Have you admired a woman’s glowing skin? Even skin tone? Smooth, wrinkle free texture? Then you descended to her neck and décolleté (bust) area with a screeching halt! What’s going on? Her neck and décolleté areas look like they’re suffering from neglect.

The key to this problem is extension. When you cleanse your face include the your neck and décolleté area in your skincare regimen. French women have practiced this for years.

The skin on your neck deserves to be treated like your face. As you cleanse your face extend your cleanser down to your neck and décolleté area. The same is true for exfoliating. Be gentle when you’re exfoliating because the skin on your neck is more delicate than the skin on your face. Make sure you choose an exfoliator specifically for your face. This is beneficial because the grains are finer and less irritating to your delicate skin.

When you’re working on your neck area, look upward and use upward circular hand motions. Gravity naturally pulls everything down, so work opposite gravity to keep everything lifted and taut.

After you’ve cleansed and/or exfoliated, follow up with a natural oil moisturizer like jojoba, rosehip seed, or olive oil. Again, look upward, using upward sweeping hand motions on your neck.

Another important step, especially for daytime, is to use broad-spectrum (UVA and UVB) sunscreen with SPF 30-35. Some moisturizers contain SPF. Avoid chemical sunscreens. Choose mineral sunscreens, which include non-nano zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.1 These minerals reflect the sun’s rays, but are not absorbed into your skin.

A final note regarding your face and décolleté area: if you’re a side-sleeper, try back sleeping. When you sleep on your side, it creates a crease, or indent, in the middle of your breast area. Over time that crease deepens and makes a permanent home. The same thing happens to your face with side sleeping. It creates sleep wrinkles from your pillowcase that become permanent fixtures over time. Plus, cotton robs your face of moisture. Again, try back sleeping and sleep on satin pillowcases. Satin pillowcases do not cause sleep wrinkles nor do they rob your face of moisture.