Women are often diligent with their skin care routines, making sure they regularly cleanse, moisturise and exfoliate their faces. However, not everyone is as attentive to their neck.
Sally from Fabulous Over 50 told women how she keeps her neck looking youthful as a 55-year-old woman. The expert aesthetician and anti-ageing enthusiast urged ladies to extend their skin care routine to their necks. She urged women to start using an antioxidant with hyaluronic acid.
Sally said: "I have had my fair share of trolls tell me that my neck looks younger than the rest of my face - and it does. And the reason it does is that I have sun damage. I also have eczema and psoriasis, I'm super allergic, and that has taken its toll on my neck.
"There's not a lot I can do about that, but there's loads that I can do about the lines, wrinkles and loose skin."
Women over 50 can take years off their necks naturally
YouTube / Fabulous Over 50 / GETTY IMAGES
Sally explained that the neck may seem to age faster than the face because "the skin is different".
"It has fewer sebaceous glands, it doesn't contain the same stem cells, collagen production is different, and it has fewer hair follicles. This means that the skin on the neck has less scaffolding, therefore it's prone to collapse and ageing much, much quicker."
According to the over 50s expert, the simplest thing you can do is to extend your skin care routine to your neck - with the exception of one product.
Sally warned: "If you're using tretinoin or retinol, you need to be very careful when it comes to the neck, because the neck can - and probably will - react.
Sally's first simple tip for women over 50 was to cleanse the neck. This step is often forgotten because we don't typically wear makeup on this area, however, it still needs a clean. The aesthetician recommended using gentle Miscellar water.
Next, it's important to slather on the sunscreen - not just on the face but on the neck and hands too.
Top tips for a younger-looking neck
- Use a cleanser
- Apply SPF
- Stock up on antioxidants with hyaluronic acid
- Slather on neck-firming cream
- Be sparing with retinol
She said: "The sun does break down collagen, and it can create pigmentation and wrinkles. If you want to protect your neck from further damage, think about wearing SPF every time your neck is exposed to the sun."
According to Sally, an antioxidant is a must-have product in a woman's bathroom cupboard - particularly if it contains one key ingredient.
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GETTY IMAGESShe said that we often use an antioxidant on our faces, like vitamin C, and we should get into the habit of using it on our necks too.
The expert said: "I recommend you find a product that is an antioxidant and includes a hyaluronic acid in it. It will be fantastic and you will notice a difference in your hydration."
The skin care experts at Dermalogica shared the many benefits of hyaluronic acid. It's a natural humectant, meaning it "improves and helps maintain hydration levels, giving skin a firm, healthy look".
They continued: "It exhibits antioxidant properties, which means it can help the skin fight free radical damage. And as a major structural component of skin, hyaluronic acid is effective at helping to maintain elasticity."
Finally, Sally recommended slathering on a night-time, neck-firming cream.
For those who do want to incorporate retinol into their skin care regime, it's best to go for a tiny amount and buffer it with your other products - for example, massaging in a little bit with your night cream. The expert recommended doing this just once a week at first rather than doing too much, too soon.
