A topic that’s on everyone’s minds right now is tech neck! I get a lot of questions in my clinic about how to treat this, so let’s talk about it!
What exactly is tech neck? Tech neck is an anatomical condition characterized by horizontal lines on the neck that are often exacerbated by looking downwards at a phone or computer screen over an extended period of time. It’s a hot topic of conversation right now due to the rise in screen time for everyone across the globe.
So how do we treat it? There are 2 main treatments that I recommend for my beauties - Botox and biostimulatory fillers.
Botox is my first choice treatment for tech neck because it’s minimally invasive and it works! The way botox works for tech neck is it relaxes the platysma muscle and therefore relaxes and smoothes out the thin neck skin on top of this muscle. I usually do a maximum of 20 units of botox in the neck - any more than this and you risk making it a little difficult for the patient to swallow.
The second treatment that I consider to be a best option for tech neck is biostimulatory fillers. I always use hyperdilute Radiesse in the neck to avoid nodules in this delicate area. Biostimulatory fillers will stimulate your body’s own regenerative processes to produce collagen and fill in the horizontal lines. You can use biostimulatory filler in combination with Botox if you need to amplify the results. One note here: don’t ever use hyaluronic acid fillers in the neck! This will create a lumpy and very undesirable outcome!
Some treatments that I dont recommend for tech neck are:
- Fraxel: this is one of my favorite treatments, but it will work mostly for texture and laxity but won’t do much for horizontal lines
- Thread lifts: great for laxity and sagging skin, but not the best treatment for lines - Thermage: great for tightening loose skin on the neck, but won’t address horizontal bands
- Chemical peels: great for texture and skin quality, but again won’t address horizontal lines in the neck.
- Neck serums: while I love neck serums (and even engineered my own!), they won’t do too much for tech neck bands due to the anatomical nature of these horizontal lines
Lastly, don’t be too hard on yourself about your tech neck! As I mentioned, it’s an anatomical feature that can be exacerbated by looking down at our phones, but you simply can’t always live with your head perfectly straight on! You can do things like raising your computer monitor or limiting your screen time, but be kind to yourself and just know that there are treatment options available if it’s something that you’d like to fix.
