As an anti-aging doctor, I frequently see how a good beauty routine can really pay off. Many women I see look a good 10 years younger than the age on their charts. Until I look at their necks.
You can have smooth, glowing skin on your face, but if you neglect your neck… what’s the point? A sagging, jowly neck will give away your age every time. In fact, your neck and upper chest (sometimes called the “décolletage”) may be standing in the way of a truly youthful appearance.
The skin on your neck is as thin and delicate as your face. And it gets a lot of exposure to harsh weather, pollution, and chemicals in the air and water.
Over time that delicate skin under your chin goes all loose and slack. When it gets really bad, folds of flesh hang down like a turkey’s wattle. In fact, you’ve probably heard it called “turkey neck.” It’s that awful combination of loose skin, flabby muscle and bulging fat that makes you look years older than you are.
Plastic surgeons offer drastic procedures. They put you under general anesthesia. Then they cut behind the earlobes, suction out fat, lift and tighten muscles and remove the excess turkey skin. It leaves scars from your ears to your hairline. Recovery can take 14 days or more. You’d also be out of pocket about $10,000.
As an alternative, you could get laser or ultrasound therapies. These stimulate muscles, tighten skin, and increase elastin and collagen. But it still doesn’t come cheap.
Today I want to introduce you to three safe, effective and natural ways to fight the dreaded turkey neck at home.
New research has revealed novel compounds that reverse the signs of aging on your décolletage. They protect, repair and strengthen the skin from deep inside. Let me explain.
You know that collagen and elastin are critical to keeping skin firm and taut. Collagen provides the strong framework for the skin’s structure. Elastin keeps skin resilient and helps it snap back when it stretches. Together they keep your skin smooth and tight.
But collagen and elastin are constantly breaking down and regenerating. Breakdown happens faster when your neck is exposed to too much sun, smoke, chemicals and pollutants. As you age, collagen and elastin break down faster than your body can rebuild them. That’s when you see the signs of sagging.
As skin loosens, the connection between the dermal and epidermal layers of skin starts to come apart, too. This “dermo-epidermal junction” is critical for youthful skin. It’s the message center between the skin layers. It maintains skin cohesion. And it carries essential nutrients up to the epidermis for healthy skin.1
As the dermo-epidermal junction breaks down, your skin begins to lose elasticity and firmness. You start to see wrinkles and sagging around the neck.
Scientists have discovered a compound that can rebuild this connection between the skin layers. It’s a protein called hexapeptide-10. Studies show it stimulates the formation of the vital building blocks of the dermo-epidermal junction.2 In other words, hexapeptide-10 restores the connection between the dermal and epidermal layers of skin. That improves skin tightness and elasticity.
In one study, hexapeptide-10 was tested on healthy volunteers for 60 days. It not only boosted skin elasticity, skin compactness improved by 53%. It also enhanced skin tone by 46%.3
Another amazing neck-tightening compound is called acetyl-dipeptide-13 diphenylglycine (AD13). It’s been shown to both slow the breakdown and increase the formation of collagen and elastin. Studies show that AD13 increases collagen formation by a whopping 99%. It also protects elastin from breaking down by decreasing the activity of elastase by 23%.4 Elastase is an enzyme that destroys elastin.
In a study, people applied AD13 to their skin for just 8 weeks. It improved skin elasticity by 14%. Tightness improved by 16%.5
I’m so excited about this new research. I’m working on a new neck rejuvenating formula using both of these compounds.
I’ll also add one of my favorite anti-aging compounds — hyaluronic acid (HA). It’s your body’s natural moisturizer. But over time, HA production drops because of sun damage.6
Adding HA to your beauty routine attracts and retains water to the skin around your neck. It plumps the skin, reducing fine lines and wrinkles.
HA also acts as a natural filler in between spaces in the collagen and elastin network.7 That can give you a tight, firm and smooth neck.
These three compounds can help give your neck a naturally youthful look. But you won’t find them in department stores or drugstore skin products.
Stay tuned… I’ll have BIG news about my new neck-lifting cream to share with you!
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1. Le Varlet B, Chaudagne C, Saunois A, et al. “Age-related functional and structural changes in human dermo-epidermal junction components.” J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc. 1998;3(2):172-9.
2. LotionCrafter. Serilesine Solution GC. Accessed May 23, 2016.
3. Ibid.
4. LotionCrafter. Relistase. Accessed May 23, 2016.
5. Ibid.
6. Dai G, Freudenberger T, Zipper P, et al. “Chronic ultraviolet B irradiation causes loss of hyaluronic acid from mouse dermis because of down-regulation of hyaluronic acid synthases.” Am J Pathol. 2007;171(5):1451-61.
7. Tzellos TG, Klagas I, Vahtsevanos K. “Extrinsic ageing in the human skin is associated with alterations in the expression of hyaluronic acid and its metabolizing enzymes.” Exp Dermatol. 2009;18(12):1028-35.