REDUCE LINES
On Neck
Why We Get Them And How To Treat Them
In order to tackle the wrinkles that come with age, a lot of us employ skincare as our first port of call. However, because most of the products that we buy are targeted at the face, the neck can be left feeling somewhat neglected – something which it should never be. What a lot of us don’t realize is that, just like the skin on our faces, our necks can become dry and crepey if not looked after properly. Neck lines, as with regular facial wrinkles, are usually caused by a combination of things, namely collagen and elastin degradation as well as repetitive muscle movements, sun damage, smoking, and other negative behavioral habits. This means that even the way some of us look at our phones (i.e. with our heads bent and neck curved towards our chests) can have the power to affect how fast the signs of age here appear. This happens when muscles in this area contract and the skin naturally and constantly creases as a result.
An interesting aspect to be aware of about your neck is the strip of superficial muscle that runs in a sheet from the jawline to just below the clavicle, known as the platysma. When your neck is under strain, the platysma is clearly visible – think of someone lifting heavy weights, the strain from which makes the skin around the jaw taut and vertical lines immediately appear on the neck. Like any area of skin, when the muscles beneath are used with frequency, wrinkles become visible (this is what happens with forehead wrinkles especially). This is added to by the fact that the skin found on your neck isn’t very thick from a dermal perspective. It has even been described as being as delicate as eyelid skin, which is why it’s very important to not only give it the attention it deserves, but to go about it the right way. Thin skin means less collagen is present, which makes an area like this a breeding ground for wrinkles, since it is less resistant to them in terms of thickness and pliability.
Moving onto how to reduce lines on your neck, the first step is that, when you’re using anti-aging products on the face, make sure to dole out a little extra for your neck. Ingredients like retinol, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and sunscreen are absolute must-haves in your anti-aging arsenal. Retinol and hyaluronic acid aid in promoting the formation of collagen, which help to not only strengthen the skin but make it more durable. Hyaluronic acid is a particularly useful asset to your skin – it’s known for its plumping effects, which are due to it being a humectant (i.e. it attracts water molecules), and this means that it can assist your neck skin in maintaining its hydration levels and therefore natural dermal volume, both of which are aspects that can help to reduce the visibility of any wrinkles here. On this note, a good moisturizer is said to be paramount to dermal longevity. Fact: your neck doesn’t have as many sebaceous glands as your face, which means that it’s more prone to drying out and subsequently showing the signs of aging early on. This is why it’s so important to keep your neck moisturized. Vitamin C and sunscreen both play integral parts as well since they help to defend against sun damage. Vitamin C’s antioxidant qualities go towards neutralizing free radicals and hence has proven effective at softening the appearance of wrinkles. Similarly, sunscreen protects the skin against photoaging from UV exposure, which makes it a staple in most skincare routines.
Aside from employing skincare products, dermal fillers like Botox are sometimes used to combat wrinkles on the neck. However, though Botox has certain upsides in the anti-aging cosmetic market, it’s not necessarily the best way to go. This is because Botox works by immobilizing the muscles at the site of the injection, thereby preventing movement. No movement = no wrinkles. This could prove counterintuitive in the long-run, however, since the repeated use of botox has been said to make muscles weak over time. This results in them becoming slack and unresponsive, which can also have the knock-on effect of making the skin sag more at the injection site. For best results, many dermatologists recommend hyaluronic acid-based fillers since these can be gradually absorbed by the body over time, promote collagen production and even be dissolved if satisfaction is not met.
If you’d like to read about the aging process in more detail, please visit our blog posts on What Is Dermal Aging? and What Is Collagen? To discover more about free radicals and their effect on the skin, read What Is Oxidative Stress? For more information about retinol and hyaluronic acid, check out What Is Retinol? and What Is Hyaluronic Acid? For retinol alternative bakuchiol, read our post on Why Bakuchiol Is The New Retinol.