Is it time to consider skin care below your chin? Taking care of the neck area is the most neglected area for many. When aging and environmental damage begin to show it's not too late but does require different considerations than your facial skin care routine.
The skin on the neck is more sensitive and has a much higher % of elastin protein. Elastin is important for creating that flexibility it our necks allowing us to turn our head and have the skin snap back in place. It is what we need to target in prevention and repair for the skin of the neck.
Here are our tops tips whether you are looking to prevent future damage or repair your neck concerns:
1. Sun damage is the #1 destroyer of elastin and the tone in your neck. Like the skin on the entire body, sunscreens are your #1 prevention solution for loss of tone plus wrinkles, pigment, and poikiloderma. Be sure to apply 365 days a year to prevent the deeper damage of UVA radiation on your elastin fibres. Our fave: Hydropeptide Solar Defense Non Tinted
2. To repair (and prevent) sun damage to your neck be sure to add one of the following anti-oxidant serums every morning before your moisturizer and sunscreen: GM Collin Vital C 15, GM Collin 4D Lifting Neck & Decollete Serum, Skinceuticals CE Ferulic, or Skinceuticals Serum 10.
3. Target the elastin repair with peptides, and/or retinol. There are many types of peptides and they each focus or target different things in the skin. For neck repair we like peptides that focus more on elastin repair and stimulation. Three formulas that we highly recommend are GM Collins 4D Visible Lifting Neck & Decollete Serum, Yonka's Optimizer Gel Lift and Skinceuticals Tripeptide R Neck Repair. Your ideal combination is either Yonka or GM Collins neck serums in the morning and Skinceuticals neck care at night.
GM Collins 4D Visible Lifting Neck & Decollete Serum contains a skin remodeling peptide; Majestem® (Leontopodium Alpinum Callus Culture Extract) that tightens sagging skin; SkinecturaTM (Anigozanthos Flavidus Extract) to improve firmness and elasticity; Instensyl® (Hydrolyzed manihot esculenta tuber extract) for lift and smoothing and our favourite award winning ingredient for line filling and wrinkle smoothing - Neodermyl®.
The Yonka Optimizer Gel Lift is a combination of elastin stimulating plant based peptides and is ideal to use every morning and most evenings.
The Skinceuticals Tripeptide R Neck Repair is a combination of elastin-stimulating peptides AND retinol. If you are over 40, this is a must-have for neck repair. The neck is a sensitive area so does not like most retinol formulations as they are too strong. Our Tripeptide R Neck Repair has a suitable % of retinol for both results as well as respect for the necks sensitivity. Start with applications every 3rd night. Only one pump! We also recommend a lipid-based cream (Skinceuticals Triple Lipid Cream, GM Collins 4D Visible Lifting Cream, Yonka's Hydra #1 Cream or GM Collin Nutritive Cream are ideal) on top for those with normal to dry skin.
3. Smooth with a gentle exfoliant one time a week. A favourite for the neck is Yonka Gommage or Phytomer Phytomer Vegetal Peel. This is an important step to remove dead, dull skin cells to brighten and allow your repair ingredients to penetrate effectively.
4. Need an intense repair treatment for your neck?
For intense repair and firming book our Dermasound Neck Repair Series - 4 X 30 minute treatments over 8 weeks ($240 + tax).
To reduce blotchy poikiloderma on your neck book a Photo Facial IPL Series to remove the pigmentation and small blood vessels. 3 x 30 minutes treatments over 3 months.
For regular boosts to neck repair book our Neck Firming Add-On treatment with your monthly facial.
Do you have more questions or need more help with your neck care? Reach out - we would love to help!