Collagen loss, sun exposure, genetics, and weight fluctuations can soften the angle beneath the chin and create looseness through the neck, even when the rest of your face still looks refreshed.
Sofwave offers a focused way to address these changes without incisions or a long recovery. At Skin Deep Medical Spa, we use this ultrasound treatment to encourage your skin to rebuild its own structural support.
Why the Jawline and Neck Need a Different Approach
Skin laxity is only one possible cause of a less-defined jawline. Fullness beneath the chin, prominent neck bands, and loss of chin projection can also affect the lower face. When this happens, Sofwave can be used to tighten that lax tissue.
This treatment does not remove fat, relax neck muscles, or add facial volume. During your consultation, your provider will evaluate the quality of your skin, the source of the change, and the degree of looseness present. Mild to moderate laxity may respond well to an energy-based treatment, while more advanced sagging may call for a surgical conversation with our board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Steven Bloch.
How Sofwave Supports Skin Tightening and Firmness
Sofwave uses Synchronous Ultrasound Parallel Beam, or SUPERB™, technology to deliver focused ultrasound energy approximately 1.5 millimeters into the mid-dermis. This is a collagen-rich layer where elastin fibers also help support firmness, elasticity, and overall skin quality.
The thermal effect begins a healing response. Existing collagen fibers contract, while the body gradually produces and organizes new collagen and elastin. The Sofwave handpiece uses Integrated Sofcool™ for integrated cooling, which helps protect the skin's surface as energy is delivered below it.
This process supports new collagen production in the same foundational layers addressed by other lifting technologies, while keeping the treatment focus in the mid-dermis.
Sofwave is FDA-approved to lift lax submental tissue beneath the chin and lax neck tissue in adults aged 22 and older. It can also improve facial lines and wrinkles, making it especially relevant for patients bothered by early softness along the jawline or a neck that no longer looks as smooth and firm as it once did, especially as collagen production slows during the aging process, often starting in the thirties and forties, when early laxity and sagging skin become more noticeable.
What Sofwave Can Change
Sofwave can create a subtle lifting and tightening effect throughout the lower face, beneath the chin, and across the neck. As collagen remodeling progresses, the jawline may look cleaner, with improvements in skin texture, firmness, and definition. The result develops from your own tissue, so it appears gradually and is intended to deliver natural-looking results rather than a dramatic surgical change.
Collagen production slows significantly in your thirties and forties, which is one reason this kind of change tends to show up over time. Sofwave cannot replicate the degree of correction achievable with surgical removal of excess skin. It is a non-surgical option best suited to patients with moderate skin laxity who want a noticeable lift or meaningful improvement and have realistic expectations about what treatment can achieve.
What to Expect During Treatment
Your visit begins with a review of your medical history, previous procedures, and goals. During that consultation, your provider will explain the Sofwave treatment and may discuss how many treatments are appropriate based on your specific concerns. After topical numbing is applied, the handpiece delivers a series of ultrasound pulses across the planned treatment area. You may feel brief warmth or a snapping sensation with each pulse, along with a mild tingling sensation that is a normal sign of energy delivery.
Appointments commonly take about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the areas treated. There are no incisions. Mild redness, tenderness, or swelling can occur, but the procedure is known for minimal downtime, and recovery time is typically limited, with most patients returning to normal activities the same day.
When Will You See Results?
Collagen remodeling takes time. Some patients notice early firmness within a few weeks, but most patients see improvement at around 12 weeks post-treatment, with visible change continuing in the following weeks as new collagen develops and full results develop over 3 to 6 months. Your response will depend on factors such as age, baseline elasticity, degree of laxity, natural collagen production, and overall skin condition.
Many patients begin with one treatment. A follow-up visit allows your provider to evaluate the change, since variable outcomes can occur based on age, baseline elasticity, and skin condition, and decide if another session or future maintenance would be useful.
Is Sofwave Right for Your Moderate Skin Laxity?
Sofwave may be a good fit if your skin has started to look slightly loose beneath the chin or along the neck, but you are not ready for surgery. Patients with early signs of change or moderate skin laxity who want non-surgical treatments are often good candidates for this treatment. Because ultrasound energy works below the surface rather than targeting pigment, it can be considered across a broad range of skin tones.
Skin laxity commonly begins to show from the late thirties through the sixties, and estrogen fluctuations during perimenopause can affect firmness.
Treatment is not appropriate for everyone. Your provider will review relevant medical conditions, medications, implanted devices, active skin concerns, prior procedures, and overall health before making a recommendation. Noninvasive treatments can help mild to moderate laxity, but a surgical facelift or other surgical options may be more appropriate when excess skin or advanced skin laxity is the main issue. Sometimes other treatments, or a combination approach, will better address the anatomy behind your concern. A layered approach may also make sense for separate issues, such as fullness under the chin, where Kybella permanently destroys fat cells rather than tightening skin.
Bring Your Profile Back Into Focus
A sharper-looking jawline often comes down to stronger support within the skin. Within aesthetic medicine, Sofwave is a strategic, non-surgical way to improve skin quality, support a more defined profile, and keep the treatment experience simple while the change stays natural-looking.
Schedule a Sofwave consultation at Skin Deep Medical Spa in Highland Park or Glenview. Our team will assess your jawline and neck, identify your specific concerns, explain what the treatment can realistically accomplish, and determine whether a combination approach is needed for natural-looking results.
