StriVectin Started as a Stretch Mark Cream and Ended Up on Everyone's Face

StriVectin was introduced in August 2002, labelled as a cream for stretch marks. Then something funny happened. Market research found that about 75 percent of buyers were using it on their faces, and by February 2003 the company had launched a slogan aimed at faces. It is a candid origin story: the shoppers decided what the product was for.

That history is why I find the range interesting. StriVectin says NIA-114, its optimized form of vitamin B3, is found in every one of its formulas, and that gives the shelf a kind of family resemblance. The brand also says it was one of the first to use peptides, which are short chains of amino acids that show up in a lot of firming-minded creams today.

The stretch mark cream is still around, and it is now called SD Advanced Plus Moisturizer. I would use it on the body, where it started, and think of it as a rich, supple moisturizer for areas you want to look smoother. The TL Advanced Tightening Neck Cream Plus lists Alpha-3 Peptide, Spilanthol and Bearberry Extract as key ingredients, and it is the one I would start with if the neck is your priority. The Advanced Retinol Daily Repair Face Moisturizer with SPF 30 is a daytime cream with retinol and broad spectrum protection, and the Crepe Control Tightening Body Cream is the body option. The Intensive Eye Cream Concentrate rounds it out for the delicate area around the eyes.

Nothing here promises a result. Use any of them daily for a couple of months and judge the look of your skin, not a number.

If the creams are the foundation, the serums and pads are where I experiment. The trick is to add one at a time, and to be honest about what your skin can handle.

The Daily Reveal Exfoliating Face Pads combine AHA, BHA, PHA and TXA, which sounds like a lot of letters, and it is. Use them in the evening, once or twice a week to begin with, and not on the same night as a retinol. They are meant to leave skin looking smoother and brighter, and they suit people who like a wipe-on step better than a scrub.

The Super-C Retinol Brighten & Correct Vitamin C Serum pairs vitamin C with retinol, aimed at a more even-looking complexion. It is a busy formula, so introduce it slowly. The Advanced Retinol Nightly Multi Correct Serum is the night version, and I would keep it away from the eye area unless the label says otherwise. If retinol makes your skin feel tight, the Hydration Multiplier Hyaluronic Acid Face Serum with Ceramides is the calm counterweight, a hydrating serum I would use underneath everything else.

The Peptight Tightening Neck Serum Roller is the most fun of the lot. A roller applicator glides over the neck, which makes daily use more likely, and I like that it makes application feel like a small ritual rather than a chore.

Use sunscreen every morning with any retinol or exfoliating product, because those steps can make skin more sensitive to sun.

Necks get ignored for years and then suddenly become the thing we notice in photos. The good news is that skin there responds to the same habits as your face: daily moisture, daily sun protection, and patience.

Here are eight options from other brands. Alpyn's Super Sculpt Peptide Firming & Lifting Serum is made for face, neck and décolleté, so it is one serum for three areas. Kiehl's Super Multi-Corrective Firming Cream is a face-and-neck cream, plush and familiar, and the one I would choose if you want a single cream for both. Nécessaire's The Neck Serum is a firming serum with peptide, a simple neck-focused step. NIOD's Neck Elasticity Catalyst is a rich lifting treatment for the neck, and I think of it as the most technical of the group, best for people who enjoy reading a label.

Apply upward, from the collarbone to the jaw, and do not forget the back of the neck, where the sun hits when your hair is up.

What I would skip: dragging a face product down the neck in a rush and calling it done, and stacking several new actives on this thin skin all at once. Add one product, wait two weeks, and watch for redness or stinging. If skin becomes sore or does not settle down, stop and see a doctor.

My approach is to build slowly. Pick one cream you like the feel of, use it every day for a month, and only then add a serum or a pad. Take a photo in the same window light at the start so you are judging the look of your skin, not your memory of it.

Keep sunscreen as the constant, since no serum matters as much. If you use retinol, start two nights a week. If you want a smoother look on your neck, treat it like a face and give it the same time. StriVectin has been showing shoppers this idea since 2002, and the best part of the story is that people found their own uses for it. Yours might be different from mine, and that is fine. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together The Neck Cream Edit, From a Stretch-Mark Accident to Red Light Devices.