The face receives most of the attention. But the neck, in many ways, tells the more honest story.

The skin on the neck is thinner than facial skin. It moves constantly, with every swallow, every turn, every glance downward. And unlike the face, it receives far less daily care. Most people apply SPF to their cheeks and forget the neck entirely. Over time, that neglect compounds.

But sun damage and neglect are only part of the picture.

Beneath the skin of the neck sits a thin, sheet-like muscle called the platysma. As we age, this muscle weakens and separates at the midline. The two bands drift apart and become visible as vertical cords running from chin to collarbone. No cream addresses that. No device reliably reaches it. The change is structural, and structural changes require surgical solutions.

Neck aging is not one single process, either. It varies depending on the degree of laxity present, the patient’s age and stage of facial aging, and other variables including weight loss and the natural behavior of the skin over time. This is why neck lift surgery is never a one-size procedure. It is always a plan built around the specific anatomy of the person being treated.

This is where a consultation with Dr. Golshani enters the picture, not as a sales step, but as a genuine clinical evaluation of what your neck needs and how to address it precisely.

The Signs That Tell You It’s Time for a Consultation

Not every concern about the neck requires surgery. But some signs are worth taking seriously.

Visible neck bands. 

Those vertical lines running down the front of the neck are platysmal bands, the separated edges of the platysma muscle showing through the skin. They tend to appear or deepen in the mid-forties, though genetics can accelerate that timeline considerably. What matters is that they are structural, and they are correctable.

Loose or hanging skin beneath the jaw. 

Once skin has lost its elasticity and begun to fall away from the underlying structure, no amount of tightening serums or radiofrequency treatments will reverse it. The change has moved past the surface.

A blunted jaw-to-neck angle. 

A clean, defined jawline depends on what is happening in the neck beneath it. When fat accumulates or skin loosens below the jaw, the angle softens and the face can appear heavier than it actually is. This is one of the most aging changes a neck can undergo, and one of the most correctable.

Horizontal neck lines. 

These are distinct from the vertical bands. The horizontal creases that circle the neck deepen with time and repeated movement. They can be addressed as part of a comprehensive neck lift approach.

If you recognize two or more of these signs in yourself, a consultation with Dr. Golshani is a worthwhile next step.

What a Neck Lift Actually Does: The Layered Approach

The term “neck lift” covers far more than most people realize. Understanding what a skilled neck lift actually involves helps explain why results vary so dramatically from one surgeon to the next.

A neck lift is not simply skin removal. That approach, taking away excess skin and closing, produces results that look tight initially and then relax into disappointment within a few years. Worse, it can distort the hairline and leave the neck looking operated on rather than restored.

Modern neck lift surgery, performed well, works in layers.

It begins beneath the skin. Dr. Golshani addresses the fat first, through direct open excision depending on the anatomy, to redefine the jaw-to-neck angle. Excess fat between the platysmal bands is removed, and in cases where fat accumulation extends into the subplatysmal space and the interdigastric region, resection is carried into those deeper planes as well. Precision here is everything. Too little produces an incomplete result. Too much creates an unnatural hollowness that no follow-up treatment can easily correct.

Then comes the muscle. And this is where technique separates outcomes.

Joel J. Feldman, MD and the Technique That Redefined Neck Surgery

To understand what Dr. Golshani does in the neck, it helps to understand the surgeon whose work shaped the entire field.

Dr. Joel J. Feldman, Associate Professor of Surgery Emeritus at Harvard Medical School, is widely regarded as the world expert in neck lift surgery. In 1988, he pioneered the corset platysmaplasty, a technique that fundamentally changed what surgeons could achieve in the neck and jawline. His landmark textbook Neck Lift, published in 2006, remains the definitive reference on the subject. Reviewed in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery journal, it was described as essential reading for every cosmetic surgeon, resident and seasoned alike. Dr. Feldman has since retired, but his contributions to the field are permanent.

The corset platysmaplasty is a nontraditional approach to platysma tightening. Rather than simply pulling the muscle tighter from the sides, the technique brings the two separated platysmal halves back together at the midline, suturing them in a continuous, multi-layered seam that shapes the muscle across the entire front of the neck. Vertical submandibular pleats and sling sutures further refine the contour. No muscle is resected or removed. The neck is rebuilt structurally from the inside.

The results are categorically different from anything surface-only techniques can produce.

Dr. Golshani has had the privilege of being in direct personal contact with Dr. Feldman. That connection, built on a shared standard of precision in neck surgery, reflects the level at which Dr. Golshani has chosen to position his own practice and his own results.

