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Current and Breaking News for Professionals, Consumers and Media |
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| Current and Breaking News for Professionals, Consumers and Media |
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Imagine a grape shrivelling up and becoming a raisin. It starts off juicy, round, and smooth, and gradually becomes dull, rough and wrinkly. That’s the grim reality of what happens as you age. One day you look in the mirror and think to yourself, “How did that happen?” How well you cared for your skin from a young age, and more importantly how much you limited sun exposure, can make a big difference in terms of wrinkle formation. By knowing what to expect you can take steps to slow down or delay the impact of the telltale signs of facial aging. The earlier you start, the better results you will have, but the larger your budget is going to have to be. THE TWENTIES – The Age of Establishing Good Habits The twenties are about setting up a good foundation for a lifetime of smart living and brilliant skin care. The epidermis renews itself every twenty-eight to thirty days. What lies beneath, however, are changes taking place that will reveal themselves when you least expect them. The top layer of dead skin cells becomes slightly thicker. Smokers may see the beginning of fine lines near the eyes and mouth. If you are a squinter, you may see crow's feet and small furrows in the brow. What should you do? The real challenge is convincing 20 year olds that the more they abuse their skin now, the more they will pay for it later. The number one anti-aging product to start with for 20-somethings is a daily dose of SPF 15 or higher – and continue throughout your life. Since you haven’t yet seen much evidence of sun damage, it may be tempting to skip it. But the earlier you start, the more damage you can prevent. This is the time to focus on prevention, and keep skin clear of spots and blotches. If you have bad acne and hard cysts, not treating it early will result in visibly pitted scars later on. If acne persists into your 20s, good treatment options include photo rejuvenation, blue light or laser-like treatments using a topical medicine. Once your skin is clear, stubborn acne scars can be treated with various lasers. Early frown lines, forehead wrinkles and crow’s feet can be stopped short by using Botox®, if your muscles are working overtime. This is decade when the very early signs of motor wrinkles first begin to appear – these are the lines and creases related to movement of facial muscles. The first places they appear are between the brows and around the eyes, where skin is thin and delicate. If you spent a lot of time in the sun as a child, you may also see the beginning of crow's feet around the eyes. Young women also need to be on the lookout for melasma, or brownish patches of discoloration that appears across the cheeks and by the temples. What you do in your 20s will reflect how you look in your 40s, 50s, and beyond -- and wearing sunscreen is key. Begin using moisturizers daily, but only on the areas that are dry or tight. Avoid using heavy, rich products that tend to clog pores. Choose a lighter product, gel- based and oil free, particularly if you are still suffering from breakouts. HERO PRODUCT: Glycolic Acid – DDF Glycolic 10% Exfoliating Oil Control Gel Salicylic Acid 2% Acne Treatment HERO TREATMENT: Neutrogena Healthy Skin Rejuvenator Kit THE THIRTIES – The Age of Recognition Your 30s are when cell turnover starts to slow down. Skin can look dull and sluggish. Collagen and elastin diminish. Your first hints of sun damage will begin to escalate into visible changes. The lines between the nose and the mouth deepen. Forehead furrows multiply, and tiny lines begin to sprout all over. Every time you smile, frown, raise your eyebrows, laugh or cry - you can see where the fissures that will soon become permanent. Precancerous lesions may show in your 30s, particularly if you are fair and have spent time in the sun. What should I do? Improve on the good habits you established in your 20s. Daily SPF 20 + is a priority to keep your skin radiant and even in color. Brown spots turn up, cell turnover slows down, and fibroblasts get lazy. Consistent exfoliation with light peels and microdermabrasion works wonders to keep skin clear. The moment you spy your first wrinkle can be a humbling experience. More 30 year olds are turning to non-invasive treatments such as Botox®, which works by reducing muscle activity, so you can stop your muscles from contracting. Repetitive motion of these muscles is part of what caused the wrinkles in the first place. Treatments with light based devices such as IPL are good for skin tone and texture. In the long run you'll need much less to maintain a young look. In fact, some women are now beginning to have Botox® Cosmetic injections into their brow starting earlier as a preventative step. While you can still hand onto your youthful look until around age 35 when skin cell turnover gets sluggish, your skin may be looking tired, dull and less radiant. Previous sun damage may exacerbate the appearance of brown spots. You may also see more dilated blood vessels, particularly around the sides of your nose. Be ready to face the start of the "dreaded 11's," the pair of vertical lines that pop up between the brows. Shadows will also begin forming in the triangular area between your nose and the corners of your mouth. The nasal labial lines from the nose to the mouth will deepen too. Start using retinol products three to five times a week, or as your skin tolerates it. If you're still using only light, oil-free moisturizers and foundations, it’s time to trade up. This is the decade to get serious about skin care, so choose moisturizers with emollients because your skin needs extra hydration. If brown spots are a problem, bleaching agents will only get you so far now that pigments and blotches are showing up from old sun damage. Nip sun damaged skin in the bud with a laser such as Cutera® Pearl, which will also reduce visible blood vessels on the face. Give your face an overall boost of youthful radiance with a series of glycolic acid peels, or one deeper Obagi® peel, or a course of monthly intense pulsed light treatments. While it may seem a bit early to consider more serious anti-ageing treatments, you can meet lines and wrinkles head on with wrinkle fillers like Restylane® and