Necklace lines; strange plastic surgery procedure

Along with ropey hands and wrinkly earlobes, necklace lines -- those horizontal lines across your neck -- can be a telltale sign of aging. As a result, many women – and men – have them smoothed out with a few well-placed injections of Botox or Dysport. And well-placed is the operative term.


“It’s a very advanced technique, and should only be done by someone who’s very experienced,” says Dr. Hema Sundaram. “If the technique or the dosage is not done right, you can weaken the neck muscles or have dry mouth or difficulty swallowing.” When done correctly, however, the results can be “very nice.” Sundaram, who prefers Dysport over Botox for this procedure (“you can do fewer injections and you get a nice smooth look”), says she’ll often pair the treatment with a “Nefertiti lift,” a neck lift procedure named for the former queen of Egypt. “If you inject Dysport or Botox into the muscle around the jawline, you get this lovely lifting effect,” she says. “It’s nonsurgical but it makes your neck look long and graceful.”


Cost for a series of injections to take care of necklace lines can run between $300 and $700 and will last from three to five months.