Published 28 October 2026 · Reviewed by Dr Sin Yong
For the neck and double chin, Dr Sin Yong uses Time Freeze Laser LCLR® and the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift rather than Thermage. Time Freeze is used for loose, crepey neck skin and compact fat under the chin, often in the same session as the jawline. A full neck has several possible causes, so these are separated first. No redness, no downtime.
Short answerFor loose or crepey neck skin and compact fat under the chin, Dr Sin Yong uses Time Freeze Laser LCLR® and the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift, not Thermage. Time Freeze heats the dermis at several depths with settings kept conservative on thin neck skin, and its Sculpting mode is directed at compact submental fat. Platysma bands, a short chin and skin that hangs in a fold need other answers.
Laser neck lift: why Time Freeze and VF Lift rather than Thermage
The search term laser neck lift is used loosely for several different things. Here, the laser used for neck skin is Time Freeze Laser LCLR®, Dr Sin Yong's long-pulsed 755 nm and 1064 nm protocol, which works through controlled dermal heating rather than cutting. Thermage FLX is used on necks at other clinics. Here the neck is treated with Time Freeze and with the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift, which uses monopolar radiofrequency of the same class as Thermage on Volnewmer.
Illustrative image — not a patient.
The reason is the neck itself. Its skin is thinner than the cheek, carries less collagen reserve, sits over a thin layer of fat and then muscle, heals more slowly and scars more easily. Energy settings are kept lower than on the face, passes are not stacked, and the thyroid and the midline of the front of the neck are kept out of the field. Time Freeze adds a Sculpting mode for compact fat under the chin, which Thermage does not have.
For loose neck skin, the VF Lift is usually the first choice, with conservative heating along the vertical vector from the collarbones towards the jaw; Time Freeze is used for loose, crepey skin and the area under the chin, often with the face. The two can be used together. The VF Lift side is set out on VF Lift for the neck.
Loose or crepey neck skin: what Time Freeze is used for
Loose or crepey neck skin, often called a turkey neck, is the part of neck ageing that energy-based treatment is built for. Loose skin blurs the angle between jaw and neck and gathers when you look down. Crepey skin is thin and finely wrinkled. They often come together, but laxity is a loss of firmness and crepe is a loss of skin quality.
Time Freeze heats the dermis of the neck at several depths so that collagen contracts and remodels, and its skin-integrity component is directed at crepiness and texture. The neck is treated in the same session as the face where indicated: the platysmal region, under-chin and jawline are addressed together so the lower face and neck stay balanced. There is no redness and no downtime.
Firming crepey skin with heat alone can leave it looking thinner and shinier, so crepe is usually paired with skin-quality work such as hyaluronic acid skin boosters placed by micro-injection. Horizontal neck lines are fold lines rather than laxity, and heat does not unfold a crease. Why the neck often looks older than the face is explained on neck lines, crepey skin and laxity.
“A loose neck, a full chin and a muscle band can all read as an old neck. The laser answers the skin and the fat; the band is a different question, and I treat it as one.”
Dr Sin YongOn Time Freeze Laser LCLR® for the neck
Double chin: fat, loose skin or a short chin?
A double chin is not always fat, and Time Freeze helps one cause, not every cause. A gentle pinch tells the first two apart: a thick, soft pinch that stays full with the head tilted back is fat; a thin fold that gathers when the chin drops is loose skin.
What the examination finds
How it shows
Considered here
What does not help
Compact submental fat
A thick pinch that stays with the head up
Time Freeze Sculpting mode, or the VF Lift calibrated to reduce under the jaw; Onda Pro or fat freezing for some pockets
Chin filler; focused ultrasound alone
Loose skin and a lax platysma
A thin pinch; skin gathers when the chin drops
VF Lift set conservatively across the neck, and Time Freeze
Fat reduction alone, which can leave the skin looking looser
Platysma bands
Vertical cords on tensing the neck
Botulinum toxin where appropriate; marked banding with laxity is referred
Heat
A short or recessed chin
Fullness that eases when the jaw is pushed forward
Chin filler to project the chin
Fat or skin treatment
A gland or a lump
A firm, new or one-sided swelling
Medical assessment
Cosmetic treatment of any kind
Fat-dissolving injections with deoxycholic acid and liposuction are other doctors' options; they are not performed here and are described neutrally on double chin treatment.
