I overheard a bunch of women talking when I was younger. They were gathered around the dining room table as my mother mixed up a fresh batch of strawberry daiquiris. On this steamy August afternoon, I vividly remember one of her best friends fanning herself with her napkin and saying, “The neck doesn’t lie.”
My 10-year-old self had no idea what that meant but, my 47-year-old self certainly does
As soon as I turned 40, I didn’t know what the hell was going on under my chin. Picking up your cell phone to do something and accidentally taking a shot of your neck from a low angle is enough to humble anyone. I noticed these bands starting to form, so naturally I decided to stand in front of the mirror, pull my neck skin back, and make myself feel worse.
My friends and I have talked about our sagging necks for hours. I’ll call my bestie on the phone and we’ll complain: “I don’t know what to do, but I need to do something. It looks like I have a set of balls starting to grow under there,” she said once.
I thought about neck tape, but then I realized that was silly since I like to rock the messy bun and it would be hard to maintain. I even went to have a neck lift consultation and left wanting to stab the plastic surgeon who evaluated my neck. As soon as I pulled off my face mask for him to assess the damage, he asked if my sagging jowls bothered me too. Well, they do now, asshole.
He then went on to tell me that a neck lift had quite the recovery time and involved drains and such
Also, the result would be minimal because of my age and I’d probably have to do a mini facelift every five years because “that’s what Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth Paltrow do.”
Clearly, I am not a movie star and we are not in Hollywood. Besides, a neck lift for $15,000, which would only give me “subtle results” (whatever that means), isn’t in my budget.
After obsessing a bit more, I heard about Morpheus8 from the nurse who does my Botox. It’s a non-surgical facelift which can be performed in about 90 minutes, and you can drive yourself home without drains attached to your face. She suggested about two sessions for me to tighten my neck skin, and I couldn’t sign up fast enough.
Morpheus8 is radio-frequency fractional treatments that stimulate collagen by targeting deeper layers of the skin with controlled thermal energy. Prices will vary depending on where you live (in my area, it's approximately $800–$1,200 per session), and it’s best to have a consultation before you try anything like this so you know the risks, cost, and what to expect.
Ultimately, my personal experience with Morpheus8 has been very positive
First, I loved this because it can be done all over the body. If you want to tighten loose tummy skin or your knees, you can. I also loved how it was an hour or two and I was done. The down time wasn’t long depending on what "down time" means to you. You can’t wear makeup or skincare with active ingredients for about a week, and you must stay out of direct sunlight for a few weeks.
My face was really red after the treatment — it looked like I had a bad sunburn — but it didn’t stop me from going out for Thai food right after. I was red for a day or two and swollen under my eyes. Then, my skin was scaly and I had dots on my skin (also known as "mends"), which all completely went away in about six days. After a week, my face was completely healed.
As far as pain, it's important to remember that everyone’s tolerance is different
This procedure can be painful even though numbing cream is applied. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say my first treatment was a 6 and my second was a 7 or 8. It’s normal for your second treatment to hurt a bit more. I’ve only had it done on my face and neck, but have heard it’s not as painful on other body parts.
You start seeing results about a month after your first treatment, and in my experince, they keep getting better. I woke up one day about a month after my first procedure and couldn’t believe the difference in my neck. I just had my second one done two weeks ago, and I’m excited to see it tighten up even more.
I’ve done my research on how long results will last and, again, it’s different for everyone. My plan is to keep an eye on my neck and have a session or two in the coming years if it’s needed — although it may not be needed at all. Many people report they go through their initial rounds of two to six sessions and don’t need them again.
Not everyone can — or wants to — have plastic surgery. And wanting to tighten up skin in any area of your body isn’t vain — it’s normal for us to want to keep some parts of ourselves (like our skin) in the best shape we can because it makes us feel better.
If you’ve been wanting to tighten some skin but don’t want to spend a ton of money or have surgery, I can’t recommend Morpheus8 enough. I feel so much better when I look at myself in the mirror, and slightly better when I see myself in that horrible, accidental, selfie mode when I first pick up my phone.
