Stick your neck out

We’re relying on smartphones more than ever, so it’s time to give our technecks some TLC, says Vicki Bramley.

Whether we’re checking news updates, connecting with family or sneaking one more game of Solitaire, our mobiles are slowly wrecking our necks. Craning forward to see our phones multiplies the pressure on our necks. Along with stiffness and pain, overindulging on tech can also speed up skin ageing (more on this later). In 2018, Australians spent three hours a day on devices, a figure that has surely spiked these past few months. But there are ways you can ease the tension without giving up your tech. Best of all, you can do it while you get a beauty fix. “It’s super easy to incorporate massage while showering or applying products such as cleanser, serum, moisturiser or facial oils,” explains much-loved facialist Melanie Grant. “I like to use massage in the neck area to drain fluid and sculpt the jawline. It also stimulates blood flow, allowing nutrients and oxygen to flow in, promoting collagen production to firm, brighten and refine.” Here’s how to give your own neck some healing hands at home, combining Melanie’s moves with some of our favourite techniques.

For the jaw

Before you begin, wash your hands well and rinse off any make-up or sunscreen. This clears the way for your skin to absorb the products you use for your massage, bringing complexion benefits along with neck relief. “Ensure you use enough oil, serum or cream to maintain enough slip and be careful not to pull or tug the skin,” says Melanie. For puffiness, keep the pressure light, as lymph is just below the skin’s surface. With soft fingertips, massage the middle of your chin in tiny circles for 10 seconds. Move outwards to the sides of your chin and repeat, before moving onto the outer jaw. “Use the knuckles of your index and middle finger to slide very lightly outwards along your jaw and then drain to the lymph nodes under the ears,” says Melanie. Repeat five times. With your index finger and thumb, lightly pinch the skin along the jawline, starting at the chin and moving outwards. For deep muscle tension, press firmly into the masseter (chewing) muscles for 10 seconds, then up along the cheekbones.

For the neck

Open out your hands. “Use gentle, upward sweeping movements and drain toward the lymph nodes underneath your ears,” advises Melanie. If you can reach, try using two hands to do overlapping upward strokes on one side, then the other. This boosts circulation and feels especially good when sluggish. Now switch back to fingertips and gently massage each side of the neck in tiny circles just below the ears. Next, move to the base of the neck and massage each side again, followed by the clavicle.

For the décolleté

Place an open, flat hand on the breastbone and sweep up and over the opposite shoulder. Repeat five times and swap to the other side.

For the skin

Our devices aren’t just a pain in the neck, they’re also accelerating ageing. “Blue light releases free radicals in the skin which degrade collagen, causing premature ageing and pigmentation,” explains Dr Andreas Fox from Artisan Aesthetics. To protect your neck, wear sunscreen every day, he says. Those with iron oxide will significantly reduce the penetration of blue light. Also, try to decrease your device use, turn down the brightness or put up a blue light shield. To fight back, use skincare with antioxidants (such as vitamin C, niacinamide etc) to neutralise those nasty free radicals. And always add a nourishing moisturiser, because the skin on the neck is drier than the face.