For many of us, work, school, and other commitments (hello, social media) have us spending hours hunched over our computer, tablet, or smartphone every day. And while back pain, neck pain, and eye strain are common physical complaints stemming from this technology-driven life, tech neck is often another troubling side effect.
In case you’re not yet familiar, tech neck is the name for symptoms that plague the neck area due to frequently positioning your head downward. Pain along the upper spine is common, along with fine lines and wrinkles stretching across the neck and chest area. These deep lines have become a larger skin concern over the past decade or so—not only for folks in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, who have begun to lose collagen, but even for some teens and twenty somethings as well. Experts blame it on the digital age—just take it from Dr. Dara Liotta, a double board-certified plastic surgeon in New York City, who tells RealSelf: “When people discuss tech neck, they’re referring to the horizontal neck lines or creases that come from looking down at devices every day.”
What’s more: Dr. Joshua Zeichner, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, says he often sees tech neck in younger patients with completely healthy skin (in other words, it’s not necessarily one of the signs of aging), which makes sense considering how much millennials and Gen Zers are on their smartphones and other devices—like iPads, Kindles, and handheld video games—each day. As far as fixes for tech neck are concerned, Botox and fillers are the main two (temporary) options; both reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles,and are effective, noninvasive solutions that don’t require plastic surgery.
However, Botox injections and fillers for the neck work very differently. For this reason, we tapped several experts to find out how each option can specifically be treated, what makes one or the other a better option, and how to tell which one is right for your personal concerns.
How do Botox and filler differ?
While both Botox and filler aid in minimizing fine lines and wrinkles, how they go about doing so couldn’t be more different. “Neurotoxins such as Dysport or Botox work on muscles under the skin by preventing your body from signaling muscles to contract,” explains Dr. Zeichner. “This hinders the overlying skin from folding and thereby can improve the appearance of wrinkles.” On the other hand, fillers are hyaluronic acid–based injectable products that directly plump the skin to fill in wrinkles, says Dr. Zeichner. (Common ones include Juvéderm and Restylane).
Dr. Zeichner has a clever analogy: “Think of Botox like unfolding a tablecloth to blow in the wind… if the folds are not deep, they will go away on their own, but in some cases, you may need an iron to fully eliminate them,” he says. “The iron is the filler used to directly address these individual neck lines.”
Another factor that makes them different is time. For instance, it typically takes five to seven days to see results from Botox, whereas you can usually see the effects of filler immediately. In addition, Botox injections generally last three to four months, while neck fillers can remain effective for up to a year, depending on your metabolism, according to Dr. Lara Devgan, a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York City.
As far as pain and downtime are concerned, Dr. Zeichner says that both types of injections may be mildly uncomfortable, though a pretreatment with numbing cream makes them much more tolerable. And there is little to no downtime for both procedures. The one caveat: injections in the skin sometimes lead to bruising, which can take up to two weeks to heal.
What is the cost of neck fillers and neck Botox?
From a cost standpoint, it varies depending on where you live, who you’re seeing, and how many units of botulinum toxin or filler you’re having administered. RealSelf users report an average cost of $550 per Botox session and $1,025 per filler session. However, Dr. Devgan says the cost differences are negligible because you will have to get Botox every three to four months for maintenance, whereas you’ll need to maintain filler every 6 to 12 months.
Can you get Botox and filler in your neck?
While they may most often be thought of as treatments for crow’s feet and fuller lips, respectively, when it comes to tech neck, both Botox and fillers can work wonders. “For neck bands or vertical lines, Botox can be used in the front-most edges of the platysma, the two muscle [bands] of the neck, to relax the front of the muscle,” says Dr. Liotta. “Relaxing the front of this muscle allows the back to pull more, which tightens the look of the neck,” she explains. (For this reason, neck Botox is often referred to as a Botox neck lift or Nefertiti neck lift.)
Clenching your jaw, which is something many people do subconsciously without realizing it, can lead to the aforementioned vertical bands as well as sagginess, as the platysma muscle becomes looser over time. “When you clench, you [can] see a vertical band, which represents the contracted edge of the platysma muscle,” explains Dr. Melissa Doft, a board-certified plastic surgeon in New York City. (These are known as platysmal bands.)This muscle gets weaker and subsequently looser the more it’s used, which results in visible aging of the skin. “Botox interrupts the communication between the nerve and the muscle so that the muscle can no longer contract, relaxing the muscle so it is unable to cause wrinkles,” says Dr. Doft. (Additionally, contraction of the platysma muscle pulls down on the lower face, which can create the look of jowls and a less defined jawline, although it’s important to note that Botox injections will not have the same rejuvenating effect on the lower face as a facelift.)
Botox is also injected above and below the lines in order to relax the neck muscles and soften horizontal fine lines. Alternatively, fillers work by plumping or adding volume to lines and neck wrinkles, which ultimately makes them look smoother and less prominent.
Dr. Devgan says that a combination of both treatments can be an effective fix for tech neck lines. “[Placing] Botox in the platysma muscle helps to soften the neck bands, while filler, judiciously placed in the lines, helps make them look less noticeable,” she explains.
How do I know which one is right for me?
It’s pretty straightforward: All the experts agree that patients with deeper lines are better candidates for filler, while those who have more superficial lines or who want a little tightening should opt for neck Botox.
“For younger patients with less prominent lines, I usually find that Botox is enough to address the issue,” says Dr. Zeichner. “I tend to use fillers for more severe lines and in my older patients who have weaker neck skin or in people whose lines are too far etched into the skin for Botox to help,” he adds.
Of course, you should always see a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon you trust, who will examine your neck and customize a treatment plan for you that’s based on your specific concerns. “The neck is actually a very complicated place, so an in-person examination with a board-certified physician with extensive experience injecting the neck is really needed, to determine the correct treatment or combination of treatments for each individual patient,” says Dr. Liotta. (Along with Botox and fillers, other procedures, such as microneedling and even something as simple as a good skincare routine, can go a long way in helping to improve the overall texture and tone of your neck skin.)
All of this is to say, if you’re considering getting Botox or fillers in order to treat tech neck, be sure to see a professional injector first, to figure out a plan that will address your specific skin goals.
