Why Your Neck Needs A Skin Care Routine in your 30s

Here you are again, my beauties – working to improve your beauty and health habits alongside me every single week! I’m so proud of you and welcome back to the Dr. Nikoleta Show. Before anything else, let me ask you, “where does your skincare stop?”

As your go-to Dermatologist – whatever your initial answer was – I’m here to make sure your skincare routine covers care for most (if not all) of your skin. There’s significantly way more effort exerted for the face, the arms, and the legs than the neck. With that, the neck really is an area that the majority often forget. People, in general, barely notice when their neck feels drier than the rest of their skin or if those age spots have started to appear. After all, the neck is where you can find the earliest signs of skin aging.

I know, most of you Superwomen here are in your 20’s and 30’s. That’s exactly the age range when you should start to incorporate all these health and lifestyle tips I talk about; by the time you reach your 40’s and 50’s, you will have prevented those signs of aging and skin deterioration. So, keep working and I’ll keep guiding you through this healthy skin journey! 

Keeping Your Neck Glowing

We need to be all-inclusive when it comes to the skin. Remember: skincare is care for all areas your skin covers (i.e., your entire body, basically). For that, I’ll teach you how to keep your neck every bit as beautiful as your face. This doesn’t mean, however, that you should apply the 5-Step Skin Success Framework on your neck. We actually have to tweak my Skin Success Steps a little bit.

Why? Well, the area from the neck down to your chest is thinner and more sensitive than most other parts of your skin. We can compare its thickness with the skin around your eyelids. With that, there’s an extra level of caution we must take. Here’s how to keep your neck glowing:

Sunscreen & Moisturizers are the most vital products you should apply to prevent sun damage, wrinkling, pigmentation changes, loss of skin elasticity, and many other signs of aging. As you know, prevention is better than cure; even though the rest of the neck care steps ensure optimum care for your neck, nothing beats avoiding damage as much as possible. 

Whether it’s sunny or cloudy, you’re still exposed to sunlight – photoprotection will do your neck a huge favor. With that, I advise you to carry moisturizer and sunscreen (or a moisturizing sunscreen) with you all day – whenever your neck feels dry, go on and apply some. 

Keep your neck as moisturized and protected from sunlight as possible. I cannot emphasize this enough but remember that the neck and chest skin is thinner than your facial skin making it slightly more sensitive (i.e., prone to irritation). Coupled by the general constant friction that fabrics exert on our neck, this area of the skin could really use the extra moisturization. Thus, if you haven’t yet, start getting into the habit of protecting your neck with sunscreen and moisturizer, or a combination of both.

Cleanser helps keep the neck clean and readies the skin to absorb the products you apply. Remember in episode 25 where we talked about the Skin Success Framework: sunscreen, moisturizer, cleanser, antioxidants, retinol? With neck care, cleansers are important too. In fact, the one little difference between the Skin Success Framework and neck care is that you don’t need to use retinol on your neck. 

At night – when you remove your make-up and/or take a shower – apply cleanser to your neck to completely remove all the dirt and grime accumulated throughout the day. Personally, I like to keep two cleansers: one in the shower, another on my bathroom counter. Your neck needs to take a breath from the products you apply in the morning. 

Antioxidants (Vitamin C) prevents oxidative damage, which your neck is more prone to because of its sensitive nature. Also, it prevents the hyperpigmentation (age spots, sunspots, etc.) that, as I mentioned, appear early on the neck. Vitamin C is known for helping even out the complexion of your neck too through impeding the melanin production.  

Vitamin C’s greatest contribution, however, is its ability to boost collagen production. This means that its application can help tighten the skin (which the neck is often in need of). With that, remember to apply vitamin C to maintain that healthy skin on your neck and chest area. 

Since we’d all love to have that beautiful, glowing neck in our 40’s, we shouldn’t take the 4 steps discussed above for granted. Again, start now (before the sun and age damage appear) – make sure to get into the habit of including the neck and décolletage in your skincare routine. Honestly, it’s so simple since the neck care routine I described is pretty much parallel to the Skin Success Framework I so often discuss with you. I promise you, my beauties, it’ll all pay off sooner or later.

Products to Start Off Your Neck Care Journey

If, like many people, you haven’t paid much attention to your neck area yet, then these amazing products are what you need to start off your neck care journey right! Even if you’re already using a neck cream right now, it never hurts to try out other Dermatologist-recommended products – who knows, they might work better for you.

Disclaimer: I’m not using all these products at the same time, but I have tried them all. They work like magic.

Let’s start with what I’m currently using: Revision Skincare Nectifirm® Advanced Neck Cream. This is definitely my favorite one – since I use it personally, I highly recommend it for you! Revision Skincare Nectifirm® smooths out lines and wrinkles by enhancing the skin’s antioxidant system. It works with the skin’s own microbiome – this way, it naturally evens out and brightens your skin tone. Finally, it also reduces the appearance of uneven fat (adipose tissues) on the neck, making it look and feel slimmer. This one is definitely a must try! 

The second one is a neck cream product  by the brand Alastin. Alastin skin care uses TriHex Technology – it’s designed to help eliminate unhealthy skin cells while stimulating new collagen and elastin production. The TriHex Technology alone truly makes this an excellent product. 

Next is the neck cream product by SkinCeuticals. As I mentioned in my Skin Success Framework, SkinCeuticals is my go-to brand for my vitamin C Serum. The brand recently released their unique, robust blend of vitamin E, cholesterol, ceramides, and fatty acids to hydrate the skin and soften fine lines on the neck. The result? A fresher-looking, plump skin! 

The final product – which I absolutely love as well – is the Neostrata neck cream. This one specializes in improving your neck’s texture and tone. The neck cream contains compounds of neo glucosamine, neo citrate, and amino acids – all of which have been shown to support collagen production. Hence, the amazing job it does with the neck skin’s tone and texture.

Whether you decide to try these products or maybe you’re using them already – remember that photoprotection and moisturization are the number 1 priority when it comes to skin care. Give your neck some love by cleansing all the dirt and grime at the end of the day. With this, you can effectively keep it from drying out and being exposed to sunlight, unprotected. 

In-depth Neck Care? We got you!

Sometimes, it’s hard to reverse age damage (i.e., wrinkles, spots, sagging skin etc.) on your own – especially when you didn’t start taking care of your neck early. However, don’t worry my beauties, simply see your Dermatologist for any procedure that you want to do for your neck. We have different modalities in our arsenal to get you the results you want, as much as we can. 

Let’s achieve that beautiful glowing neck together! 

Would you love to discuss more uncommon beauty topics with your go-to board-certified Dermatologist? I’m now accepting waitlist applications for the first round of The Healthy Skin Blueprint! 

Also, if you forget to apply your sunscreen in the morning, or totally forget to wash your face and apply Retinol and night cream at night, text “PODCAST” to 480-530-8187 to get skincare routine reminders and healthy skin affirmations directly from me.

I would also love to know if you actually tried any of the products I discussed in this episode. You can tag me, @drnikoleta – tell me which ones you tried, or if you have favorites, or maybe you like a product – feel free to share your experience. It would mean A LOT to hear from you!

Of course, if you enjoyed this episode, be sure to let me know on Instagram! You can tag me, @drnikoleta, with a screenshot of the episode and your greatest takeaways. I’d also really appreciate it if you would subscribe and leave a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts — that helps us share the podcast with more people like you who are looking to achieve the skin of their dreams! 

Until next time, Step Out with Confidence® and start to pre-rejuvenate to reap that beautiful glowing neck in your 40’s! 

Dr. Nikoleta