Neck Filler and Neck Botox: Everything You Need to Know

As someone who loves bringing up Botox during dinner parties, I’m no stranger to injectables. That said, neck injectables—like neck filler and neck Botox—were something I never thought about until two years of intermittent lockdowns had me staring at myself on Zoom all day. For some of us, the increased time spent looking at our faces sparked a shift to subtle tweakments. For me, it sparked a myopic focus on my tech-neck wrinkles that simply refused to go away.

While friends and colleagues told me that the lines on my neck weren’t that noticeable, I was on a mission to make them disappear. Even my most powerful skin care products were having little effect, so I decided to book an official appointment with my dermatologist, Timm Golueke, MD, founder of Royal Fern Skincare, to see if I could accomplish a smooth neck with needles. Dr. Golueke had already sculpted my face with masseter Botox and cheek fillers, so my neck wrinkles were clearly in good hands.

Dr. Golueke has seen an increase in neck-injectable requests over the last few years. “We look down at our devices much more than we used to, which is one of the key reasons for loss of elasticity in this area and tech-neck wrinkles,” he says. “My patients are realizing that the neck often shows signs of aging more than the face.” 

While my neck lines weren’t “severe,” Dr. Golueke said they were prominent enough to justify an appointment. That was all I needed to hear to embark on a lengthy conversation about the ins and outs of neck injectables.

What is neck filler?

Like many common types of face fillers, neck filler is based on hyaluronic acid, a substance that binds to moisture and naturally occurs in our bodies. This means it can be instantly dissolved with an enzyme called hyaluronidase if you don’t like the results. 

While its popularity is on the rise, neck filler remains an off-label treatment, which means it’s not yet approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to be used for this purpose. (Another good reason to book with a trusted dermatologist or surgeon.) Still, studies indicate it’s one of the most effective ways to smooth horizontal neck lines. Dermatologists agree that you should use a soft, “non-crosslinked” HA (hyaluronic-acid) filler for this treatment, but type and technique vary depending on who you go to—and where. 

At my appointment, Dr. Golueke immediately reached for vials of Profhilo, a moisturizing injectable he prefers to use for the neck region. Unlike HA-based fillers, it contains only pure, stabilized hyaluronic acid, making it even softer and more spreadable than most HA neck fillers. “It’s become very popular in the UK and Europe over the last few years,” he says. “It spreads out like honey.” In the US, your injector’s choice of HA-based fillers will vary. 

“It’s very technique-dependent, so go to an experienced injector,” says Whitney Bowe, MD, a New York dermatologist and founder of Dr. Whitney Bowe Beauty. “I prefer Belotero or Volbella, blended with lidocaine.” 

How much does neck filler cost?

Pricing for neck filler varies widely depending on your location and type of injectable. Dr. Golueke estimated that my Munich-based Profhilo treatment would cost $400 and last for 4 to 6 months, while Dr. Bowe says her New York Belotero or Volbella treatments tend to cost “around $800 but last 9 to 12 months.”