Fat and loose skin together: why the order matters
Most double chins have two causes, and the plan has to respect both. Weight is ideally stable first, because a plan made while weight is changing is made on a moving target. Skin recoil is checked before any fat is reduced, because reducing fat beneath skin that has lost its spring can make the area look less supported.
Where fat and laxity sit together, Time Freeze Laser LCLR® is useful because it works on both in one protocol: the Sculpting mode on compact fat under the chin, and dermal heating for laxity. The VF Lift – Vertical Facelift can be used together with it, and it is planned on the under-chin and neck with the thyroid kept out of the field. Focused ultrasound is considered for deeper laxity just under the jaw where there is enough tissue. Bands and laxity are planned as separate questions: botulinum toxin for the bands, energy for the skin.
Nothing is injected with either protocol, so there is no filler to overfill, migrate or form lumps under the chin. Everyday measures that affect fullness, and what they cannot change, are covered on how to get rid of a double chin.
What Time Freeze cannot do for the neck, and who should wait
Time Freeze does not remove skin that hangs as a fold, and it does not correct heavy platysma laxity that blunts the angle under the jaw. Those are referred to a plastic surgery specialist, because a surgical neck lift tightens the muscle and removes skin through incisions. It does not project a short chin or treat a gland, thyroid swelling or undiagnosed lump, which needs medical assessment.
Treatment waits during pregnancy, over infected or inflamed skin in the area, and over freshly tanned or sunburnt skin. Recent filler or threads in the neck are timed around. A thyroid condition or previous neck surgery is declared and planned around. Report a blister, a dent, a hard lump, an uneven smile, or any difficulty swallowing or change in the voice the same day. Recovery and sun protection are covered on Time Freeze Laser LCLR® aftercare, and the wider options on neck lift without surgery.
Your next step
1. MessageWhatsApp +65 8023 7170 with what is bothering you. A reply comes from the clinic, not a bot.
2. AssessmentDr Sin Yong examines you himself on Orchard Road, with ultrasound where earlier filler is involved.
3. A plan in writingWhat he would do, what he would not, the fee factors, and the option of no treatment.
Every treatment is performed by Dr Sin Yong personally. Singapore Medical Council registered · invited to share his clinical expertise internationally for CLASSYS, DEKA, Fotona, Hironic and Ilooda.
Book an assessment with Dr Sin Yong on Orchard Road. Bring a list of earlier fillers, biostimulators and energy treatments, with dates if you have them. How consultations work.
Time Freeze Laser LCLR® is used for loose, crepey neck skin. It heats the dermis at several depths so collagen contracts and remodels, with settings kept conservative on thin neck skin. How much changes varies between people. Skin that hangs as a fold, or heavy banding with laxity, is beyond a laser and is referred to a plastic surgery specialist.
For the neck, Dr Sin Yong uses Time Freeze Laser LCLR® and the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift instead of Thermage. Neck skin is thin, so energy is set conservatively; the VF Lift uses monopolar radiofrequency of the same class on Volnewmer, and Time Freeze adds a Sculpting mode for compact fat under the chin. It is a preference, not a ranking of devices.
Often, once the cause is known. For compact fat under the chin and loose skin, the Time Freeze Sculpting mode or the VF Lift – Vertical Facelift is used first here, and nothing is injected. A short chin may still suit chin filler on bone. Fat-dissolving injections are a prescription option given by other doctors, by referral.
No. Platysma bands are muscle, and heat does not relax a muscle. Tightening the skin over a strong band can even make it more visible. Botulinum toxin is considered for bands where appropriate, after examination, and heavy banding with marked laxity is a surgical question that is referred.
Yes, where indicated. The jawline, under-chin and neck are often planned together so the lower face and neck stay balanced. Settings on the neck are lower than on the face, and the thyroid is kept out of the field. There is no redness and no downtime, and sun protection on the neck matters as much as on the face.
In a lean person the fullness is often not fat. A recessed chin, the position of the platysma or lax skin can each create the look, and fat reduction does not help these. A short chin is assessed as a projection question. That is why the cause is found before Time Freeze or any other method is chosen.
About this page: written and medically reviewed by Dr Sin Yong, MBBS (NUS), MRCS (Edinburgh) · Last reviewed 28 October 2026 · Illustrative images only, not patients · Editorial policy
