You’ve been diligent about your face routine for years. Sunscreen every day, rain or shine. Retinol at night religiously. Regular facials, maybe some Tox to keep those forehead lines at bay. Your face looks great – people regularly guess you’re years younger than you are. But then you catch your reflection from the side, maybe in your car’s side mirror or in a photo someone took when you weren’t ready, and there it is: your neck, telling the truth about your age like some kind of traitor. The horizontal lines that look like tree rings. The crepey texture that makeup can’t hide. Maybe some vertical banding or that turkey wattle situation starting under your chin.
At Raise The Bar Med Spa, we call this the neck neglect phenomenon, and almost everyone is guilty of it. We spend hundreds or even thousands on face products but stop application at the jawline like there’s an invisible barrier there. We remember sunscreen for our face but forget the neck is getting the same sun exposure – actually, often more because we tilt our faces up to apply makeup while our necks are extended and exposed. We get regular facial treatments but ignore everything below the chin until it’s too late.
Your neck ages differently than your face, and understanding why helps explain why it needs different treatment. The skin on your neck is thinner than facial skin with fewer oil glands, making it more prone to dryness and that crepey texture that seems to appear overnight after 40. It has less fat padding, so volume loss is more apparent – there’s no cheek fat to maintain structure. The constant motion from looking down at phones (tech neck is real and getting worse), turning your head, swallowing, talking, all creates repetitive creasing that eventually becomes permanent lines.
The platysma muscle in your neck is another aging culprit nobody talks about. This thin, sheet like muscle runs from your chest to your jaw, and over time it separates into bands. These vertical bands can make you look angry or tense even when you’re relaxed. They pull down on your lower face, contributing to jowls and that general sagging that makes you consider turtlenecks in Arizona summers.
Tech neck deserves its own discussion because it’s aging necks faster than ever before. We spend hours looking down at devices, creating repetitive creases that turn into permanent horizontal lines. These lines used to be something we saw in people over 60. Now we’re seeing them in 30 year olds. The constant downward position also affects skin laxity and muscle tone. Your neck is literally being trained into an aged position.
Here’s the particularly frustrating part: neck skin doesn’t respond to the same treatments as facial skin. That expensive face cream you hopefully started applying to your neck? It’s probably not enough. The retinol that transformed your face? It might be too irritating for thin neck skin. The vitamin C serum that brightened your complexion? It’s probably not penetrating the different skin structure of your neck. You need targeted treatments, not just overflow from your face routine.
The good news is that neck aging is treatable, you just need different strategies than what works for your face. Let’s start with what many consider the most effective non surgical treatment: Tox for the neck. Small amounts of Tox injected into the platysma muscle can work absolute wonders. It relaxes those bands, creating a smoother, more youthful neck contour. It can even create a lifting effect, as the relaxed platysma stops pulling everything downward.
For horizontal lines, sometimes called necklace lines, Tox can help but technique is everything. These lines form from repetitive motion and skin folding, and strategic Tox placement can soften them without affecting your ability to move naturally. Some practitioners also use very diluted Tox in a technique called micro-Tox, creating overall skin tightening and texture improvement.
Dermal fillers for the neck require expertise but can create beautiful results. Small amounts of filler in horizontal lines can soften their appearance. The key is using the right filler – something soft and spreadable that moves with your neck’s constant motion. Too much or the wrong type, and you get lumps or an unnatural appearance. This is definitely not a treatment for inexperienced injectors.
Radiesse contains Calcium hydroxylapatite, or CaHA, and makes Radiesse unique as a dermal filler treatment. Radiesse is composed of CaHA suspended in an aqueous gel carrier. Upon injection, the Radiesse CaHA gel matrix provides immediate improvement. CaHA particles form a “scaffold” that stimulates fibroblasts to produce collagen for up to a year and elastin for up to nine months (after only one injection). Immediately smooths wrinkles and folds. Long-term benefit from the stimulation of new collagen and elastin.
Microneedling is particularly effective for crepey neck texture. The micro injuries stimulate collagen production, which can significantly improve skin quality. The neck heals differently than the face, often requiring adjusted depths and techniques, but the results can be dramatic. Most clients need a series of treatments, but the improvement in texture and firmness makes it worthwhile.
Chemical peels for the neck need to be approached carefully. The skin is more sensitive and reactive than facial skin, and the healing can be different. We often use gentler acids or lower concentrations than we would on the face. The goal is gradual improvement without risking irritation or, worse, scarring. A series of light peels often works better than one aggressive peel.
HydraFacials can be extended to include the neck, and this is something everyone should be doing. The deep cleansing removes buildup that regular cleansing misses. The exfoliation addresses texture issues. The hydration plumps crepey skin. And the antioxidant infusion helps protect against further damage. Adding neck treatment to your regular HydraFacial is one of the easiest ways to prevent neck aging.
Your at home neck care needs to be as intentional as your face care. Cleansing should extend to your chest. Every face product should be applied to your neck, but you might need different formulations. A gentler retinol or retinol alternative might work better than your face prescription. Skinbetter’s Techno Neck Perfecting Cream is a must. And sunscreen is absolutely non negotiable – your neck gets more incidental sun than you realize.
The application technique for neck products matters. Always apply in upward motions, fighting gravity. Be gentle – aggressive rubbing can stretch delicate skin. Pat products in rather than rubbing. And don’t forget the sides and back of your neck – aging happens 360 degrees.
Prevention is so much easier than correction when it comes to neck aging. If you’re in your 20s or 30s reading this, start now. Extend every face treatment to your neck. Be conscious of your phone position – hold it up rather than looking down. Sleep on your back if possible, or use a silk pillowcase to minimize creasing. Stay hydrated – dehydration shows more quickly in thin neck skin.
For those dealing with more advanced neck aging, combination treatments work best. We might do Tox for bands, filler for deep lines, microneedling for texture, and HydraFacials for maintenance. The treatments work synergistically – the Tox prevents motion that deepens lines, the filler provides immediate improvement, the microneedling builds collagen over time, and regular HydraFacials maintain results.
The timeline for neck improvement is longer than face treatments. The skin is different, the healing is slower, and the constant motion means results can take longer to show. Most clients need 3-6 months of consistent treatment to see dramatic improvement. But once achieved, results can be maintained with much less intensive treatment.
Here’s what a comprehensive neck treatment plan might look like: Month 1: Begin with HydraFacial including neck, assess skin tolerance. Month 2: Add Tox for bands if present, continue monthly HydraFacials. Month 3: Consider Radiesse or filler for deep lines or first microneedling session. Months 4-6: Continue with chosen treatments, adjusting based on results. Maintenance: Quarterly Tox, monthly or bimonthly HydraFacials, annual microneedling series.
Your neck is part of your visible identity just as much as your face. In profile photos, in video calls where you look down, in real life where people see you from all angles, your neck is telling your story. Make sure it’s telling the story you want – one of someone who takes care of themselves comprehensively, not just from the jawline up.
At Raise The Bar Med Spa, we believe in treating the whole visible area – face, neck, and chest. These areas age together and should be treated together. We understand the unique challenges of neck aging and have developed protocols specifically for this delicate area. Whether you’re preventing neck aging or trying to reverse existing damage, we have solutions that work. Because you deserve to feel confident from every angle, not just straight on.
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