SKIN CONCERNS
What Is Tech Neck?
A board-certified dermatologist discusses how screen time is impacting our skin and offers solutions for tech-induced wrinkles.
With our ever-increasing reliance on technology, screen time is on the rise. It’s estimated that adults in the U.S. spend an average of 11 hours a day looking at screens—or more aptly, looking down at screens—whether we’re texting on a smartphone, working on a laptop, or binge-watching TV on a tablet. This digital fixation has taken a toll on our bodies, most notably with the rise of “tech neck,” a phenomenon that strains the body and causes horizontal wrinkles across the neck.
“Tech neck is on the rise,” says Skin Laundry’s Chief Medical Officer, board-certified dermatologist Dr Roberta Del Campo. “It’s something I see in my clinic on a daily basis. Unfortunately, it’s a an almost inevitable byproduct of looking down at our phones, checking our Apple watches, and spending hours hunched over our computer keyboards—and these habits are ingrained in most of our lifestyles.”
With no signs of screen time becoming less prevalent, how can we take steps to avoid tech neck? Read on to discover more about this digital-age condition, including how it develops and the steps you can take to prevent and reverse it.
Tech neck is on the rise due to looking down at our phones, checking our Apple watches, and spending hours hunched over our computer keyboards.
What is Tech Neck?
What is tech neck, exactly? Also known as “text neck,” the term technically refers to strain and pain in the neck and upper back, which results from staring down at a screen.
The repetitive motion of bending your neck forward puts strain on the cervical spine and the muscles, nerves and ligaments that support it. Over time, this can lead to pain in the neck, shoulder tension and poor posture.
While “tech neck” technically refers to the physical ailments noted above, the condition can also affect the skin. Most notably, the skin on the neck and the lower face gets folded and compressed when the neck is hunched or bent.
This repetitive compression can cause the breakdown of collagen and elastin, which leads to wrinkles, sagging and the appearance of horizontal folds—or “tech neck lines”—over time.
Read more about collagen here.
How Is Skin on the Neck Different?
The skin on the neck and chest tends to show signs of aging faster than the skin on almost any other part of the body. Here are a few reasons why:
• Because the skin on the neck is particularly thin, it is more susceptible to damage from environmental aggressors such as UV rays. The skin on the neck and chest is also more exposed to these elements than the skin on other areas of the body.
• The skin on the neck also contains fewer sebaceous glands, which means it produces less oil and is, therefore, more prone to dryness, sagging and wrinkles.
• The skin on the neck has fewer stem cells. Because stem cells are crucial for cellular renewal and repair, the skin on the neck has a compromised ability to repair itself—another reason why it’s more prone to wrinkles and sagging.
The skin on the neck and the lower face gets folded and compressed when the neck is bent.
The Best Skincare Regime for Tech Neck
For The reasons listed above and more, skincare shouldn’t stop at the chin, and it’s crucial to bring your topical regime down to the décolletage to allay the signs of tech neck.
Applying hydrating and antioxidant-rich skincare products on the neck and chest can help prevent—or even reverse—some of the side effects of constant device usage.
• Hydration: Because moisture helps skin maintain its elasticity, hydrated skin can bounce back more easily from being stretched or pulled as the neck hunches forward while you look at devices. Keep your neck hydrated by applying a daily Hyaluronic Acid Serum, followed by a layer of moisturizer to lock the hydration in.
• Antioxidants: Because tech neck manifests as wrinkles, applying anti-aging topical products to the neck can help minimize some of the impact of hunching over a screen all day.
“Something as simple as working your products from your face down to your décolletage can be a very impactful shift in your routine,” Del Campo says. “This is a topic I discuss with my patients regularly. I specifically discuss focusing on preventing early signs of aging by using ingredients such as Vitamin C and a mineral sunblock.”
“To correct signs of aging, I recommend ingredients such as Vitamin A and peptides,” Del Campo said. “These can help maintain skin health by minimizing harmful effects from UV radiation and building collagen to enhance skin resilience.”
Read more about skincare for the neck and chest here.
It’s crucial to bring your topical regime down to the décolletage to allay the signs of tech neck.
The Best Skin Laundry Treatments for Tech Neck
To most effectively wrinkles and fine lines in the neck—AKA, the visible symptoms of tech neck—supplement a proper skincare regime with medical-grade treatments that stimulate the production of collagen and elastin.
“Since tech neck lines form from the loss of collagen-and-elastin that comes from constantly looking down at devices, we can improve overall skin quality and diminish the signs of tech neck by getting regular treatments that help rebuild those proteins,” Del Campo explains.
Skin Laundry offers a range of energy-based treatments that promote collagen production, address fine lines and wrinkles, and tighten and tone the skin.
Signature Laser Facial
The winner of Cosmopolitan’s Holy Grail Beauty Award for best laser treatment, our hero Signature Laser Facial uses gentle heat energy to stimulate collagen production and target fine lines and wrinkles. Add a Neck & Chest enhancement onto your treatment to extend the benefits to the décolleté.
Read more about the Signature Laser Facial here.
Resurfacing Facial
Skin Laundry’s Resurfacing Facial targets fine lines and wrinkles using fractional technology. This treatment improves skin texture while creating microchannels in the skin to help serums and other topical products absorb—and perform—more efficiently.
Read more about the Resurfacing Facial here.
Sculpting Facial
Designed to tighten the skin and reduce the appearance of wrinkles, the Sculpting Facial uses Multi-Polar Radio Frequency (RF) and Pulsed Electro Magnetic Fields (PEMF), two advanced technologies that naturally stimulate the production of collagen and elastin fibers. It delivers smoother, firmer and tighter skin along with a more defined, sculpted silhouette on the on the cheeks, jowls, jawline, the submental area under the chin and neck.
Read more about the Sculpting Facial here.
Doctor's Note
To prevent tech neck, stay mindful of your posture. While using a device such as a laptop or a smartphone, try to position it at eye level to eliminate the need to hunch your neck forward.
Additional Reading
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