When it comes to anti-aging, there’s such a big focus on wrinkles around the eyes or forehead, but neck wrinkles can start to appear way before lines and wrinkles on the face, and a lot of that can come down to lifestyle choices.
Whilst wrinkles are inevitable, there are things we can do to reduce their appearance, or help prevent premature aging, to keep neck wrinkles at bay, for as long as possible.
Why Do Neck Lines and Wrinkles Form?
Before we start to notice them, lines on our neck begin to form due to both collagen and elastin breaking down with age, and repeated movements.
As our skin thins and loses its “spring”, creases from us looking down at our mobile phones or cell phones, turning your head, and sleeping positions can all influence the start of neck lines appearing. Daily expressions and tech neck posture accelerate that mechanical stress, carving fine lines into deeper folds over time.
Obviously, sun exposure exacerbates this problem. Triggering collagen damage, and pigment chances, making lines/wrinkles more visible.
Our genetics influences how quickly our skin slackens, whilst hormonal shifts can also reduce the firmness of our skin.
Environmental factors like pollution and smoke create “oxidative” stress, weakening the skin’s supportive fibers.
How Proper Hydration Supports Youthful Skin
Hydration is important for the body and the skin. Water fuels the skin’s barrier, helping lipids to seal in moisture, and defend against the irritants that accelerate collagen breakdown. When the skin’s hydrated, the skin cells plump up, fine lines look softer, and tolerates daily movements without etching creases so quickly.
Aim for constant fluid intake all day long, but your skincare products can help to boost the skin’s hydration levels too. You can layer a humectant skin serum with a hyaluronic acid or glcerin. The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (with Ceramides) is my personal favorite – it’s so viscous and lightweight, layering perfectly under makeup without rolling up.
You can then apply a ceramide-rich moisturizer, like The Inkey List Bio-Active Ceramide Repairing and Plumping Moisturizer (another of my favorites), and it layers perfectly over The Ordinary HA serum.
When cleansing, go for gentle pH-balanced cleansers that won’t deplete the skin of its much-needed moisture. I like to finish my skincare routine, with a spritz of the Pixi Beauty Milky Mist, as it’s a super hydrating face mist, that adds an extra boost of hydration, and you can mist it over your face and neck, and it absorbs almost immediately.
Pillow and Sleep Tips for Reducing Neck Creases
We can’t always control the environmental or hormonal factors which can influence neck wrinkles, but our sleep habits is something we can influence.
Your sleep posture and pillowcase material can influence neck creasing. It is recommended, where possible, to sleep on our back, to keep the neck neutral and free from compression, and repetitive folding along horizontal neck lines.
If you’re a side sleeper, just like me, use a pillow that fills the shoulder–neck gap to keep the cervical spine neutral.
Go for a medium‑firm pillow that prevents chin-to-chest flexion, or skin bunching.
When it comes to our pillowcases, you’re going to want a smooth silk or satin pillowcase, as they’ll reduce friction every time you move your head on your pillow.
An extra bonus of using silk or satin pillowcases, is how much kinder they are to the hair too. Less friction and damage, as well as less flyaways.
Lifestyle Choices That Help Maintain Neck Elasticity
When it comes to the lifestyle choices you make, to maintain your neck’s elasticity, ensure your diet is varied, with healthy fasts to supply collagen-building amino acids, antioxidants and omega 3s.
Where possible, limit ultra-processed sugar and alcohol, which both spike “glycation” and end up dehydrating the skin’s tissue.
Ensure you exercise, where possible, to boost circulations. Manage stress, again, where possible, as cortisol fluctuations can degrade the skin’s collagen.
Try and give yourself seven to nine hours of sleep and avoid smoking an vaping, as they both accelerate elastin breakdown.
Sun Protection Strategies You Should Not Skip
We always hear how important sun protection is for our health, but it’s also super important for our skin too.
Ultraviolet exposure (even on the cloudiest of days) accelerates the collagen breakdown in the thin neck skin. Apply a broad-spectrum SPF of 30 or higher to the entire neck (both sides and back), and apply every two hours you’re outdoors.
Try and choose mineral sunscreens, and never forget the skin on your chest, as photo-aging creeps upwards.