With a recent study revealing that on average women spend around 30 minutes a week looking after the skin on their face and only five minutes a week taking care of the skin on their body*, it will come as no surprise that according to experts, the décolletage is one of the most neglected areas of all.

The skin on your décolletage, aka your neck and chest is extremely delicate, but it also contains less sebaceous glands – cue dryness – and is one of the first areas to develop lines and wrinkles.

To discover how best to give your décolletage some TLC read on…

Use sun protection

Sunlight emits two types of radiation, UVA and UVB. UVA is linked to signs of premature ageing such as wrinkles and sagging as exposure causes damage to collagen and elastin. UVA also damages skin cells, triggering pigmentation too.

UVB on the other hand is highly carcinogenic and responsible for burning the skin which can lead to the development of skin cancer. Cue SPF. Not only should we all – no matter our skin type or tone – be wearing an SPF on our faces, we should also extend this down to our décolletage on a daily basis and any other exposed areas of the body.  

Add moisture

Just like the skin around the eyes, the skin covering your décolletage is much thinner than the rest of the face and body and has very few sebaceous glands, so adding moisture and protecting the skin barrier is key.

The oil we naturally produce, aka sebum provides a protective barrier on the surface of the skin and stops water from our cells from escaping. However, with less sebum being naturally produced you’ll need a moisturiser with a higher occlusive and oil content to lock in water and leave the top layers of the skin nourished, soft and supple.

Explore in-clinic treatments

If you’ve left it very late to start taking care of your chest and neck, in-clinic treatments are ideal for décolletages in need of some major TLC. Muscle relaxing injections help soften the look of lines and wrinkles, while lasers are great at removing broken capillaries, redness and pigmentation, as well as boosting collagen and elastin production. Radio frequency tightens the skin like a charm, and regular peels can even out skin tone and texture.

Optimise your sleep

Collagen and elastin are needed to keep skin smooth, plump, firm and taut, and while treatments and skincare can help slow down the decline in production, lifestyle plays a major role in keeping skin youthful. When we sleep our bodies inhibit the stress hormone cortisol, a process that does wonders for the skin if you can get enough quality hours of snooze in.

With less cortisol coursing through the body, you’ll have less inflammation which breaks down much needed collagen and elastin. Practising good sleep hygiene – no screens before bed, ensuring your bedroom is dark, at a comfortable temperature and quiet will help.

Exfoliate regularly

Yes, our skin cells do naturally exfoliate, migrating from the lowest level of the skin to the upper level and sloughing off about every 28 days. However, as we age the process can take longer, leaving the skin looking rough and dull. Oilier skin types can end up congested leading to acne, even on the décolletage where there are fewer sebaceous glands.

To avoid a build-up of dead skin cells, a gentle exfoliator should be used on the face, neck and chest once or twice a week. And if you want to up the ante try microdermabrasion,  a relatively gentle physical exfoliating device that removes the uppermost layers of dead skin by gently ‘sand blasting’ them off. In so doing, this in-clinic treatment can improve the appearance of sun damage, acne scarring, and melasma.

It also improves blood flow which improves cell communication, and boosts collagen production, helping to smooth lines and wrinkles.

*2021 Gillette Venus study