The holidays are shaping up to be VERY different this year! Many of my patients are planning to avoid the airport and stick close to home. This means that your annual visit with friends and family for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas may be virtual. However, even if you are only eating turkey together online, you still want to look good doing it. Furthermore, feeling great in your skin is one of the best ways to remain grounded and calm during the family drama and chaos that can often erupt during this time of year. When it comes to getting my patients holiday ready, the goal is to devise a treatment plan that delivers maximum effect with minimal downtime. I have found that an easy way to accomplish this is with a combination of non-surgical procedures. The key, of course, is choosing the right combination for your anatomy and needs.
Facial Aging is Multi-Factorial
Despite what your favorite social media influencer may say, there is never a one-size-fits-all procedure to address facial aging. This is because every person’s anatomy is unique and because facial aging is multi-factorial. Issues that contribute to an aged face include:
- Brown spots
- Hyperpigmentation
- Redness
- Rosacea
- Broken blood vessels
- “Crepey” skin texture
- Fine lines & wrinkles
- Loss of volume
- Sagging skin
The right facial rejuvenation plan to get you holiday ready will require a combination of procedures to address your specific needs.
Non-Surgical Procedures to Improve Skin Texture
Skin texture is something that many patients don’t think of as being an “ager”. But when your skin is mottled with brown spots and/or redness, it looks uneven. Since the human eye perceives smooth skin as youthful, a “crepey” texture can be a huge contributor to looking older than you feel. I like to address skin texture issues with a combination of either laser skin resurfacing, a chemical peel and/or micro-needling. The first two are excellent for combating sun damage and fines lines on your skin’s surface while the latter goes a little deeper, providing a plumping “lift” to the skin. I am proud to offer my Boston area patients a wide range of micro-needling procedures. These include a mild procedure, such as the SkinPen® which requires minor downtime, to something more intense, such as Profound®.
Non-Surgical Procedures to Improve Sagging Skin
I like Profound® because it can address both your skin texture and skin tone issues in one procedure. What sets it apart from the SkinPen®, for example, is that Profound® combines micro-needling with radiofrequency (RF) energy. As you age, your body naturally produces less collagen and elastin. These are the two powerhouses which keep your skin lifted and firm. As the levels decrease, your skin begins to head south. This is most noticeable in the lower face. Profound® is able to address mild to moderate “jowling” and loose skin because the micro-needles deliver the RF energy into the deeper layers of your dermis, promoting your own body to ramp up its production of collagen and elastin. While this is a procedure that does require anywhere from 3-6 days of downtime, it does not need to be repeated multiple times to get a serious rejuvenating result.
The other great procedure for addressing sagging skin without surgery is a PDO thread lift. This has become the go-to procedure for many of your favorite celebrities as it is a quick, safe way to address sagging skin without any incisions. I will often combine a thread lift with Profound®, fillers and/or a neurotoxin like Botox® for a really powerful result.
Volume Loss and Fine Lines & Wrinkles
Injectables, which includes both fillers and neurotoxins, is such a popular procedure because it can address two of the most common skin agers:
- Volume loss
- Fine lines & wrinkles
Depending on genetics and how expressive you are, patients can begin to develop lines starting in their 20’s. Fillers and neurotoxins both address lines, but in different ways, which is why I usually combine them. Fillers replace lost volume. There are different fillers for different areas of your face. Superficial lines are best served with a light weight filler, meaning that the molecules are a smaller size, while sunken cheeks are going to be better served with a heavier weight filler such as Voluma®.
A neurotoxin like Botox® or Dysport™ does not fill. Instead, these injections temporarily paralyze the underlying dynamic muscle in the treatment area. Since the muscle is unable to move as fluidly, the skin on the surface smooths out. The important thing with a neurotoxin, or any injectable for that matter, is to not do too much. You want to look naturally rested, not frozen, on your turkey day Zoom call with Aunt Esther.
To find out more about how to get holiday ready with non-surgical procedures with Dr. Sean Doherty at his Boston or Brookline office, contact us today or call (617) 450-0070 to schedule a consultation.