Think about how much time you spend looking down at your phone every day—whether it’s reading the news, checking your email, or stalking your ex’s new girlfriend. Did you people check the phones almost 100 times daily? But what does any of this have to do with your cervical spine? Do you know what tech neck is?

That amount of time you spend looking down increases the number of wrinkles on your neck. So, what is tech neck? Its neck wrinkles from looking down too often at technology. But don’t panic—you can avoid tech neck and help keep your neck muscles looking smooth and supple for as long as possible.

Tech neck can also happen from poor posture at the computer: essentially, looking down at your computer screen. And since more individuals are working from home than ever before, you may not have the same posture on your couch or comfy chair that you did at your office desk.

So how to get rid of the tech neck? Fortunately, the answers are simple and practical.

Why Is the Neck So Susceptible to Wrinkles?

The skin on your neck seems to be more delicate compared to some other areas of the body. It’s even more delicate than facial skin—it’s about as sensitive as the skin around your eyes.

As we age, decreased collagen production, sun damage, and less moisture in the skin can make the neck look older than the face. Since the neck skin is often exposed to sunlight and constantly moving thanks to our head movements, it ages faster than other body areas. 

The fact that the neck has thinner skin also means it naturally has less collagen, to begin with. Constantly looking down exacerbates those horizontal lines on the neck. Other symptoms that go with tech neck, besides wrinkles that weren’t noticeable before, include a stiff neck, back pain, and even tension headaches.

Combine bad posture with more time spent looking at screens, and you have both tech neck and blue light damage on your hands. Or, more notably, your neck.

What Can You Do To Prevent Tech Neck Pain?

How to get rid of tech neck problems? Don’t worry; we have a short but sweet guide here for you to make your way back to supple neck skin.

Step One: Treat Existing Wrinkles

You should be applying the same products to your face that you do to your neck. These include cleansers, moisturizers, and, yes, exfoliants. Anti-aging creams are your BFF when it comes to taking care of your neck skin. 

When it comes to resolving how to get rid of tech neck, you have a few essential skincare ingredients to help.

Antioxidants

Vitamin E, green tea, beta-carotene, polyphenols, ferulic acid, and curcumin are potent antioxidants that can improve skin aging and help protect against future damage, especially sun damage.  

Ceramides

Ceramides, a type of lipid or fat, make up a substantial portion of your epidermis (approximately50%). It can help protect the skin barrier from future damage. It can also minimize transepidermal water loss (TEWL) in the skin, contributing to aging. 

Hyaluronic acid

Hyaluronic acid can not only be used as an oral supplement for skin aging, but you can also apply it topically and even have it injected into the neck skin to improve those horizontal wrinkles. 

Peptides

Peptides, which are fragments of amino acids that may help restore skin damage, can significantly help improve the appearance of wrinkles.  

Retinol

Did you know you can also use retinol on your neck for anti-aging benefits? Retinol can help reduce TEWL, increase collagen production and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. 

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that can help reverse sun damage on the skin. It also helps protect skin against future sun damage, making it an essential part of your skincare routine for getting rid of tech neck. 

Products That May Help You Get Rid Of Tech Neck

Elina Organics Cleopatra Neck Cream

With green tea extract, peptides, amino acids, ultra-moisturizers cocoa butter, coconut oil, aloe vera, and shea butter, this neck cream is designed to correct and nourish the skin on the neck to minimize the appearance of wrinkles, support firmer skin and encourage cellular turnover. Apply twice a day for best results.

Alastin Restorative Neck Complex

Peptides, niacinamide, squalene, ceramides, and shea butter are included in this formula to help improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, increase hydration, and support damage clearance and collagen formation in the skin.

Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Lifting Neck Cream

Peptides, squalene, vitamins C and E, and rosehip oil appear in this neck cream, containing aloe, white tea, chamomile, and lavender extracts to soothe and uplift the skin. 

What Else Can You Do?

If you find you aren’t quite seeing the improvements you’d like with anti-aging creams, you have other options. Some forms of laser skin resurfacing may reduce the appearance of sagging and wrinkles, as can other non-surgical and surgical procedures. You can also try a neck mask, such as Tria Beauty’s Firming & Anti-Aging Neck Mask Set.

Step Two: Prevent Future Wrinkles

The best treatment for tech neck is prevention. You can prevent tech neck by making a few small but significant changes. It helps to prevent your neck skin from developing more wrinkles.

1. Use sunscreen

Since the neck is often exposed to sunlight, using SPF here to prevent wrinkles is a must, even if you’re going out for a few minutes a day.

2. Check your posture

If you’re looking down at your computer or phone throughout the day, it’s time to switch to a more ergonomic setup when working and responding to emails and texts. 

• When sitting at a desk, keep your feet flat on the ground, and your knees at a 90-degree angle to the floor. Instead of looking down or up at your computer screen, you should keep your eyes level with the screen. You may require a few alterations to your existing setup to make this possible.

• When checking your phone, please put it up to eye level with your face rather than looking down at it. We realize this isn’t realistic in every situation. But do it when you can—you may look a little funny at first, but your neck will look younger!

3. Improve your sleeping position

It’s best to sleep on your back for spinal health and reduce wrinkles from forming on the side of your face or neck that you sleep on. Your neck should also be supported so it’s not bending a certain way, which can increase your chances of wrinkles.

What Aging Skin Concerns Do You Have?

So what is tech neck? It’s, unfortunately, part of the effect using technology has on our delicate neck skin. Have YOU noticed horizontal lines on your neck that didn’t use to be there before? Let us know what aging skin concerns you have in the comments below!