How Dr. Golshani Performs the Neck Lift: The Technique in Detail

What follows is a precise account of the neck lift as Dr. Golshani performs it. Not a marketing summary. The actual procedure, explained in plain terms so you know exactly what you are consenting to when you choose this surgery.

The Central Entry Point

The procedure begins with a small incision, approximately three centimeters in length, placed at or adjacent to the submental crease, the natural fold directly beneath the chin. Through this incision, the neck skin is elevated from the underlying fat and platysma muscle. This creates the visibility Dr. Golshani needs to directly evaluate the platysmal bands, which may or may not be visible through the skin during the pre-operative physical examination. What the anatomy looks like under direct visualization determines the precise plan from this point forward.

Fat Management

Once the skin is elevated both centrally and to each side, attention turns to the fat sitting between the platysmal bands. Excess fat is excised, and where indicated, resection extends into the subplatysmal space and into the interdigastric space to achieve the full definition that the patient’s anatomy allows. This step is not performed uniformly. It is calibrated specifically to the person being treated, because the consequences of overcorrection here are as significant as the consequences of leaving too much behind.

The Corset Platysmaplasty

With the fat addressed, the edges of the platysmal bands are brought adjacent to each other and sutured together in a running fashion using the corset platysmaplasty technique. Each pass incorporates progressive tightening, with three to four passes creating a hammock-like support structure across the entire front of the neck. This achieves significant, durable tightening both centrally and laterally and eliminates the banding and laxity that define an aged neck at its source.

A critical step follows the platysmaplasty itself. The platysmal bands immediately caudal to the corset repair are released. This prevents any abnormal banding from appearing once swelling resolves, a detail that separates a refined, natural result from one that looks merely improved in the short term.

Lateral Completion and Skin Re-Draping

Attention then moves to the retroauricular and hairline incisions, placed entirely within the natural hairline contours where they are completely hidden once healed. These incisions establish a continuous plane of dissection beneath the skin, allowing for the re-draping and precise excision of excess skin in the retroauricular spaces. The platysmal muscles are secured to the mastoid fascia using a deep plane approach, providing the lateral lift that works in concert with the central corset repair. This lateral component is then continued vertically into the face, integrating with whatever facelift approach has been determined necessary for that specific patient.

The neck lift, in Dr. Golshani’s hands, is never isolated from the face above it. It begins centrally, completes laterally, and connects upward, always planned in the context of the whole picture.

When a Neck Lift Alone Is the Right Answer, and When It Is Not

Some patients present with neck concerns that exist entirely independently of the face. Their jawline is defined. Their cheeks carry well. Their only issue is beneath the chin. In these cases, an isolated neck lift is entirely appropriate and produces a complete, clean result on its own.

Other patients find that the neck and the lower face have aged together. The jowls have softened. The marionette lines have deepened. The neck, in this context, is one part of a larger picture. Addressing the neck alone when the face also needs attention produces a result that looks mismatched. The neck becomes younger while the face around it remains unchanged.

That is not a failure. It is anatomy, pure and simple.

An honest surgeon tells you clearly which category you fall into. Dr. Golshani’s approach to every consultation is built on exactly that honesty, because the goal is always harmony. A face and neck that belong to the same person, at the same moment in time.

When the Neck Lift Is Part of a Larger Plan

When the neck and lower face have aged together, Dr. Golshani combines the neck lift with a tailored selection of adjunctive procedures chosen specifically for each patient’s anatomy and goals:

• Deep Plane Facelift to correct jowling, reposition the malar fat pad, and restore the lower face in harmony with the neck
• Blepharoplasty to address upper or lower eyelid laxity and periorbital aging
• Endoscopic Brow Lift to restore the lateral brow arc and open the upper face
• Fat Grafting with G-Stem to restore lost volume in the midface and temples
• Laser Resurfacing to improve skin texture, tone, and surface quality
• Botox and Dermal Fillers to complement the surgical result and maintain it over time

The aim is a result where no single zone announces itself as having been treated. The entire face and neck simply look like they belong to a well-rested, younger version of the person who walked in.

The Standard Dr. Golshani Holds Himself To

The most reliable indicator of a technically excellent neck lift is what is absent in the result. There is no visible scar beneath the chin. The hairline has not shifted. The earlobe has not been displaced. The neck moves naturally when you turn, speak, and laugh. The vertical bands are gone, addressed at their source, not masked by tension applied above them.

These are not accidents of luck. They are the product of surgical planning, anatomical precision, and a philosophy that places your natural appearance above every other consideration.

Patients travel to Dr. Golshani’s Beverly Hills practice from across Los Angeles, from cities across the country, and from abroad, specifically because they understand that this level of outcome requires a surgeon who has made the face and neck his singular focus.