Neck lines, a looser neck and the décolletage: what can help

What is the décolletage area?

Décolletage (sometimes written décolleté, from the French for a low neckline) means the upper chest and the base of the neck: the skin a low neckline shows. It gets almost as much sun as the face but less care, so sun spots, fine lines and a crepey, uneven surface often appear there first.

What causes neck wrinkles?

• Movement in thin skin: the neck bends and turns all day, and its skin is thinner than the face's.
• Looking down: hours at phones and screens may bring horizontal lines on earlier.
• Sun: years of sun thin the skin and bring spots and an uneven tone, on the neck and chest as on the face.
• Ageing: skin loses collagen and spring, and the tissues under the jaw loosen.

Which problem is which, and what helps each

• Horizontal neck lines: hyaluronic acid placed in the skin, such as a skin booster, can soften them; in a review of 11 small studies, about one person in seven had mild, passing bruising or swelling, and about half needed another treatment within a year.
• Crepey skin and fine lines on the neck or chest: skin boosters, or MOXI, our resurfacing laser, over two to four sessions.
• A looser neck or soft skin under the jaw: this is sagging, and focused ultrasound (Ultraformer MPT) reaches the deeper layers involved; biostimulators can add gradual firmness.
• Sun spots and uneven colour on the neck and chest: BBL HEROic broadband light, or MOXI.

How to get rid of neck wrinkles: what is realistic

Soften rather than erase. Skin off the face responds less well than facial skin, so results on the neck and chest tend to be more modest, and treatment usually takes a course and upkeep. Lines that are deep and fixed may improve only partly. What makes the most difference over the years is the simplest part: sunscreen on the neck and chest every day, the same moisturiser you use on your face, and a screen held a little higher.

Neck wrinkles in men

The causes and treatments are the same. Men often notice a looser neck or soft skin under the jaw first, which is a question of firmness rather than lines, and focused ultrasound is planned the same way for men and women: from how deep the laxity sits.

Side effects and who should wait

After skin boosters: small bumps, redness and sometimes bruises, usually settling within about a week. After MOXI: a few hours of redness and a bronzed, sandpaper-like texture that sheds within a week; less often darker patches, more likely on deeper or tanned skin. After focused ultrasound: redness, mild swelling or tenderness for a few days. All of these wait during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The doctor checks any spot on the chest or neck that has changed before treating around it.