What Now, Brown Cow?
So as we age, what should we start to think about doing when it comes to our faces? There is so much marketing out there that it is hard to determine what is real, and what is snake oil. So let’s cut through the mess and get to what really works by each decade of your life.
20’s: In our twenties, skin starts to slow down its renewal process and things like dryness and lines can start to form. Earlier damage from sun exposure can also surface with increased freckling and blotchy pigmentation. In this decade it is important to make sure your skin product regimen is correctly tailored for your skin. Retin-A based products (such as our Esana Essential) would be important to stop small lines from forming and to maintain collagen production. Sun avoidance is also necessary to prevent looking like a dried leather bag in the future. For some women, early forehead or frown lines may need Botox treatment to reverse and prevent them from etching the skin.
30’s: This is when lines start to become more visible. Besides aggressive skin care (facials, microdermabrasions and/or chemical peels) in combination with good skin products at home, injectable treatments have a larger role. As we age, we lose elasticity as well as fat volume in our faces. So, expression lines stay longer and cheeks get flatter. This creates frown lines and the “parentheses” around our nose/mouth areas. Botox and Restylane or Juvederm now become valid choices to counteract these changes. However, the most exciting thing is Ultherapy which can lift and tighten tissues non-invasively using ultrasound and this may be all you need to turn back the early signs of aging.
40’s: Again, upshift to more aggressive treatments, just like in your 30’s but maybe a little more frequently. This is the decade where some women start noticing that their upper eyelids seem heavier or that they cannot wear eyeshadow because of too much skin. This is when a little eyelid lift procedure can have big payoffs by trimming the excess skin, leaving behind a natural result that makes you look infinitely refreshed and younger. Ultherapy is also very successful in this age group.
50’s: With each decade, skin products at home should be reassessed and changed to the aggressive anti-aging formulations. After menopause, skin gets drier, and more moisturization is needed. Ultherapy has its place every two years to prevent the facial tissues from relaxing, and injectable treatments would help maintain volume and prevent expression lines.
From here on, surgery becomes more of an option. However, if you have been consistent with treatment in earlier decades, the hope is that surgery will be unnecessary. Ultherapy is our greatest revolutionary tool to prevent the need for facelifts in the future.
