Though essence, moisturisers, serums, and masks have made their benefits known over the face, our necks often get neglected as far as skincare routines go. Given that they’re exposed to the same amount of sun damage and environmental aggressors as our face, this might be a missed opportunity to care for them. Just think, how much time do you spend looking down at your phone every day? That’s how long the skin on your neck is being stretched and tugged at. Then factor in how often do you actually apply any skincare – sunscreen included – onto this portion of your body and you get a rough idea how much your neck goes through.
This explains why there is a need for neck creams because they are basically designed to repair and protect skin that has been neglected for years. They go beyond hydration and deeply replenish skin with powerful lifting and firming ingredients. And since sebum glands are less active on the neck and decolletage area, neck creams tend to be richer to really nourish dry and damaged skin. If you’re guilty of excessive sun exposure, you’ll also be glad to know that many neck creams are formulated with brightening ingredients like vitamin C to reduce the visible signs of photo-damage. Some of them even contain soft-focus pigments to soften the appearance of fine lines upon application for an instant fix, or anti-ageing benefits to prevent further damage.
There are specially formulated neck creams that deliver anti-ageing, brightening, and firming benefits, but you can just as easily use a power-packed face cream that delivers the same benefits. The easiest change you can make is to start incorporating your neck into your daily skincare routine. We put together a list of seven neck creams and face creams (that work just as well for the neck) to try:
Formulated just for the neck and décolleté, this anti-ageing cream works to minimise wrinkles, skin slackening, and age-related dark spots. Enriched with a duo of kangaroo flower and organic Mitracarpus plant extracts, the two help lift and sculpt and refine any lines. The organic oat sugars plant extracts help lend an instant lift effect by tightening the skin, while the shea oil hydrates and nourishes it. This neck cream comes with an easy to use twist-to-open nozzle tip that evenly dispenses the cream so you can massage it into the skin.
This gel-cream mask works on the face and neck and is best applied overnight. This luxurious formula uses a potent blend of ingredients like Anogeissus, Commiphora, red algae, and sweet almond extract to help plump the skin while you sleep. The mask quickly absorbs into the skin and helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles for a more lifted complexion. Just massage a generous amount onto the face and neck in an upwards motion before bedtime.
This anti-ageing cream is designed specifically to target the neck and decollete area for its added firming and exfoliating benefits. Formulated in three parts, this cream tightens the skin and addresses concerns about sagging skin in the neck while stimulating the production rate of collagen in the deeper layers of the skin, and reduce the discolouration of age-related dark spots. Enhanced with Apple Stem Cell Extract, this ingredient helps maintain the cells and leaves the skin looking younger and tighter. Apply this cream onto the neck and jawline twice a day and gently massage it into the skin with an upwards motion.
For the face and the neck, this power-packed serum helps to return the skin to its most youthful state. Formulated with resveratrol that lifts and firms the skin, Viniferine that brightens, and grape seed polyphenols that protect the delicate skin against environmental aggressors – these ingredients help reinforce the serum’s anti-ageing benefits. Silky and weightless, this serum glides over the skin and lends a boost of hydration to keep it nourished.
So named for its benefits of acting like a corset for your face, the Fresh Black Tea Firming Corset Cream promises to lift and define the face and neck. Using Goji fruit extract and firming peptides, this popular cream helps to protect and maintain the skin’s natural bounce while defining the skin’s natural contours. Aside from its lifting benefits, it also helps to improve skin elasticity with its power-packed ingredients of kombucha, black tea extract, blackberry leaf extract, and lychee seed extract. Apply this to the face and neck twice daily and massage it upwards into the skin.
This neck cream is enriched with antioxidant-rich fermented soybean extract and oil from Jeju Island that helps to improve the skin’s texture for firmer and dewier skin. This highly concentrated amount of soybean extract helps to tighten the skin and strengthen the skin’s barrier to replenish its radiance. This neck cream is also free of six harmful additives like parabens, animal ingredients, mineral oil, synthetic colour, imidazolidinyl urea, and synthetic fragrance. Simply spread it over the neck evenly and massage it from the bottom up until it’s completely absorbed into the skin. Save this for the last step in your routine.
Ultra-lightweight and comfortable, this hydrating emulsion will help restore the face and neck’s water and oil balance to keep it glowing and plump. Perfect for all skin types, this silky fluid helps to target all visible signs of ageing, from dullness, dryness, dehydration, to fine lines, wrinkles, and uneven skin texture. Its non-acnegenic formula works even for sensitive skin and won’t clog pores. To use this emulsion, just apply it over the face and neck, twice a day, and massage it in. You can use it as is, or layer it under a cream.
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Text: Joyce Cheo / Additional reporting: Arissa Ha & Farisia Thang
This post was first published on September 17, 2018, and updated on August 4, 2020.
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