With smartphone usage on the rise, and more people working remotely, things like tech-related facial wrinkles and prominent neck lines are becoming common cosmetic concerns for men and women alike. If you’ve noticed more wrinkles, sagging skin or even acne, your technological devices could be at least in part to blame.
So, what does your smartphone have to do with sagging skin, and what can you do to combat these unwanted effects?
How Tech Affects Your Skin
There are three main ways that smartphones, laptops, tablets and other tech devices can negatively impact your appearance. The first is by causing your neck to constantly crane downward to look at your phone and laptop. Over time, this can actually shorten your neck muscles, leaving less support for your jowl area. This can result in a drooping jowl.
Secondly, the blue light that our screens emit has been shown to prematurely age the skin. While blue light glasses can offer blue light protection for your eyes, there are few — if any — products that can effectively protect your skin.
Lastly, think of all the bacteria that has built up on your cell phone over the last day or even week. Now think about when the last time you cleaned your cell phone screen. If you’re like most of us, the picture you’ve painted is a dirty smartphone full of bacteria that can easily cause acne and other skin problems.
Fortunately, there are several surgical and non-surgical treatments to help combat these tech-related skin problems.
Facelift
Perhaps one of the more obvious solutions is a facelift, which involves removing and tightening loose skin in the mid- and lower-face areas. Those with pronounced wrinkles, creases and sagging skin in these areas can be great candidates for a facelift.
Combine a brow lift with a facelift if you also want to address wrinkles and sagging skin in your upper face.
Neck Lift
If neck lines and drooping jowls are your main concerns, a neck lift may be the most appropriate solution. This procedure can tighten the jowl and neck area to create a smoother, more youthful-looking contour. Some people choose to combine a neck lift with a facelift for more comprehensive results.
Injectable Wrinkle Treatments
Injectable wrinkle treatments like BOTOX® and dermal fillers offer an effective non-surgical solution for those with less prominent lines and wrinkles. Generally speaking, BOTOX is used to treat forehead wrinkles, “11 lines” between the brows and crow’s feet at the corners of the eyes.
Fillers, on the other hand, are typically best suited for lines and creases around your nose and mouth. Fillers can also be used to restore lost facial volume in the cheeks and plump and shape your lips.
Laser Treatments
Laser skin treatments can be a good treatment option if you are bothered by the appearance of wrinkles, uneven skin tone or texture, sagging skin, acne scars and other skin imperfections. While this is a non-surgical procedure that requires minimal downtime, you may want to plan on taking a few days off work and other obligations to allow your skin time to recover.
Waleed Ezzat, M.D., F.A.C.S. is double board-certified in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery and otolaryngology/head and neck surgery. He operates under the philosophy that natural beauty is the best kind of beauty. Dr. Ezzat addresses each aesthetic or reconstructive challenge by considering the whole facial anatomy rather than focusing on one isolated area. This comprehensive approach maintains a goal of fully functional and natural-looking results that fit perfectly within each individual’s unique genetic makeup.