Juvederm® Ultra. HERO PRODUCT: Vitamin A or Retinol; RoC® Retinox® Intensive Anti-Wrinkle Cream HERO TREATMENT: Botox® Cosmetic injections every 4 months THE FORTIES – When It Starts To Hit the Fan In your 40s, pigmentation problems arise as old sun exposure can catch up with you. Broken and dilated capillaries increase. New lines around your eyes, forehead, and the mouth occupy your thoughts. You will notice the corners of your mouth tend to turn down, which can make you look sad. Wrinkles settle in, lips shrink, hips expand, and nipples point to your bunions. Loss of firmness – especially around your jaw line – rears its ugly head as you approach your big birthday (your 50th). What Should You Do? Medium peels and intense pulsed light treatments can even out skin tone and improve texture. Botox® is brilliant for lines around the eyes, forehead and mouth. Fillers come into their own for plumping furrows, creases and shrinking lips. For sagging, it may be time for some minimally invasive lifting and eyelid skin removal. Thanks to the latest crop of non invasive treatments, such as Thermage®, Titan® and others, you can get a slight lifting effect on the neck and jowls. Light treatments for the hands, neck, and décolleté may also be useful on these areas. As you enter your 40s, lines begin to appear around the upper lip. If you are a smoker, they'll come fast and furious. Expect to see more wrinkles in your forehead and crow's feet around your eyes, plus a deepening of the smile lines. Your moisturizer should be richer and thicker, and start using a night cream. Your skin is also not exposed to all the dirt and pollution that assaults it during the daytime, so products used at night tend to get into the skin better. The 40s are when you may benefit most from using an antioxidant skin care product, but keep using retinol-based creams daily. For the 40s and up, think combination therapy. To treat lines on the upper lip, the synergistic effects of Botox® and line fillers can work miracles, taking a decade off for many women. Chemical peels and fractional laser treatments can take years off your skin’s appearance around the lips and eyes. HERO PRODUCT: Antioxidants; Elizabeth Arden Prevage® Anti-Aging Night Cream HERO TREATMENT: Wrinkle fillers for the nasolabial folds including Restylane®, Perlane® Juvederm® Ultra THE FIFTIES – It’s all Going South In your 50s, everything that hit in your 40s gets more intense. Fine lines on the cheeks become deeper etched lines. Creases from the nose to the mouth or from the corners of the mouth down deepen. Age spots cluster and darken. Your skin sheds dead cells more slowly and in clumps instead of one at a time resulting in a loss of radiance. Collagen breaks down and production decreases so skin loses some of its thickness and support structure. Oil glands grow larger but produce less oil so your skin becomes dryer. The estrogen slump also contributes to skin slackening, and your neck begins to get crepey. Just as skin loses plumpness, hair becomes finer because of low estrogen levels. Cosmetic surgery may offer the most benefits at this stage in terms of sagging. What Should You Do? At this stage, you may have multiple concerns; lines, wrinkles, laxity, volume loss, blotches, white spots, brown spots, flushing, hair growth, hair loss, and a softening jaw line. In your 50s, you may need skin tightening and resurfacing treatments on a higher setting than you needed in your 40s. For fine wrinkles and coarse texture, laser or light-based procedures can stimulate the collagen remodeling process. Age spots on the face or hands can become just memories with consistent use of bleaching agents such as hydroquinone, peels, and lasers. Fillers are very important to a 50 year old face, and deeper fillers work nicely to plump you up where you’re sinking. You may need multiple syringes to get a good result; consider thicker filling substances that offer volume and longer lasting results such as Perlane® and Radiesse®. For dynamic lines Botox® is still the top choice, and resurfacing treatments offer more dramatic results for etched lines. Sculptra® injections can supplement your depleted collagen supply, restore volume, and smooth out deeper creases, and offer a subtle lifting effect for the cheeks. Excess facial hair can also be a problem. Consider laser hair removal treatments in a clinic, or try the Tria® device at home. HERO PRODUCT: Peptides; Olay® Regenerist Microsculpting Cream HERO TREATMENT: Sculptra® injections; a series of 3-4 treatments can yield results for 2 years or more THE SIXTIES – Coming to Terms with Aging Women in their 60s have loose, sagging skin at least somewhere, and usually everywhere. It comes with the territory. Skin cells have 30% less natural moisture now than when you were younger, so you are noticeably drier, thinner, tight and flaky. Lack of moisture also contributes to slow cell turnover and repair, and a lifetime of inconsistent sun protection means that age spots are showing up regularly. Yellow, tan or brown discolorations are quite common, as are wrinkles that extend well beyond the eye and mouth areas. What Should I Do? At 60, it takes more effort and more money and time to stay looking youthful. If you have been a low maintenance soap-and-water girl all your life, start using a gentle non-drying cleanser on your face and neck, followed by daily moisturizer with SPF by day and an anti-aging night cream. Bear in mind that creams will only get you so far though. Botox® and fillers are de rigeur for lines, coarse wrinkles and folds, but more intense treatments will be needed. Skin sagging has set in and in the 60s; skin-tightening treatments will have limited effect. The better option will be a face or neck lift. HERO PRODUCT: Soy Isoflavones; Lancome Absolue Premium Bx Absolute Replenishing Lotion SPF 15 Sunscreen HERO TREATMENT: Deep Laser Resurfacing with Matrix IR Wrinkle Reduction by Syneron The take home message is that the earlier you start looking after your skin, the younger you'll look as the years march on. Wendy Lewis & Co Ltd offers private image enhancement consultations in New York, and in London, and via phone and email from all over the world, for both men and women. She is the author of 10 beauty books, including Plastic Makes Perfect: The Complete Cosmetic Beauty Guide. www.wlbeauty.com, www.plasticmakesperfectbook.com www.HealthNewsDigest.com Top of Page 
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