Can We Feel Good About Our Necks? By CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS NECKS don’t lie. Sagging there betrays age like the rings on a tree, and now-common Botox and fillers in the face make neck imperfections stand out in stark relief. In her 2006 best-seller, “I Feel Bad About My Neck,” Nora Ephron, by then 65 and a resolved turtleneck wearer, raged against the injustice of having no remedy for her slackening throat skin, short of surgery. But it turns out that isn’t true. These days, less-invasive options exist to improve the appearance of one’s neck, provided it isn’t a full-blown turkey wattle. Like a romance, a neck can go wrong in many ways. Weight gain or genetics may lead to a double chin. Loose skin can be compounded by underlying lax muscle. A neck-lift (on its own or with a face lift) remains the best bet for a striking, lasting fix. But careful liposuctioning of excess fat can also help streamline the full necked, especially those who still have relatively youthful elastic skin that can bounce back after the procedure. The trick is not to be suctioned to the point of looking skeletal (one should watch for underlying loose bands of muscle, which become more obvious after). If the issue is these isolated bands, injecting Botox into the neck muscle can make them less conspicuous in a patient with great skin tone, said Dr. Rod J. Rohrich, chairman of the plastic surgery department at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. But the fix lasts only three to four months. Promoted during the last year on “The Rachael Ray Show,” Ulthera is a new skin-lifting procedure using focused ultrasound to spur collagen growth deep under the epidermis. A single treatment may improve the contours of under-chin laxity in patients roughly 40 to 55 years old who feel they aren’t ready for surgery or amenable to it, several doctors said, including Dr. Matthew White, a facial plastic surgeon at NYU Langone Medical Center. The Ulthera handpiece pressed to skin allows doctors to see underlying layers on a screen (as with gynecological ultrasounds) before they start treatment, a first for noninvasive dermatological procedures. “We deposit energy to a precise depth below the surface of the skin without affecting the intervening tissue,” said Matthew Likens, chief executive of Ulthera, the Mesa, Ariz., company behind it. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/23/fashion/23Neck.html?ref=style

You can get a facial with a simple trip to the grocery store! (I have a ripe banana that's going on my face tonight. Ha!) 9 Soothing Facial Masks From the Kitchen Banana Who needs Botox when you have bananas? That's right: You can use a banana as an all-natural face mask that moisturizes your skin and leaves it looking and feeling softer. Mash up a medium-sized ripe banana into a smooth paste, then gently apply it to your face and neck. Let it set for 10-20 minutes, then rinse it off with cold water. Another popular mask recipe calls for 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 2 tablespoons honey, and 1 medium banana. Vinegar Using vinegar as a skin toner dates back to the time of Helen of Troy. And it's just as effective today. After you wash your face, mix 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar with 2 cups water as a finishing rinse to cleanse and tighten your skin. You can also make your own facial treatment by mixing 1/4 cup cider vinegar with 1/4 cup water. Gently apply the solution to your face and let it dry. For 7 more: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/9-soothing-facial-masks-from-the-kitchen-2440204/