One of the most common complaints we see in the clinic is a double chin in slim patients. These patients don’t have much fat in the area, so why does it look like they have a slight double chin? We increasingly realise the constant exposure to our phones and computers is speeding up the skin laxity in this area and resulting in what we call a ‘tech neck’. We can all be guilty of slumping over our laptops and phones and suddenly realising 2 hours has gone by frozen in that position. Unfortunately, the impact it can have is not only worsening of your posture, it can affect your skin too.

Prolonged periods in this position will begin to quite literally change your posture. If you’re often a slave to your phone and laptop, have you found that your shoulders are more slouched and your upper back sticks out more? This can start to give you a bump called kyphosis. Constantly having this posture can also cause skin laxity as your skin is constantly sitting in that position. Skin laxity is when the skin starts to lose its firmness and structure and can start to sag. Skin laxity combined with accelerated collagen loss from your 30’s onwards speeds up this process.

We know there are so many negatives to slouching; the collar-like muscle in your neck called the platysma can become overactive with excessive looking down. This results in an excessive pull on your jawline resulting in further worsening of your double chin. If you also happen to lack support in the chin and jawline then this process will also happen quicker for you.

So what can you do about it? There are several avenues you can explore to try and alleviate your ‘tech neck’, we have broken these down into holistic, machine-based and injectable options. We would often recommend you do an amalgamation of a few. Here are some options:

Holistic options

• Improve posture by strengthening your neck and back muscles and being mindful of it. This can be through workouts and the gym. Most people do not work out their back muscles enough.

• Visit a chiropractor or physiotherapist. A chiropractor will analyse your whole body and spine and potentially offer you a treatment plan to help get your back to where it should be

• Elevate your laptop to eye level. This will help you look up and prevent the slouching neck

• Extend sunscreen and skincare to your neck. Remember, your skin is far more delicate here than your face so go easy with retinol here. People will often forget about the skin on their neck and it’s vital that this is looked after

Machine-based options:

• Morpheus 8 is a fantastic treatment that uses Radiofrequency transmitted through microneedles. This delivers controlled energy and trauma, resulting in skin tightening, collagen production, and lifting. It can be used all over the face or just in the double chin and jawline area

• Other machines - HIFU, Endolift, facetite.

Injectable:

• Chin and Jawline filler to add structural support if needed

• Neck lift wrinkle relaxing injections to relax the platysma muscle pulling down on your jawline

• Profhilo to improve skin laxity.

Our best recommendation to you would be to try and do as many holistic options as you can and then come into the clinic for a consultation to find the best treatment and injectable option to help protect your skin. The holistic options are more focused on fixing your posture, whilst our goal will be to care for the skin.

Prevention is always better than cure, so always start making changes as soon as you can. It’s tempting to slouch, but unfortunately, too many repercussions really don’t make it worth it.