How to Delay the Appearance of Aging

Basic Things to Delay the Appearance of Aging:

1. Avoid sun exposure. Sunscreen needs to be reapplied throughout the day when in the sun. Even on a cloudy day, you should use sunscreen, which does not totally block the harmful aging effect of the suns’ rays. Hats and long sleeve clothing provide additional protection.
2. Don’t smoke. Smoking accelerates aging.
3. See an appropriately trained aesthetician who can help you individualize a Skin Care program for your particular needs. The answer is not found in one product.
4. Have routine facials.
5. Use adequate moisturizers especially in dry climates.
6. Retin-A or similar products improve the appearance of the skin, but the dosage and frequency need to be individualized.
7. Watch your weight and exercise regularly, but not excessively. Extreme diets and significant fluctuation in weight gain/loss leads to laxity of the tissues and accentuates the appearance of aging.
8. Eat a balance diet high in antioxidants and fresh vegetables and fruits.
9. Avoid foods high in sodium.
10. Stay adequately hydrated with sufficient water intake.
11. Avoid excessive intake of alcohol.
12. Avoid recreational drugs.
13. Get a reasonable amount of sleep.
14. Live a healthy lifestyle and try to avoid ongoing stress.

Non-Invasive & Minimally–Invasive Treatments Beyond the Basics:

1. Light peels performed by an appropriately trained aesthetician.
2. Intense Pulse Light (IPL) for pigment changes.
3. Dysport or Botox on an ongoing basis when wrinkles start appearing in the forehead and around the eyes, before they become deep.
4. Fillers like Restylane, Juvederm, and Voluma which are made of hyaluronic acid, the building block of your tissue, for temporary improvement of early hollows or wrinkles of the cheeks and around the lips.
5. Micro-fat grafts for longer lasting correction of loss of volume in the central face, around the eyes and temple areas.
6. Skin tightening i.e. Radiofrequency based Protégé Elite.
7. Combination of treatments.

When the Above No Longer Corrects the Problem:

1. Minimal incision procedures focused primarily on the area of aging, since all areas don’t age to the same extent at the same time.
2. These include a variety of options: Lateral brow lifts, endoscopic forehead procedures, mid-face or limited incision cheek lifts, neck lifts, limited eyelid lifts.
3. When aging has progressed to a level that minimal procedures are not enough, then it is time for a facelift. Up to this time the various promises of non-surgical skin tightening treatments have not reliably lived up to the marketing and promotion beyond the temporary benefit from the swelling that occurs with any irritation to the tissue.

What Not To Do:

1. Avoid procedures that promise to be a “non-surgical facelift” (the Holy Grail of plastic surgery), lunch-time lifts, or surgical procedures that claim no recovery time. Everyone would like a miracle cure for aging and the result of a well performed natural appearing facelift without actually having a surgical procedure. There are no miracle nonsurgical procedures or treatments, including fillers, acupuncture, muscle stimulation, lasers, or skin creams, that can produce the same results as an artistically performed natural appearing facelift.
2. You have only one face, so don’t shop for bargains or magical procedures when it comes to facial surgery. If it sounds too good to be true, it generally is!

What You Cannot Do:

1. Choose the right parents, since much of aging is based on genetics.