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You have your skin care routine down perfectly ― never has your face looked more vibrant and glowing. But then you look down, and there it is: the neck. Often plagued with wrinkles, bands and sagging, the neck is one of the quickest and most obvious body parts to show aging.
Even using your traditional skin care routine on the neck doesn’t always seem to help these issues. So what are the best ways to combat and smooth these age-showing fine lines? We’ve asked experts in the field.
Why do necks age so quickly, anyway?
Essentially, exfoliators work by speeding up the turnover of skin cells, as dermatologist Sapna Palep, MD, founder of Spring Street Dermatology, explains. The average cycle of skin cells is about 28 days, but there are a lot of factors that can slow it down or speed it up. The outer layer of the skin, where dead skin cells build up, is called the stratum corneum, and once it starts to thicken, skin looks dull, gets clogged, and breaks out, she says. That s when we want to introduce an exfoliator.
While exfoliators come in many different forms, there is one key distinction to make: physical versus chemical. Physical exfoliants incorporate an abrasive to literally rub off dead skin cells just like when you use a sugar scrub on your legs, but way more gentle. If you use a physical scrub with an abrasive that s too large, you run the risk of creating micro-tears in your skin, Palep explains.
We Ask a Derm: Why Are My Lips Always Chapped? PureWow 12/16/2020
Anyone else feel like they’re constantly dealing with dry, chapped lips? Rest assured, you’re certainly not alone in this especially during the winter. “Though there are many causes for dryness and chapping, the most common reason is cold, dry weather,” says Dr. Robyn Gmyrek, Board-Certified Dermatologist at Union Square Laser Dermatology.
“Dry winter weather is known to damage sensitive, exposed mucous membranes like those found in your lips,” adds Dr. Orit Markowitz, a board-certified dermatologist and an Associate Professor of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. “Moisture loss is the leading cause for dry lips.”