A neck lift involves real incisions, so the honest questions are: where exactly are they, will anyone see them, and how do they heal over time? The reassuring part is that a neck lift's incisions are placed where the face naturally conceals them — but understanding the healing timeline is what keeps the early weeks from being a worry.
A neck lift uses two well-chosen locations. The first is a small incision under the chin — the submental incision — tucked into the natural crease where the chin meets the neck. This gives the surgeon access to tighten the platysma muscle bands in the midline, which is often what a corset platysmaplasty addresses. The second is behind the ears — the post-auricular incision — following the natural fold where the ear meets the head and curving into the hairline. This is where skin redraping and the deeper SMAS-platysma tightening that redefines the jawline are managed.
Neither incision sits on the front of the neck where it would be exposed. The submental line lives in the shadow under the jaw, and the post-auricular line hides in the crease behind the ear and the hair. Their placement is not cosmetic decoration — it is dictated by where the surgeon needs access to lift the deeper layers, and the locations happen to be the same ones the face uses to conceal a fine scar. The overall procedure is set out on the parent neck lift page.
Exactly how much of each incision is used depends on your anatomy — how much skin laxity there is, whether the platysma bands need bringing together in the midline, and how the jawline needs redefining. That is one reason the plan is confirmed in person rather than promised from a photo, as covered in the international patient walkthrough.
Scar healing follows a predictable arc, and knowing it prevents unnecessary alarm. In the first one to two weeks the incisions are closed with sutures, which are removed at roughly 10 to 14 days; at this stage the lines are fresh and a little raised. Over the following weeks a maturing scar often goes through a pink or slightly firm phase — this is the body remodelling the tissue, not a sign that something is wrong, and it is the stage people most often misread.
From around the second to third month the lines begin to flatten and the colour starts to fade. By six months — which is why a neck lift's follow-up runs to a 6-month review — most of the visible settling has happened, and the scars are noticeably quieter than they were at one month. Full maturation continues to around a year, by which point a well-placed submental or post-auricular line has typically faded to a pale, flat mark in its concealed location.
This is also why what you see early should not be mistaken for the outcome. Just as the neck and jawline keep refining as swelling resolves — covered in when will I see neck lift results — the scars themselves are at their most noticeable in the first weeks and improve steadily from there. Judging either the contour or the scars at one month is judging an early stage.
Plenty of early appearances are entirely normal: some firmness or a ridge along the line, pinkness, mild itching as nerves recover, and a feeling of tightness around the neck and behind the ears. Slight numbness near the incisions in the early weeks is also common and usually settles. These are part of healing, not complications, and they improve over the timeline above.
Some things are worth flagging to the clinic rather than waiting out: increasing redness, warmth and tenderness that worsens rather than settles, spreading or discharge, a wound edge that opens, or a line that becomes progressively raised, thickened and itchy beyond the usual remodelling phase. A scar that thickens this way can sometimes be helped if it is addressed early, which is exactly why ongoing review matters.
Because the same surgeon follows your recovery — including remotely by messenger for international patients — you have a straightforward way to ask "is this normal?" and get an answer from the person who placed the stitches, rather than guessing. That continuity is the practical value of the single-surgeon model described in ghost surgery and single-surgeon care.
Most of what improves a scar is unglamorous and consistent. Keeping the wounds clean and following the after-care instructions in the first weeks gives the lines the ideal start. Once the incisions have healed over, gentle scar care — such as silicone-based products and light massage, on the surgeon's guidance and timing — can support a flatter, paler result, though it is a help rather than a guarantee.
Sun protection genuinely matters. A fresh or maturing scar that gets repeated sun exposure can darken and stay discoloured, so shielding the submental and post-auricular areas from the sun through the first months is one of the more effective things you can do. This is especially relevant if you are flying home to a sunnier climate after surgery.
Beyond aftercare, the two biggest factors are outside your day-to-day control: where and how the incisions were placed and closed, and your own skin's tendency to scar. The first is a reason to choose the surgeon carefully; the second is honest biology that a good assessment will raise with you up front. For the broader picture of recovering well in the early weeks, see recovering in Seoul after surgery.
At Garnet a neck lift is performed through the submental and post-auricular incisions, tightening the SMAS and platysma layer so the jawline and neck contour are redefined while the lines stay in their concealed locations. Dr. In-Soo Baek is a board-certified plastic surgeon (Korean medical licence no. 77407) and the only operating doctor — he plans the incisions, performs the surgery himself and removes the sutures at the 10 to 14-day mark, so the same person sees each line from placement to healing.
Because Garnet is a single-surgeon clinic in Apgujeong with structured follow-up at 1, 3 and 6 months — continued remotely for international patients — your scars are reviewed by the surgeon who made them as they mature, and anything unusual can be caught early. If you have a specific concern about scarring with your skin or anatomy, you can raise it directly in a no-obligation online assessment before you commit.
Send photos and your question before you travel. An English-speaking coordinator reviews every enquiry and replies with honest guidance on whether surgery is appropriate, the likely plan and timing.
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