Yes, and you should. The neck and chest are thinner-skinned than the face, get more sun than people realize, and show age early. Run your face serum down the neck in upward strokes; for the wider chest, a body serum covers the area more sensibly. Sunscreen on both every morning matters more than either serum.
Key takeaways
- Face serum goes down the neck in upward strokes, a drop or two, then moisturizer and sunscreen.
- The upper chest takes a face serum; the wider chest, arms and hands are body serum territory.
- Sunscreen down to the collar every morning matters more than either serum.
Why the neck and chest need attention at all
Most skincare routines stop at the jawline. Below it, the skin is thinner than on the cheeks, has fewer oil glands, sits in the sun during every open-collared day of your life, and gets creased nightly by side sleeping. Then one day a photo taken from below, or a bright bathroom light, shows a neck and chest that look several years older than the face above them. People often notice it in their forties, and much of it comes down to those areas being left out.
MedlinePlus lists sun exposure as the largest avoidable driver of visible skin aging, and the chest is the classic example: a triangle of skin that has had decades of incidental sun while the face had at least some protection from foundation, hats or sunscreen.
The serum behind this answer
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The neck: same serum as the face
The neck is close enough in character to the face that the same serum does the job. After the face is done, add one or two drops for the neck and apply in upward strokes, front and sides, up to the jaw. Then moisturizer, then sunscreen in the morning, in the same order as the face. The INTENSE Serum is dosed with this in mind: three or four drops for the face plus one or two for the neck is a normal application.
Two details make a difference. Apply with upward strokes, from the collarbone toward the jaw, rather than pulling down. And do not forget the sides and the back of the neck if you wear your hair up; those get as much sun as the front.
- Face first4 drops, pressed in with flat fingers.
- NeckA drop or two, upward strokes from the collarbone to the jaw: front, sides and the back if your hair is up.
- Upper chestA drop or two on the triangle below the collarbone. Below that, switch to the body serum.
- Seal and protectWait a minute, moisturizer, then sunscreen down to wherever your collar sits.
The chest: where the two serums meet
The upper chest, the triangle below the collarbone, is small enough that a face serum handles it: one or two drops, pressed in. Below that, the area gets larger and the skin gets thicker, drier and more like the rest of the body. That is body serum territory. A body formula is built for that kind of skin and packaged for covering more of it, and it goes on before lotion in exactly the same way. If you are treating the whole chest, the upper arms and the backs of the hands, a face serum would be gone in days; the body serum is the sensible bottle. The difference between the two products is laid out in body serum vs. body lotion, and the money side of the question in can you use face serum on your body?.
The routine
| Area | Serum | Drops | Then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Face | Face serum | 3 to 4 | Moisturizer, sunscreen in the morning |
| Neck, front and sides | Face serum | 1 to 2 | Moisturizer, sunscreen in the morning |
| Upper chest | Face serum | 1 to 2 | Moisturizer, sunscreen in the morning |
| Wider chest, arms, hands | Body serum | 2 to 3 per zone | Lotion, sunscreen on exposed areas |
Night is the easier time for the serum step, because nothing competes with it and the skin is not about to be dressed or sun-exposed. If you prefer mornings, allow a minute between each layer so nothing pills under the sunscreen.
Sunscreen is the part that matters most
The American Academy of Dermatology calls sunscreen and moisturizer the two most effective anti-aging products available, and the neck and chest are where that advice pays off most, because they are the areas that have gone longest without it. A serum on a chest that is still getting tanned is working against the sun the whole time. So every morning, over the moisturizer, sunscreen goes down to wherever your collar sits and beyond.
What to expect
Comfort first: the skin feels softer and less tight within days. Changes in how it looks, smoother, more even, less finely creased, build over weeks and are maintained by the habit. Photograph the area in daylight on day one, with the same top on and your chin at the same height, and compare at four and twelve weeks. Neither serum will thicken thin skin, undo decades of sun, or change the horizontal lines on the neck that come from posture and phone use. If you want more than a cosmetic result, those are something to raise with a dermatologist.
Patch test, and when to stop
The neck and chest can be more reactive than the face, so patch test a new serum on the inner forearm for two nights before applying it there. Stop if it stings for more than a moment, or the skin is redder or bumpier the next day, and let it settle with moisturizer alone for a week. A rash that spreads, skin that is hot to the touch, or redness that lasts for weeks needs a dermatologist. If you have a diagnosed skin condition on the chest or neck, ask the dermatologist managing it before adding a cosmetic serum.
Read next
For choosing the right serum in the first place, especially on skin over forty that has become slower to forgive, read choosing a serum for mature skin. For the two serums in this range side by side, start with the exosome skin serum guide.
