Welcome to our Skin Concerns Series where our wonderful community asks skin-related questions and Dr. Kademian answers!
Today we’re discussing prevention and treatment for the dreaded ‘Tech Neck.’ We’ll break down both at-home and in-office treatment options that are highly effective in the prevention and treatment of the horizontal lines and crepiness that can happen to the delicate skin on the neck, including Botox, microneedling, retinol, checking your posture and more!
Keep reading to learn what you can do to prevent & treat those pesky lines on the neck!
At Home Treatments
1. Fix Your Posture
It’s no secret that we’re all spending a ton of time staring down at our phones, iPads and computer screens. Aside from causing sore muscles and upper backaches, constantly looking down causes folding of the skin on our neck and over time can lead to deep, horizontal grooves that are difficult to treat. One thing you can do immediately is to focus on keeping your tech devices at eye level whenever possible and sitting up straight! Soon enough, this will become second nature, and you’ll be doing a whole lot less creasing to your skin.
2. Continue Facial Skincare Down Your Neck + Décolleté
People who meticulously take care of the skin on their face (10-step skincare routine, anyone?) will often neglect the neck and décolleté, which is even thinner and more delicate! Next time you’re in skincare mode, make sure to bring that TLC all the way down. The result is brighter, firmer, healthier skin all around—and you’ll never look back.
3. Protect Your Neck With SPF
Our necks are often overlooked and forgotten when it comes to SPF, which you should be wearing every single day. Wearing a reliable SPF is the best way we can protect our skin from sun damage, which can lead to sun spots, premature wrinkles, skin aging, and of course, skin cancer! It’s truly the best anti-aging product—SPF is your neck’s best friend.
Dr. Kademian’s SPF Recommendations:
Our favorite physical sunscreen at a reasonable price that isn’t white and pasty! EltaMD’s zinc-based sunscreen goes on clear for a lightweight, flawless finish — and it’s even available in a tinted version.
Colorescience Sunforgettable Brush-On Sunscreen
This full-mineral formulation is great for reapplication throughout the day — so much so that Dr. Kademian likes to always have one on the go!
4. Apply A High Quality Retinol + Neck-Specific Products
A Vitamin A derivative, retinol is one of the most recommended, studied and scientifically proven anti-aging products on the market and is an excellent product to use on your neck. Since the skin on our neck is thinner than our faces, it can be more sensitive to a retinol, so it’s important to find one that works for you. We love Sente’s Intensive Bio Complete Cream as a high-quality, well tolerated retinol for the neck. Revision’s Nectifirm Advanced cream is another incredible product for targeting neck-specific concerns.
Dr. Kademian’s Neck-Specific Recommendations:
SENTÉ® offers an effective retinol serum (which is also available in a stronger cream when appropriate) in conjunction with moisturizing technology that helps skin adjust with less drying and peeling.
This award-winning, age defying neck product harnesses the power of the skin’s own Microbiome with a groundbreaking formula that combats the visible signs of moderate to advanced aging on the neck and décolletage.
In Office Treatments
5. Botox + Hyaluronic Acid Fillers
Botox can be done to help prevent platysmal banding that leads to laxity of the skin on the neck. Unlike the stronger, more dynamic muscles in the face, our neck muscles are smaller and require less to keep them still. Dr. Kademian applies a microdosing technique along the bands in the neck to help relax the muscle and prevent extraneous contracting. When the muscle is snapped back using Botox, the skin snaps back too, revealing a firmer, more youthful appearance.
Hyaluronic acid fillers can be used to treat fine grooves and lines in the skin on the neck. The results are often instantaneous and accentuated when used in combination with laser therapy.
6. Lasers
Lasers are one of the most powerful and effective tools for promoting skin rejuvenation, erasing signs of aging and so much more. Lasers can be used on the neck to increase collagen production, increase skin elasticity, improve fine lines and wrinkles and even out the skin’s texture.
7. Microneedling + PRP Treatments
Microneedling is a fantastic treatment for the neck as it tightens skin and improves collagen and elastin production while combating fine lines, wrinkles and crepiness that appear with age. But if you really want to take this treatment to the next level, we encourage patients to try our Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatment—something you may have heard of as a ‘Vampire Facial.’
In a PRP treatment, we blood draw from the patient and spin the vial in a centrifuge to isolate essential nutrients and growth factors (basically all the super good stuff in your blood that will help rejuvenate your skin!). This solution is then microneedled back into the patient’s skin which puts these incredibly effective growth factors and nutrients to work repairing and rejuvenating, improving collagen production, and much more!
