How to Prevent Neck Wrinkles

Pierceli

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posted on 6 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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The skin around the neck is very thin and is often one of the first places on the body to start showing wrinkles. However, with a few simple steps, you can keep your neck looking younger, longer. One of the easiest ways to prevent neck wrinkles is to protect your skin from the sun using sunscreen. Add a moisturizer with retinol to your skincare routine and make a few adjustments to how you position your neck, and you can prevent wrinkles from forming early. You can also see a dermatologist to talk about noninvasive procedures that can remove damaged skin around the neck, like microdermabrasion, chemical peels, and heat therapy.

Steps

Protecting Your Neck

Use sunscreen on your neck every single day. Sun damage can build up over time and will eventually cause wrinkles and spots. Wear sunscreen on your face, neck, and chest every day, even on dark and cloudy days, to prevent damage. Make applying sunscreen part of your morning routine so that you don't forget. For an extra layer of protection, especially on cold days, add a scarf.

Apply moisturizers to your neck every day. Use your fingertips to gently massage a pea-sized amount of moisturizer into your skin. Follow the contours of your neck to evenly apply the moisturizer all the way around. Look for products that have ingredients like retinol, peptides, and hyaluronic acid to get the most results. These ingredients can hydrate and plump the skin, resulting in a more youthful look. Retinol and peptides can help your skin produce more collagen in addition to hydrating.

Sleep on your back. If you sleep in the same position on your side or stomach all the time, you can put pressure on your face and neck, which can eventually cause wrinkles. Sleeping on your back prevents that pressure and can help keep wrinkles at bay. If you aren't a back-sleeper, try sleeping on a silk or satin pillowcase. This is gentler on the skin.

Avoid staring down at your phone or computer too much. Repetitive motion is another way to cause wrinkles, so if you look down at your phone a lot, you could be causing horizontal lines to form on your neck. Try to minimize the amount of time you spend looking down at screens. Adjust your computer monitor so that it is directly in front of your face, if you can.

Creating Healthy Skin Habits

Reduce how much alcohol you drink. Drinking alcohol can dehydrate the skin, which can cause damage over time. Try to reduce the number of alcoholic drinks you consume in a week, and alternate alcohol with water to keep hydrated. After 1 night of heavy drinking, your skin may be so dehydrated that it shows wrinkles more than usual. Try taking a shower and moisturizing to return your skin to normal.

Avoid tanning beds. Tanning beds are bad for the skin all over, but since the skin around the neck is especially thin, it will show the damage first. UV rays from tanning machines accelerate the aging process and can even cause skin cancer. If you love tanning, try using a self tanner to get a similar look.

Eat a balanced diet including lots of fruits and vegetables. Keeping a healthy diet can lead to better health overall, including glowing skin. Fruits and vegetables, in particular, contain the necessary vitamins and minerals to help your skin repair itself. Lean proteins and healthy fats can also promote healthy skin.

Get 7-9 hours of sleep at night. A full night of sleep is essential to help your skin repair itself. For a more youthful appearance, especially around the neck, make sure that you are well-rested. Set a consistent time to go to sleep and wake up every day. Keep your room cool, dark, and quiet to sleep well. Keep screens out of your room to avoid "tech neck" from looking down at your phone and to get a better night of sleep.

Stop smoking. If you smoke, the habit could be causing your skin to age rapidly, especially around the face and neck. Tobacco damages collagen and elastin, causing your skin to sag and wrinkle. Even if you smoked for a long time, you can still reduce damage if you quit smoking.

Getting Treatment Around Your Neck

Get a microdermabrasion procedure to temporarily remove damaged skin. This treatment removes a fine layer of skin and can minimize wrinkles and age spots. It works by gently sanding off the top level of skin, requires little preparation or recovery, and takes around an hour. Your provider will come up with a plan for how many sessions you need and how long you should recover between sessions. Microdermabrasion can cause slight redness and stinging. Microdermabrasion usually costs around $100 per session, but can cost more or less depending on where you live and your provider's fees.

Consider a light chemical peel to remove beginning signs of aging. A chemical peel, similar to microdermabrasion, removes a thin layer of skin to give you a more youthful look. Your provider will apply a chemical to your face and then use a neutralizing solution to wash it off. The chemical may sting when it is applied. You can have a light chemical peel every 2-5 weeks, but ask your provider what they recommend. Chemical peels can cause redness and scaling in the 1-2 weeks after your treatment. A light chemical peel can cost anywhere from $100-400.

Try ultrasound or radiofrequency therapy to tighten your skin with heat. An ultrasound or radiofrequency treatment will send heat deep into your skin and help it produce more collagen. A doctor will administer the treatment, usually over the course of 2-5 sessions taking around an hour each. The doctor will use a handheld device to apply heat to your skin. Depending on the treatment, you can see results right away, but it may take up to 6 months to see results. These treatments are non-surgical and don't require any recovery time. This is one of the most costly non-surgical skin-tightening treatments, and costs around $500-4000 for 5 sessions.