Regardless of your age and degree of sun damage, it is recommended that you begin your cosmetic journey into non-surgical anti-aging treatments by improving the quality of your skin.
Healthy skin is smooth, thick, even-toned and hydrated. Any injectable enhancements you decide on, to rebuild lost volume and soften wrinkles, will produce far better results when done in combination with collagen stimulating treatments and high-quality skin care products.
Assess your own skin, do you have large pores, brown spots, broken capillaries, is it too dry, too oily? If you have a cupboard full of cosmetics that you’ve tried but you still have your skin issues, then it’s time to look at cosmeceuticals; skin care that you can only purchase from a doctor’s clinic or Medi-Spa.
Cosmeceuticals are a blend of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals which have medicinal properties. A cosmetic is a substance intended to beautify your skin, whereas a drug (or pharmaceutical) is intended to change the structure or function of your skin. Cosmeceuticals are stronger products than what you can buy in a drug store or department store and require a medical professional to explain their application.
Vitamin C and Retinol
You can often keep your current skincare regime as long as it includes a moisturizer and sunblock and add just 2 essential ingredients, a Vitamin C (day) and a low dose of Retinol (night) .25% or lower until your skin grows accustomed to it. Stable Vitamin C serum is an antioxidant that will not only help protect your skin from environmental damage but will also stimulate your collagen to grow. Collagen and elastin are proteins found in the skin. They work together to give skin its texture and shape. Skin with healthy levels of both collagen and elastin isn’t just more youthful; it’s stronger. Also, the more collagen you have, the more your body is able to produce and maintain.
Retinol prompts surface skin cells to turn over and make way for new cell growth underneath. It slows the breakdown of collagen and thickens the deeper layer of skin where wrinkles begin. This is just your starting point, products that contain growth factors, peptides and hyaluronic acid should also be added as soon as possible. Many people believe that they are allergic or too sensitive for Retinol as it usually causes some redness and irritation for up to several weeks. Easing into its use (starting once a week) and increasing it over several weeks to every third night and eventually to daily use should take care of that issue. Non-surgical anti-aging treatments should always include Retinol.
Non-surgical face anti-aging: Lasers and Photofacials
If redness or brown spots are a concern, then an IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) series of treatments will be beneficial. IPL is not a laser but instead uses high-intensity pulses of visible light to improve skin texture, reduce pore size, and minimize wrinkles and fine lines.
If you have thin skin with significant wrinkling then you might be guided to consider stronger, deeper methods of skin rejuvenation such as the Venus Viva or INFINI Microneedling with RF (radio frequency). The choice you make with your doctor will mostly depend on how much downtime you can handle as the prices and comfort levels are similar. Current laser technology is able to deliver good results with more comfort and less social downtime than in the past.
Skin Boosters and Introfill
For a quick, facial rejuvenation to increase hydration, improve your skin’s firmness and elasticity, a popular, micro-injection technique that puts long lasting Hyaluronic Acid right into the skin are Skin Boosters, also known as Hyrolifting and Hydrofilling. Hyaluronic Acid is a substance that occurs naturally in our own bodies able to draw and hold 1000 times its own weight in water. Skin Boosters take that valuable hydration and lay it beneath the skin surface.
Introfill is a new, multi-needle delivery system which makes the procedure more comfortable and much quicker. It can be used for PRP (Puraplas) injections as well as Hyaluronic Acid. Results can last about 6 months.
Fillers and Neuromodulators
Of course, you can go straight for contouring the face with dermal fillers and neuromodulators. Using a combination of both dermal fillers that help shape the face and neuromodulators that relax the muscles that create wrinkling can help you achieve the best results. However, at some point you will need to give your complexion the care and attention it deserves, so starting there is your best move.
