Secrets to Defying the Aging Process
As disappointing as it may sound, even in this modern day and age, we are unable to wave a magic wand to rejuvenate a face…that being said, there are many avenues to maintaining and/or regaining some of the aspects you so enjoyed in your youth. A well-considered, reliable and consistent skincare regimen can go a long way to rejuvenating the skin, removing or improving sun damage, stimulating collagen and improving overall skin texture. Minor procedures such as micro-needling, mild chemical peels and/or injectable treatments such as fillers or Botox© can enhance your normal appearance, or add subtle volume to areas that have lost fullness over time. In some cases, fillers can even “lift” deeper facial tissues to regain youthful contours. Finally, surgical options may, in some cases, be the key to repositioning looser tissues or refining a particular lost feature. Surgery can sound scary, but often the procedures are minimal and the recovery time not as intimidating as it may seem.
Starting with the basics first-skincare is the essential component of any rejuvenating process. Without the best possible skin, no amount of injectable or surgery will seem quite as good, nor last as long. Regular use of a facial sunscreen is critical to prevent darkening of brown spots and new fine lines. Tretinoin (Retin-A) in some form or fashion penetrates the deeper layers of the skin and stimulates collagen production, as well as serving as a mild daily exfoliant. Vitamin C applied topically can reduce the effects and visibility of sun damage and result in significant brightening of the complexion, and pharmaceutical medications such as hydroquinone can more aggressively combat dark brown spots, patches and hormone-induced darkening. A consultation with a medical aesthetician, hopefully with years of experience, can help guide you in the proper direction. It is not necessary to throw all your products away and start with all new ones, or an entirely comprehensive “system” in order to get god results. My advice is to find someone who is willing to listen to your concerns, take a good look at your skin type and issues and advise you based on your comfort level as well as your budgetary and time constraints.
Minor procedures such as mild/medium chemical peels and micro-needling (a procedure where an instrument loaded with fine needles is rolled or stamped over your skin to stimulate collagen and resurface finer lines) can do wonders to kick-start a regimen or create a passage through the skin to allow topical skincare treatments to have stronger impact. Not everyone will need these, but a regular interval of peels may, over time, lead to your skin texture actually looking and acting younger even as you age.
Injectable treatments have certainly been widely-publicized as equaling a “liquid facelift”. As we have discussed in our blogs in the past, there are certainly patients for whom this may work well. Those patients who have very early signs of aging, mild volume loss, fine early creases around the forehead, between the eyes or crows’ feet, can see remarkable changes with injections of fillers and/or Botox©. Most patients, however, will find themselves aging in multiple different ways: some loss of volume in certain areas, some motion-related lines in others, and some looseness of skin or accumulation of fat in unwanted regions. In order to deal with each of these issues effectively, a multi-pronged plan of action may be needed-not all the ills of the world can be solved with injectables alone.
That’s where the final instrument of surgery can play a role. Not everyone is in need of a surgical solution, but by the same token, using fillers or Botox© to accomplish a task meant for surgery leads to unnatural results. For example, excess skin and/or fat around the eyelids can significantly mask bright, youthful eyes. Using botox to lift the brows to a position that allows the eyes to be revealed can lead to a peaked, arched expression that appears less than aesthetically ideal, when a relatively quick procedure could improve that with minimal downtime. By the same token, looseness of skin around the jawline could possibly be lifted with injectable fillers. If the amount of loose skin requires a significant amount of volume to be injected to allow lifting, however, the results appear “puffy” and not youthful. A lower face and neck lift, though surgical and requiring downtime, would lead to a longer-lasting and effective result far outweighing the downsides of the operation itself.
At the end of the day, your facial plastic surgeon has an array of tools in his or her armamentarium to both impede and improve the aging process. The trick is to use each tool to its best extent, and discuss with you what your goals are for yourself, to ensure the results are achieving your desires. Aging gracefully doesn’t have to mean you “give up”, but rather allowing the best version of yourself to shine through!
