Visit your local dermatologist's office or medspa to find FDA-approved treatments for almost any procedure. Plump your lips with fillers. Paralyze 11 lines with Botox injections. A little thing called sclerotherapy can even make varicose veins in the hands less noticeable. But to rejuvenate the neck and get a Clark Kent-level jawline with definition, options have been limited.

Certainly, one can use scrape therapy, temporarily sculpt with fillers, or undergo ultrasound skin tightening treatments such as SofWave or Ultherapy (which heats tissue to stimulate collagen production). However, there have been no FDA-approved neuromodulators to tighten jawlines and smooth vertical neck wrinkles.

Botox was first approved for injection into the platysma muscle, a band of muscle that runs vertically from the collarbone to the jawline. (Look in the mirror and give me a big smile and you will know exactly what I mean.)

“The platysma muscle zone is basically like a wrinkle in the neck, but it pulls the entire face down and can dull the jawline,” Dr. Sabrina Fabi, a FAAD-certified dermatologist, told me in March, shortly after presenting the results of a clinical trial of Botox at the American Academy of Dermatology told me.

Gravity is inevitable, so the more the platysma muscle contracts, the greater the likelihood of sagging skin along the jawline and a downward-facing smile. Injecting Botox into this platysma muscle can not only make the actual platysma muscle zone less noticeable, but also improve sagging jowls, explains Terrance Keaney, M.D., a FAAD-certified dermatologist. It can also snatch away the jawline in the process.

This aha moment is not new, per se. Doctors and nurses have been injecting off-label Botox into the platysmal band for years for this very reason. However, the FDA's approval sets the stage for more formal injector training, resulting in standardized dosing that will be a breakthrough for patient safety. Before this approval, if you asked 15 doctors how to administer to this site, you would have gotten 15 very different answers. But there is wisdom in this large standardized method, and we have been able to derive the optimal dosage and improve safety,” says Dr. Keeney.

If you are curious about this treatment and whether you are a candidate, you have come to the right place. Read on to learn everything you need to know about Platysmal Band Botox.

Even if you don't know what the platysmal band is called, you've probably seen it in the mirror. It's the muscle that connects the clavicle to the jaw,” Dr. Keeney explains. When it contracts, it shortens and pulls the skin of the neck outward. Some people can't see that band when they are at rest; others have to clench their teeth to see it.

Neck creams only go so far in tightening the skin. If the skin around the mouth is sagging, the jawline is blunted, and two to four jaw bands are visible when flexed (visible when smiling through clenched teeth), treatment should produce quite impressive results.

If there is severe skin laxity (i.e., the skin is loose) or if there is a lot of fat around the area, you will not see funny results. Dr. Keany says, “These people should often consider a facelift, CoolSculpting Elite, or Kybella treatment to dissolve the fat.”

The full effect of Platismal Band Botox is seen after two weeks. The effects last three to four months, depending on how quickly the body metabolizes Botox.

While there are risks associated with any injection, FDA approval has standardized the most common platysmal band Botox treatments and created a safer baseline.

Nevertheless, the neck is a delicate area to inject. Dr. Fabi explains, “The muscles involved in swallowing and chewing are closely related, being under the superficial muscles that pull the face down.” If injected incorrectly, this can lead to what is called dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing and speaking. If you are interested in this treatment, it is important to go to a certified physician who has experience with injections.”

Because neck treatment is a 360-degree ordeal, the physician may want to combine several different techniques to achieve the desired result. For example, skin tightening laser treatments are usually combined with Platysmal Band Botox. Dr. Keeney says, “They are complementary because you are treating two components of what causes wrinkles in the neck: one of them is due to the muscles pulling the skin out, and the other is due to the skin losing strength over time.”