Did You Know Tech Neck is Now a Thing?

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You might have seen bloggers talk about tech neck lately as part of StriVectin campaign to raise awareness about this new type of horizontal lines [they look like tree rings!] and sagging that didn’t exist before we started spending so much time on our devices. Looking down at your phone or laptop all day can deplete the collagen reserves on your upper neck faster than normal, because you are constantly bending and stretching the skin in that area. 

“Without realizing it, we’re repeatedly looking down at our phones and keyboards. The average person looks down at their phone 221 times a day!”

I am pretty diligent when it comes to taking care of the skin on my face, but mom always told me to never neglect the neck, decollete and hands, as those areas tend to give away most lifestyle mistakes. Per her advice, I am already trying to use gloves while doing housework, and applying hand cream with SPF religiously. Unfortunately, neck and decolletage areas get treated only when I think about them, so it’s definitely not a part of my product lineup that’s set in stone. Lately, I’ve been trying to develop better skincare habits, and came up with a quick 3-step neck & chest routine. Want to learn more about it? Here is it!

STEP 1:

Exfoliating the skin in neck & chest area is kind of a pain, actually. It’s more thin and delicate than I realized, so instead of using traditional scrubs I thought that Korean peeling gels would be a better choice. Unlike abrasive particles in physical scrubs that can create micro-tears with their sharp edges, peeling gels “fuse” with dead skin cells and roll off in chunks, revealing petal soft, fresh skin underneath without the damage. I am currently loving SKIN79 Crystal Peeling Gel, that I bought ages ago from Memebox. I believe it’s currently on sale for just $7!

STEP 2:

It’s important to seal in the moisture after exfoliating, or that new baby skin will dry out too quickly. A few drops of oily serum will do the trick, and the best stuff is actually available at health stores 😉 NOW Foods Rose Hip Seed Oil comes with a handy dropper, so I’ve been experimenting by adding it to my moisturizers and body lotions, but it’s actually great on its own, too. I wrote about the beauty benefits of rose hip oil before, if you fancy a long read.

STEP 3:

For the final step of my neck beauty routine I picked StriVectin TL Advanced Tightening Neck Cream, which also comes in Light variety with a less balmy formula. This moisturizer is actually the #1 selling neck cream* [among department store brands], and received numerous beauty awards. The formula includes proprietary NIA114 molecule and Gravitite-CF Lifting Complex

*Source: The NPD Group, Inc. / U.S. Prestige Beauty Total Department Specialty, Skincare Dollar Sales, Jul 2014 – Jun 2016.

BOTTOM LINE:

I know not everybody has the time to dedicate to extensive beauty routines, but being mindful of how much you look down at your devices and making sure your neck is always moisturized can do wonders to stave off the formation of new lines and improving the appearance of existing ones. The hardest part for me personally is not finding the time, but finding the resolve to stick to a routine. As a beauty blogger, I constantly feel the pressure to keep trying new things, but sometimes it’s as important to sit back and stick with what works. This trio definitely did it for me, and I have a jar of TL Advanced Light Tightening Neck Cream sitting in the drawer when I run out of this one. Rose hip oil is pretty easy to find at drugstores and health stores, and a wide variety of peeling gels are available from Korean online stores [I like this one, it’s cheap, effective, and comes with free shipping].

Do you use products specifically designed to target your neck or decolletage area? Have you heard the term “tech neck”? Let me know in the comments below!

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