The €1,600 ‘facelift’ for your decolletage
DIRECTOR and screenwriter Nora Ephron, best known for romantic comedies When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless In Seattle, regretted not having taken better care of her décolletage in her book I Feel Bad About My Neck.
And she’s not alone. It’s a curious fact that while many of us will slather expensive creams and serums on our faces, we halt the application at our chin.
Botox doctor Sophie Shotter agrees that neglected necks and chests can be more of a giveaway of your age than your hands. ‘The main problem is most of us don’t apply enough SPF to necks and chests,’ says Dr Shotter. ‘The skin is thinner than on our faces and more likely to show wrinkles. There are fewer fibroblasts (collagenproducing cells) in this area, so the skin is less elastic.’
When we hit the menopause, a reduction in oestrogen can make the skin drier still. Is it any wonder our chests can look more creased than our faces in the morning?
Even the eternally youthful Cindy Crawford suffers. ‘When you’re 20, pillow lines go away in 15 minutes, but everything takes a bit longer in the 40s and 50s,’ she said.
As a 48-year-old sun-worshipper, I have to agree with Cindy. But thanks to spring/summer’s square necklines (see left), I want to make amends before jumper season ends.
Fortunately, Dr Shotter has a new treatment available that aims to soften ‘necklace lines’ as well as creased, crepey-looking skin and sun damage pigmentation spots.
‘It is a multi-layered approach to collagen boosting,’ she says.
‘It’s a peel, microneedling and athome clinic-strength aftercare.
‘It’s like visiting the dentist — the treatment is all very well, but you must continue with good habits at home.’
I do hope it isn’t as terrifying as visiting the dentist. My initial consultation establishes how many sessions I’ll need (four treatments one week apart).
More damaged skin can require up to 12 sessions. I am given a Brightening & Filling Peel by Peel2Glow (€64, amazon.co.uk) to apply to my chest the night before the microneedling. It uses glycolic and mandelic acids to exfoliate and boost collagen production, and brightening vitamin C.
The microneedling itself, which creates tiny puncture wounds, can be done with barely there, 0.5mm needles, to a more toe-curling 3mm, but it’s usually not more than 1.5mm for the neck or chest area.
The healing process stimulates collagen production.
The holes also let skincare products sink in more deeply.
With a layer of numbing cream, the microneedling is tolerable. I’d give it a four out of ten on the pain scale, and it’s over in ten minutes. A serum is then massaged in to soothe my skin. The redness lasts for about 72 hours.
I’m given a trio of products to apply at home over the next few weeks. The first is Cyspera Intensive Pigment Corrector (€159), a 15minute mask that softens the look of pigmentation. It’s followed by AQ Active Serum (€179) containing plant-based active ingredients, and SkinBetter Science InterFuse Face And Neck moisturiser (€127).
I found the additions to my nightly routine a faff. But, if it de-crepes my decolletage, it will be worth it.
After the second microneedling session there is a noticeable improvement, and by the end of my course, I’m delighted. My skin looks firmer, smoother and is even less creased first thing in the morning.
I’ll definitely be booking a yearly top-up but, meanwhile, I will try to remember to always take my facial routine down to the bra line.
DR SOPHIE SHOTTER’S Decollete Complexion Fix, priced from €1,600 (for three clinic microneedling sessions, at-home peels and all after-care products). See illuminateskin clinic.co.uk and cosmeticskin clinic.com.