We definitely spend more time looking down these days. Our smartphones now manage a large chunk of our lives, while more recently acquired WFH habits (and I’m putting my hand up here) involve sitting on the sofa with our laptops perched on our laps.

Inevitably this is going to have an effect on your posture and neck – the action of looking down not only puts pressure on the front of the neck, increasing the chance of neck strain due to the muscles in the back of your neck contracting to hold your head up, but can also cause necklace lines.

Also referred to as ‘tech neck,’ horizontal lines and wrinkles are also caused by bending the neck to look down, and aren’t helped by the fact that lots of us tend to stop our skincare at the jawline: experts will always say that your neck should be treated as an extension of your face, and that SPF and active ingredients are essential to help prevent premature ageing.

We can also lay part of the blame on genetics, weight gain and even our sleeping position – if you sleep on your back or with your head on a couple of pillows, you’re causing a 45 degree bend in your neck while you slumber, eventually leading to the formation of lines. The solution? Ditch a pillow so your neck is in a more neutral position.

So what can be done? Along with checking your posture and positioning, if necklace lines are bothering you – and they seem to be bothering more younger people than ever before – you may want to throw some money at the issue and address them aesthetically.

Injectables are your friend here, but you may also want to look at radio frequency and microneedling. "It is worth booking in for regular collagen-boosting treatments like Morpheus8 which can improve the skin tone, texture and improve collagen and elastin," says Dr Munir Somji, Founder of  Dr MediSpa.

"If you have neck bands and lines, microneedling can help smooth them away thanks to the technology's ability to increase collagen production, speed up cellular turnover, and fade the appearance of stubborn lines. This treatment is great, but most effective when done as a course," recommends Dr Kaywaan Khan, Medical Director at Hannah London.

Botulinum toxin

Injectables aren't just great for facial lines and wrinkles – microdroplets of botulinum toxin, sometimes called Baby-Botox or micro-Botox, placed along necklace lines can be useful to help relax the muscular movements that contributed to them forming in the first place. An added bonus is that it can also tighten the skin. As the skin of the neck is quite thin, these should be injected quite superficially. The procedure is quick and easy – results will last around three-to-four months.

Dermal filler

Conservative use of cross-linked hyaluronic-acid based dermal filler injected just beneath the skin can soften, decrease and even erase lines. This option should last longer than botulinum toxin but might cause some bruising, so schedule your appointment during winter so you can wear a scarf.

Skin boosters

Skin boosters are micro-injections of hyaluronic acid, although don't get them confused with dermal filler – instead of being injected underneath the skin’s surface to provide volume and fullness, they are injected superficially into the skin to hydrate crepey skin, reduce fine lines and improve overall skin quality. The lightweight formulation also includes other ingredients which help collagen and elastin to be generated, resulting in fresher, more youthful skin.

Profhilo

Injectable moisturiser such as the popular Profhilo also contains hyaluronic acid and works to hydrate the skin, stimulate collagen, improve skin quality and remodel ageing tissue. Profhilo can work well on necklace lines but you’ll need two treatments one month apart, so this option requires commitment and patience. The results should last around six months.
  

EV Experts recommend

“There are so many treatments available that can make an older neck look younger, and a good place to start is to use SPF daily. A combination approach using radio frequency such as Thermage, as well as botulinum toxin and Profhilo is a wonderful and very effective treatment protocol. Thermage works by kick-starting the body’s own natural renewal process in the skin, stimulating collagen regrowth. Botulinum toxin will relax the muscles that can contribute to wrinkles and lines in your neck which will give you smoother skin, and when administered along the jawline, will give you a natural lift. Profhilo, the highest concentration of hyaluronic acid on the market, not only boosts and hydrates the skin, but also remodels ageing and sagging tissue. Results can be seen with two weeks.”
Davinia Halliday, Cranley Clinic, London

"Some patients have strong platysma muscles – muscles in the neck that sit closely to the skin. When patients are quite dynamic in these muscles, it can pull on the skin of the neck, weakening it and adding to its crepey-ness. Treating these muscles with botulinum toxin injections can relax the muscles, therefore tightening the tone of the skin and reducing necklace lines. The next option, Profhilo, can greatly improve the texture and tone of the skin. This ‘bioremodeller' works beneath the skin to improve laxity and firmness. So rather than treating the muscles in isolation like toxin does, it works on the skin overall to make it appear more youthful and hydrated. Lastly, probably my favourite treatment for necklace lines is skin boosters. This is a really targeted treatment of the actual lines, involving injecting a very low g-prime hyaluronic acid in small volumes. With this treatment, the lines are injected very superficially to lift them and replace lost volume. Whether we take one approach, or (if clinically indicated) all three, patients have excellent options available to them to treat necklace lines.”
Julie Scott, Facial Aesthetics, Essex

“The neck is a very difficult area to treat because, where there is movement, there is room for the formation of lines and wrinkles. As humans, we constantly move and our neck is a central part of every movement. This means any treatment will be preventative to improve the appearance of wrinkles, as opposed to acting as a complete corrective treatment. A top treatment that can be used for this area is Profhilo, which works at the deepest levels to create firmer, plumper and tighter skin and can be applied precisely in more delicate areas such as the neck. Another popular wrinkle reducing treatment that can be adapted to use for treating necklace lines is botulinum toxin injections. In the same way they are able to reduce lines and wrinkles on the face, they can also treat necklace lines.”
Dr Ioannis Liakas, Vie Aesthetics London and Essex
  

Try this at home…

Revision Skincare Nectifirm Advanced is amongst the best neck and décolletage cream we have ever used. Working to combat moderate to visible visible signs of ageing, ingredients include microbiomes, eight peptides and ‘smart antioxidant’ technology. With regular use, skin looks brighter and appears firm and lifted – we also noticed a big improvement in skin tone. It is pricey but delivers noticeable results.

Dr Liakas also recommends Alumier MD Neck and Décolleté Firming Cream, which contains encapsulated retinol to firm the skin, improve elasticity and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.