Necks tend to just suddenly ‘go’. As I appreciate getting older – having reached 52 – I’ve recently become very aware of mine deteriorating, with a noticeable turkey-like appearance when I turn my head in the mirror.

I’ve always been fond of my neck. It’s relatively long, unlike my legs. However, over the past several years, I’ve felt let down by its gradual yet relentless breakdown. It reminds me of a building being demolished in slow motion.

I may be a beauty journalist but I am also quite idle. Historically, I’ve neglected everything below my chin. 

In my 40s, I finally took action for my neck; I began applying sunscreen and experimenting with anti-aging creams, using upward motions to attempt lifting the increasingly saggy skin. Despite my efforts, it aged faster than my face.

Working primarily from home, I realized that Zoom was not flattering. I began placing my laptop on a stack of books, forcing me to tilt my head upwards for a quick neck lift!

I also took care to adjust the lighting before meetings to try to soften my neck’s appearance with bright lighting. It didn’t exactly keep me up at night, but my neck would certainly catch my attention whenever I looked in the mirror.

I wanted a solution, but knew that creams weren’t quite going to cut it, and have no intention of ever going under the knife. 

Then I discovered UltraClear, which sounds like an advanced acne treatment, but is actually the latest FDA-cleared advanced, non-invasive aesthetic rejuvenation method. It has just become available in the UK, and I’m excited to be among the first to try it.

So why the neck before the face? ‘The neck has thinner skin, fewer oil glands, and it is subjected to near-constant movement,’ says aesthetic expert Dr Mervyn Patterson, from Woodford Medical clinics (woodfordmedical.com).

‘Add in sun exposure, “tech-neck” from staring at our phones and laptops, as well as a general lack of attention (when did you last apply SPF to your neck?), and it’s no wonder it ends up looking older than the rest of you.’

I’ve been waiting a few months for UltraClear; Dr Patterson first teased it earlier this year, when I was moaning about my lower face, but it was launched in the UK only in late spring. 

I am always enthusiastic about new face creams but this is the first time I’ve been so excited about a treatment that I’ve been relentlessly chasing him for news!

There are plenty of neck treatments out there. Botox can relax the platysma muscle which causes those bands that form around the neck. I’ve tried it and though highly effective, it’s not enough any more.

I’ve also given various creams a go, such as StriVectin TL Advanced Tightening Neck Cream Plus, (£49, boots.com), which did improve the look of my skin, but again, couldn’t handle the extreme sagging.

I even experimented with ‘neck shapewear’ – like the weird band you wear around the head and chin just launched by Skims, Kim Kardashian’s brand. I found this option hard work, unflattering and with very short-term results.

UltraClear is a dual-action treatment. It delivers short, concentrated light beams to gently remove the top layer of skin and stimulate collagen production. 

At the same time, thermal energy is beamed deep into the skin to stimulate collagen and elastin production from the inside out. 

As with most efficient treatments, it creates injury to stimulate the body’s natural healing response. The result? Firmer, tighter, smoother skin over the next few weeks.

This all sounds great, but also quite aggressive. It’s what’s known as a ‘cold laser’, which minimises heat build-up in the skin, reducing both swelling and downtime. 

Yet the most effective setting is called Laser-Coring, which Dr Patterson describes as ‘precision micro-stamping’, but sounds to me like being attacked by a hole punch.

That’s what I opt for, however, since it offers the best results for my neck. I also try the lightest setting on my face – what’s known as 3D Miracl, since it seems a shame not to go the full hog while I’m here.

This is the most invasive ‘facial’ I’ve ever experienced, and I am a little nervous. I don’t ‘do’ pain. Numbing cream, containing the anaesthetic lidocaine, is slathered across my neck and I am left to marinate for 30 minutes.

We start with the face. A handheld nozzle – think miniature stamp machine – is moved methodically across my skin. Not a flicker of pain.

My face emerges slightly pink, as though I’ve been caught in a brisk wind. It takes around 20 minutes.

The laser coring on my neck is more intensive but is exactly the same mechanism – just turned up. Again, I feel no discomfort, but there is a faint burning smell which I try to ignore. It takes around half an hour to do the front and sides of the neck, not the back, and then down my decolletage. When I look in the mirror, my neck is rather red, with tiny dots of bleeding.

What’s called a Velez mask is then placed on my face and neck to draw out the heat. It’s a cool-feeling, sterile cellulose-and-water mask and I’m also given one to take home.

I have to get the train from London to Bath and it’s full of tourists and jolly people heading for a night out. I am acutely aware of how flushed I look. Close up, you can see a faint mesh effect on my skin – as though I’ve pressed lightly against netting. I have brought a scarf, so my neck is wrapped up. My skin feels warm but I’m not uncomfortable.

That night I don’t sleep brilliantly – I’m not in pain, but I’m very aware of my neck and the next morning I am slightly appalled to see the treated area still has spots of blood on it.

The rest of my neck is clear but bright red, as though severely sunburnt, and also rather puffy.

This redness and swelling endures for a few days, and I am very aware of how ludicrous I look. The weather is lovely, and I am wrapped up as though it’s deep winter. In retrospect, I’d do the treatment in cooler months.

Not that the timing matters from a safety point of view, as long as you keep it out of sunlight because the treated skin is hyper sun-sensitive. It’s recommended that you avoid direct sunlight for a full two weeks and use high factor SPF (which I do anyway).

Over the next few days, the top layer of skin on my neck gradually falls off, and I feel as though I’m shedding like a snake. My face needs barely any downtime – my skin peels almost imperceptibly and just looks a little dry.

However, the worst thing is the itchiness that I experience on my neck after two or three days – I have one near sleepless night, in spite of taking antihistamine.

It’s more of an itchy sting than an itch you want to scratch, which is lucky, as I am avoiding touching my neck as much as possible except to apply the Neova Cu3 Tissue Repair Cream (£65, neovaskincare.co.uk) I’ve been given to support healing and moisturise the dry skin. 

I put this on a few times a day – it’s deeply moisturising, helps with the itching and tightness, and contains copper peptides to help healing.

After a week I look almost back to normal, and nobody would notice there was anything odd about my neck, but it’s a good ten days before I feel entirely comfortable exposing it.

All this is – you’ll be pleased to hear – well worth it.

After two months my neck looks ten years younger and so – by extrapolation – does the rest of me. Who knew necks had such a dramatic effect?

I’m more than happy to report that the pigmentation has gone, the texture is smoother and the folds of loose skin have vanished. It’s definitely well worth the effort and the downtime.

UltraClear can be a one-off session, or some people have another session after two or three months. Plus, you can have maintenance treatments every 12 to 18 months.

People keep asking why I look so healthy, but the great thing is that it looks entirely natural, so I just say ‘I drink lots of water’ and leave it at that!