Skinvive for Neck Lines: What the FDA Approved, and What It Did Not

On June 11, 2026, the FDA approved Skinvive by Juvéderm to reduce neck lines in adults over the age of 21. It is the first injectable approved to reduce neck lines, and it is not the first injectable approved for the neck.

Allergan Aesthetics announced the approval five days later. If you have read about Skinvive before, it was almost certainly about cheeks, which is what it was approved for in 2023. Our own guide to Skinvive as a skin booster is a cheek story from start to finish. The neck is a different treatment with a different rulebook.

What did the FDA approve?

The approved indication reads:

SKINVIVE by JUVÉDERM® is indicated for intradermal injection to improve skin smoothness of the cheeks and intradermal and/or subdermal injection to reduce neck lines for improvement of neck appearance in adults over the age of 21

In plain language: the hyaluronic acid gel goes into the skin of the neck, or just underneath it, to soften the lines that run across it, in patients over 21. The cheek approval from 2023 is untouched. The neck has been added to the same product.

The approval does not cover loose or sagging neck skin. It does not cover the vertical cords. The manufacturer's directions also state that safety and effectiveness for treating other areas of the body have not been established, so the cheeks and the neck are where the evidence sits.

Is this the first injectable approved for the neck?

No. Botox Cosmetic got there first, for a different problem.

It is already approved for moderate to severe platysma bands, the vertical cords that stand out down the front of the neck when you tense it. Those are a muscle pulling, and a muscle relaxer is the tool for them. There is more on that on our Botox page.

Skinvive is approved for the horizontal lines, the ones that ring the neck like rings on a tree. Those are a skin problem rather than a muscle problem, and a gel that sits in the skin is a different tool entirely.

Does Skinvive treat "tech neck"?

"Tech neck" is what people call those horizontal lines, and it is the phrase most of us type into a search bar. It is not an FDA term, it does not appear on the label, and the approval says nothing about what put the lines there.

What has been measured is age. In a study of 77 people across three age groups, the elasticity of neck skin, a measure of how far it springs back after it is pulled, fell from about 75 percent in the youngest group to about 56 percent in the oldest, with firmness dropping alongside it. Neck skin is thin, it moves all day, and it gives up its spring earlier than most people expect.

Skinvive is approved to reduce the lines, whatever put them there. You do not need a theory about your phone to be a candidate.

What the study showed, and who was not in it

The approval rests on one randomized study: 159 people at 13 sites, 105 treated and 54 left untreated for six months, with the doctor who graded the results kept blind to who got what.

At one month, 74.8 percent of treated participants had improved by at least one grade on the Allergan Transverse Neck Lines Scale, a five-grade scale, against 16.1 percent of the untreated group. Those two figures include a statistical estimate standing in for people who missed a visit. At six months, 66.0 percent of treated participants still held that improvement, against 9.1 percent of the untreated group.

Side effects are common, and most of them are things you can see rather than things that need treating. Nearly nine in ten participants had at least one reaction where the injections went in: redness in 82 percent, bruising in 78 percent, tenderness in 78 percent, small lumps or bumps in 76 percent. Most were mild and settled within two weeks. Adverse events the investigators tied to the treatment itself were rarer, at 3.4 percent, all mild and all resolved. There were no deaths and no serious treatment-related events.

Plan for a visible week. The labeling also describes an optional touch-up about 30 days after the first appointment, and the typical total it gives for the neck, 3.0 mL, counts that touch-up in. Plan for the possibility of two visits rather than one.

Of the 105 people treated in that study, 12 had skin the investigators graded as Fitzpatrick type V or VI, the two deepest tones on the scale clinicians use. Allergan states that the neck treatment has not been studied in darker skin tone patients, and twelve people is too few to argue with that. It is a gap in the evidence rather than a finding of harm, and it is worth raising directly with whoever would be treating you. Our providers would rather have that conversation than skip past it.

Why you may not be able to book it in Denver yet

The approval came with a condition attached, the kind Allergan says the FDA applies to some novel products. The company has to build a training program specific to this device, covering anatomy and blood vessels, injection technique, and how to manage complications including a blocked blood vessel. Allergan may only sell the product to providers who complete that training.

The order gives Allergan six months from June 11 to get that program running. Allergan has said it expects the neck indication to be broadly available later in 2026.

What a Skinvive conversation looks like at Redbud

At Redbud, Skinviveis already part of the injectable menu for the cheeks. Whether the neck indication is available here yet comes down to that training requirement.

Either way the consultation has the same shape. We look at your neck and name what is there, because horizontal lines, loose skin and cords are three different problems that often turn up together and do not answer to the same treatment. If the lines are the main event, Skinvive is a candidate. If it is the cords or laxity, it is not, and we will tell you so.

The appointment itself is short. Numbing cream first, then a series of tiny droplets placed along the lines with a fine needle, or sometimes in the neck through a blunt cannula instead. Expect to look treated for several days. Makeup covers a bruise on a cheek more easily than one on the neck, so if you have something on the calendar, book well ahead of it.

Nobody here books you for an injectable you do not need. If the honest answer is to wait, or to treat something else first, that is the answer you will get. General questions about first visits, candidacy and recovery live on our FAQ page.

Frequently asked questions

Is Skinvive approved for the lines across my neck, or for the cords?

The lines. The vertical cords that stand out when you tense your neck are a muscle, and Botox Cosmetic is the injectable approved for those. Plenty of people have both, which is worth sorting out before anything is injected.

How long does Skinvive last in the neck?

The study behind the approval followed people for six months. At that mark, 66.0 percent of treated participants still held at least a one grade improvement, against 9.1 percent of an untreated group. There is no data past six months for the neck, so nobody can tell you what month nine looks like.

Can I get Skinvive for my neck at any med spa?

Not everywhere. The FDA required Allergan to build a training program specific to this device and to sell only to providers who complete it, and to publish a way of checking who has. A clinic should be able to answer that easily.

Has the neck treatment been studied in darker skin tones?

Not in enough people to say. Twelve of the 105 participants treated had skin graded as Fitzpatrick type V or VI, and Allergan states the neck treatment has not been studied in darker skin tone patients. That is missing evidence, not evidence of a problem.

If you want to talk through whether Skinvive makes sense for your neck, book a consultation, or call or text the clinic at 720-593-8844. Redbud Medical Spa is at 2345 7th St STE 202, Denver, CO 80211.

This article is for general education and is not medical advice. Skinvive by Juvéderm is an FDA-approved injectable gel, indicated for intradermal injection to improve skin smoothness of the cheeks and for intradermal or subdermal injection to reduce neck lines, in adults over the age of 21. Safety and effectiveness for other areas of the body have not been established. Safety has not been studied during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or in people with a history of excessive scarring or pigmentation disorders. The product contains lidocaine. Individual results vary and no outcome can be promised. Talk with a licensed provider about your own skin, your history and your medications before any treatment.