The California Skin Institute shares that the most common signs of neck aging are vertical neck bands, sagging skin and excess fat accumulation.1 You’ll also notice varying severity of wrinkles from fine lines to deep-set neck wrinkles. Let’s dive deeper into some of the causes to help understand prevention.

Since it’s a known environmental carcinogen, it’s no surprise that UV rays are a huge contributor to aging. A 2018 study found that sun exposure causes nearly 80% of the signs of aging.3 UVA and UVB rays can penetrate all three layers of your skin causing damage to your skin barrier and DNA. It also causes increased water loss, oxidative stress, inflammation and of course in some cases skin cancer.2 Wearing sunscreen daily will go a long way in preventing neck wrinkles.

As we age, our skin naturally struggles to maintain water leading to fine lines and wrinkles. Loss of hydration can be expedited by not drinking enough water, using too harsh of skincare products, not regularly moisturizing, and showering with too hot of water to name a few. Your environment will also play a role. If you live in a naturally humid area, your skin won’t struggle as much with moisture and hydration issues. If you live somewhere with low humidity, you’ll have to be more conscious about combatting the water loss you experience everyday due to evaporation. This is why you’ll notice differences with the change of seasons as well.

Collagen and Elasticity are the heroes when it comes to youthful, plump looking skin. Collagen is naturally produced and found everywhere in your body from your bones and joints to your ligaments and organs. It’s the protein that acts as the structural framework for your skin. Its cousin is elasticity which gives our skin the ability to bounce back!

Frustratingly, our collagen and elasticity naturally decline as we age. The generally accepted rule of thumb is that we lose about 1% of our collagen every year after the age of 20, or 10% per decade. Even as early as 30, you can start to see the effects of the loss of collagen.

Much like our faces get wrinkles from movement, called dynamic wrinkles, think crow’s feet, smile lines, forehead wrinkles, etc. Our necks do a lot of the same movements that over time cause neck wrinkles and neck bands. Think of every time you look down and turn your head. Those all create bends and movements in your neck that will create wrinkles.

You’ll also form more neck wrinkles if you sleep on your stomach or your side, or if you’re someone who is overly expressive when you talk. If you can try to reduce some of these repetitive movements, you can help slow down the signs of aging and prevent neck wrinkles.

You’re probably noticing that your neck seems to be aging quicker than the rest of your skin. You’re right! The neck, hands and face are the first three places that start showing visible signs of aging. A lot of that is due to the factors mentioned above and mainly that your neck gets a lot of sun exposure and people can forget to wear sunscreen on their necks.

Another massive trend that we’ve seen over the past 20 years is the dreaded tech neck. Keep scrolling as we talk about the persistent tech neck trend!

Tech neck wrinkles are the appearance of typically three to four deep bands across the front of your neck. Shockingly, they’re starting to appear in teens even as young as 16 years old. What is causing them? Repeatedly bending your head slightly forward to look down at your devices. Cell phones are the biggest culprits, but even laptops and tablets can cause the same movement and result.  

It’s a very hard habit to break, which is why this type of neck aging is becoming so prevalent. Don’t worry, you don’t have to get rid of all your devices, one solution is to be very cautious of how you look at your devices.

Try to keep your chin parallel with the ground like you’re trying to balance something on top of your head and look down by just moving your eyes downward. If you’ve ever been to the eye doctor, you’re probably familiar with them asking you to hold your head straight and use just your eyes to follow their finger left, right, up, and down. That’s what you’re going for in your day to day!

And remember, you don’t have to be perfect. Even if you reduce the amount of time you spend in the “tech neck” position by a percentage, that will help slow down the appearance of neck bands.

Let’s get to the good part that we’ve all been waiting for! How to treat and get rid of neck wrinkles. Below we’ve put together the top 5 tips to slow down neck aging, prevent wrinkles and treat any signs of neck aging you might already have.

If you’re investing in expensive skincare to help with aging on your face, be sure to carry all that good stuff down to your neck! A couple extra drops or another pump can go a long way and you’ll be so happy with the results.

Be sure to start with the basics like a good cleanser, an AHA or BHA toning pad, vitamin C, retinol, and moisturizer. A consistent, research-based skincare routine will go a long way in reducing the appearance of neck wrinkles and preventing new ones from forming!

We’re going to skip the obvious that you should wear SPF on your neck Every. Single. Day. Because you’re already doing this right? We want to make sure you’re using the right amount! Skin experts recommend holding out your peace fingers and creating a thick line of sunscreen from your fingertip to your second knuckle. That’s enough SPF for your face and your neck.

You’ll also want to reapply sunscreen every 2 hours, especially if you’re spending time outside!

If you’re open to in-office treatments, fillers and Botox are a great first step that will provide immediate results. Botox will help relax the appearance of existing neck wrinkles and help prevent future neck wrinkles. Add on filler to add volume back into areas like tech neck bands and you’ll instantly feel better!

If you have more mature skin and a severe amount of aging or wrinkles, a neck lift could be the way to go to provide the desired results. We know this isn’t for everyone, so we have one more option below that’s much less invasive!

Light therapy continues to be a noninvasive, effective treatment for all types of skin concerns. Dermatologists use it for everything from eczema and acne to sun damage and wrinkles!

One study found that after just 12-weeks of treatment, 81% of participants saw significant improvement in their wrinkles and signs of aging!4

Another study of over 100 participants found that after 30 treatments, all participants saw an improvement in skin complexion and an increase in collagen density.5

You used to only be able to get LED therapy in office, but now there are great, affordable options you can use to remove your neck wrinkles at home! A crowd pleaser is the DēpLux TriLumos™ LED Therapy Neck Lifting Device.

It’s elegantly designed to fit the contours of your neck and deliver the powerful benefits of red, blue, and purple light to tackle tech neck bands and treat neck aging. After just four weeks, 85% of users had improved elasticity and skin firmness. Grab yours today and see the results everyone is raving about!