at the same time, the surgery time does not double. Since many parts of the two procedures overlap, the overall time required is often only moderately longer.
For this reason as well, we explain that considering the face and neck together can be helpful in terms of both results and efficiency.
Who May Consider Neck Lift Surgery
✔️ When horizontal neck wrinkles have deepened and the face looks older
✔️ When the boundary between the area under the chin and the neck has become blurred
✔️ When you keep covering the area with a scarf or turtleneck
✔️ When you are considering a face lift and are also concerned about the neck line
However, the approach can vary depending on facial structure and the degree of aging, so it is necessary to first check the current condition through a medical consultation.
Neck lift surgery should not be seen as simply a procedure that pulls the skin taut. It is a process of organizing the overall impression by considering the connection between the face and neck together. If you want to improve neck wrinkles, it is important to look not only at the neck but also at facial sagging and changes in the jawline.
If you are concerned about your neck line, we recommend consulting calmly to determine which method is appropriate for your current condition.
