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    Emily Altman said

    Over the last few years, the cosmetic medical treatment trends have been moving away from surgical skin-tightening procedures, like facelifts, to minimally invasive skin rejuvenation.  These minimally invasive procedures are focused on improving, reversing and delaying the visible signs of aging with little to no downtime. 

     

    The formula is simple:  The Four R’s

    • Repair damage resulting from sun exposure, smoking, pollutants
    • Restore – increase hydration, firmness, smoothness and fullness of the skin
    • Renew – increase epidermal cell turnover and collagen production
    • Rejuvenate the skin’s appearance

    A thorough understanding of the large and small scale changes associated with aging is necessary in any attempt to restore the beautiful, radiant, youthful appearance.  At Advanced Skin Wisdom we offer a variety of rejuvenating procedures to help delay and reverse the visible signs of aging. 
     

    We combine the volumizing effects of dermal fillers with wrinkle relaxers and laser skin treatments to circumvent the need for more aggressive plastic surgery.  Patients are able to return to work the next day with some immediate results and see continued improvement in skin tone and firmness for the next several months.

    What are the visible signs of aging? Deflation vs. descent

    Skin changes are among the most visible signs of aging.  Skin aging first becomes apparent when the person is in their 30s with the development of subtle changes, such as fine expression lines around the eyes and mouth and deepening of the tear trough, giving the face a somewhat tired appearance.
    Aging changes progress in the 40s, 50s and beyond, with appearance of:

    • Deeper and more permanent lines of facial expression that do not disappear when the face is relaxed
      • Crows feet
      • Frown lines
      • Smile lines
      • Forehead lines
    • Loss of skin firmness and tone
    • Thinning lips with downturned, deepening corners
    • Sunken cheeks
    • Appearance of jowls
    • Loose, sagging skin of the lower face and neck
    • Drooping eyebrows and eyelids
    • Sallow, dry, rough skin
    • Skin thinning with appearance of dilated blood vessels and spider veins
    • More noticeable, larger pores
    • Age spots, seborrheic keratoses and uneven pigmentation

    Previously it was thought that wrinkles, folds and skin sagging develop due to gravity pulling the skin down. What we know now is that it is not the stretching and drooping of the skin that accounts for the wrinkles and folds we see as we get older.

    The most significant contribution to the aged appearance is loss of volume in the skin, soft tissues, fat and bone that creates the visible signs of aging.  Aging changes are more like a deflating balloon than a descent due to the action of gravity.  Volume loss leads to the shifts in facial shape, balance and proportions.
    We can visualize this by looking at the difference between grapes and raisins.

    Procedures and skin care to help reduce and reverse the visible signs of skin aging

    Botulinum Toxins:  Botox® Cosmetic and Dysport®

    Botulinum toxins have become a key component in facial and neck rejuvenation. Usually it is the first cosmetic procedure performed to help treat dynamic wrinkles, which are some of the earliest signs of aging skin.

    Botox® Cosmetic and Dysport® are excellent treatments for:

    • Frown lines (between your brows)
    • Worry lines (on the forehead)
    • Drooping eyebrows
    • Crows feet
    • Smile lines
    • Drooping lip corners, lines around the mouth
    • Horizontal and vertical neck lines

    *Some procedures are off-label usages of FDA-approved products.

    Botulinum toxins also work well in conjunction with other treatments.  By relaxing the muscles of facial expression, Botox injections help increase the lifespan of dermal fillers and rejuvenating laser procedures.

    Dermal Fillers: Juvederm®, Restylane®, Perlane®, Radiesse® and Sculptra®

    Dermal fillers are used to replace volume and fill creases and wrinkles, to help restore a more youthful appearance. Dermal fillers act by adding substance, increasing hydration and stimulating the skin’s own new collagen production.

    Dermal fillers are ideal for:

    • Folds and wrinkles of the face
    • Dark circles under eyes
    • Accenting and plumping lip size (lip enhancement/lip augmentation)
    • Smoothing vertical lip lines (smoker’s lines/wrinkles around the mouth)
    • Facial scars from acne or injury
    • Nonsurgical nose reshaping
    • Facial sculpting and volume restoration
    • Nasolabial folds (upper and lower laugh lines) and frown lines
    • Depressed corners of the mouth
    • Marionette lines
    • Augmentation of cheek bones, chin or bridge of the nose
    • Aging hands

    Laser and Intense Pulsed Light Rejuvenation

    We now demand rejuvenating procedures that deliver the desired results and are at the same time without downtime and with minimal adverse effects.
    In response to this need, over the last few years there has been a development of a multitude of laser and light treatment devices that accomplish exactly that.

    • Photorejuvenation with Broad Band Light (IPL/BBL/Photofacials)
      • Improves skin texture, wrinkles and photodamage while preserving the upper layers of the skin (epidermis).
      • Excellent at fading telangiectasias, redness, age spots, brown discoloration and other sun-induced pigmentary changes
      • Stimulates collagen production and remodeling with less discomfort and little or no healing time
    • MicroLaserPeel (Weekend Peel)
    • Precisely-controlled minimal to full epidermal laser peel removes the outermost layers of the skin, quickly improving the signs of aging with little downtime.
    • Ideal for sun damage, fine wrinkles, mild scars, age spots, poor skin texture and tone and pigment irregularities
    • Stimulates your own natural collagen production.
    • Fractional Laser Skin Resurfacing
      • Heats and vaporizes tiny cylindrical portions of the skin (epidermis and dermis), treating approximately 5-20% of the skin surface in one session
      • Excellent choice for removing sun damaged skin, discolorations, wrinkles, fine lines and moderate to severe acne scarring
      • Because only a small portion of the skin is removed at one time, fractional resurfacing results in faster recovery and fewer side effects
      • Causes an immediate contraction of existing collagen and stimulates new collagen production in the deeper layers of the skin
    • Skin Tightening with SkinTyteTM
      • Safe and effective procedure that delivers gentle pulses of heat deep into the skin, causing some immediate collagen contraction and triggering new collagen production
      • Produces a firming and tightening effect to improve skin’s strength and resilience

    Cosmeceuticals and Anti-Aging Skin Care

    At Advanced Skin Wisdom, we offer prescription skin care lines from Vivite, Neocutis, Topix, Obagi and Elta MD. 

    These skin care preparations, along with retinoids and sun protection help accomplish the following:

    • Improve cellular skin function
    • Minimize the signs of premature aging
    • Reduce future photodamage
    • Help skin look and act younger and healthier

    Additional information on skin aging and cosmetic procedures, such as Botox Cosmetic, Dermal Fillers and Laser Skin Rejuvenation can be found on the Advanced Skin Wisdom website

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