Get rid of neck wrinkles (smoother skin starts here).
Aging is a privilege, but those neck lines and wrinkles you see in the mirror might seem like anything but an honor. Before you start stocking up on turtlenecks, it might be time to revisit your daily habits and skincare routine to see what causes neck lines, how to get rid of neck wrinkles, and how to help prevent more from forming over time.
What causes neck lines and wrinkles?
The skin is the body's largest organ, but it's also among the more delicate ones. As we age, our skin loses its natural elasticity and collagen, which are responsible for maintaining skin's firmness and smoothness.
Additionally, the sebaceous glands1 in older skin no longer produce as much sebum2 — a natural oil complex comprised in part of triglycerides, fatty acids, and wax and cholesterol esters —that helps protects the skin from friction and moisture loss. As a result, our skin starts to sag and becomes drier, with fine lines and wrinkles appearing around our eyes, mouth, and neck. Without the proper hydration to plump up skin, those wrinkles will look deeper and even more noticeable over time.
Other factors can speed up this natural process of aging. Even glancing down at your phone too often can lead to “tech neck," explains Dr. Jenny Liu, board certified dermatologist. “Repeated bending and flexing of the neck over time can increase wrinkles."
Fine lines and wrinkles are indeed a normal part of aging, but that's of little consolation when you're staring in the mirror at the ones on your neck. While we can't reverse time, we can be proactive in discouraging new ones as we focus on the best treatment for neck wrinkles.
How to help prevent neck wrinkles from forming
“First and foremost, sun protection is key," says Dr. Liu, noting that you should apply sunscreen regularly and wear sun-protective clothing. Too much sun exposure can cause wrinkles, as well as an increased risk for skin cancer, which is why it's important to choose skincare solutions that include SPF for daytime use. But even when you're out of the sun, it's important to use a moisturizer to keep the skin hydrated.
"It's always important to keep up with a good skincare routine with products that use ingredients that help to support natural skin repair, like natural collagen production," Dr. Liu explains.
Doing anything to boost your overall health is also a good move, she adds. A regular exercise routine and a healthy diet balanced in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals can help decrease signs of premature aging.
There's even a way of preventing tech neck lines from deepening. If less screen time is not an option, try elevating those screens so you're looking up instead of down, allowing your neck skin to stretch rather than sag.
How to reduce the appearance of neck wrinkles
If your aim is to target existing neck wrinkles, Dr. Liu says a proper skin care regimen can diminish their appearance.
“Keeping the neck skin hydrated will help to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles," Dr. Liu says. “Also, look for ingredients that help support skin's natural collagen." Hyaluronic acid offers the hydration boost to plump up skin cells and help fill in those wrinkles, while collagen helps restore elasticity to the skin.
Clinique's Smart Clinical Repair Serum and the new Smart Clinical Repair Lifting Face + Neck Cream are great places to start.
Smart Clinical Repair Serum is made with nourishing ingredients like peptides, which are formed from amino acids that help boost natural collagen to help improve the look of fine lines and wrinkles. There's also an advanced retinoid, designed to speed up skin cell renewal, while being gentle enough to use twice daily. It also contains hyaluronic acid, which draws hydration into the skin, plumping it up to help make wrinkles seem less deep and creating a more youthful, dewy appearance.
Smart Clinical Repair Lifting Face + Neck Cream, our best cream for neck wrinkles, contains multiple skin-restoring peptides. Hyaluronic acid once again helps plump the skin and fine lines by hydrating, and the soothing combination of jojoba oil and shea butter works to nourish and moisturize. In fact, 100% of the users in a clinical study of this new cream showed a more lifted-looking face and neck and less crepey neck.3
Dr. Liu particularly likes the cushiony-thick formulation of Clinique's newest tool to treat aging. “I like to use a really rich cream on my neck because the skin tends to be on the drier side," she explains.
For comprehensive wrinkle-fighting, use the new Smart Clinical Repair Lifting Face + Neck Cream in combination with the Smart Clinical Repair Serum, twice daily after cleansing.
Feeling confident in your own skin feels good at any age—and what's even better is knowing you've found a neck and skincare routine that delivers real, visible, clinically proven results.
1 Cleveland Clinic, "Sebaceous Glands."
2 Dermato Endocrinology, "An update on the role of the sebaceous gland in the pathogenesis of acne."
3 Clinical testing on 36 women after using the product for 12 weeks.
