Cosmetic Options to Treat Wrinkles

The appearance of wrinkles and skin aging is part of a multifactorial process that includes many personal factors, including age, sun exposure, genetics and environmental factors, such as sun and the elements. Skin aging begins at the age of 20, when the skin stops working as effectively as it once did. Collagen starts to break down, and the first signs of wrinkles may be apparent with facial expression.

At age 30, we start to lose 1% of our skin’s collagen every year. Preventative measures to address the natural aging process can be taken to slow it down significantly starting in your 20s. By engaging in prevention methods each decade, you can “slow down” the signs of aging by treating and reversing the existing damage and preventing further damage. 

Aesthetics today is much different than it was 20 years ago. The technology that we now have with smart skin care products, lasers, devices and non-surgical treatments, which stimulate our body’s own regenerative process, did not exist back then. People did not take care of their skin to the same degree. Those who engaged in anti-aging measures would typically have a face-lift around age 50 then do nothing to preserve the effects of surgery thereafter.

If you look at many celebrities, they have not aged in a decade. They look exactly like they did 10 years ago without surgery!  That’s because they are doing regular, non-surgical, minimally invasive treatments to keep their skin looking and behaving 10 years younger than it really is. The trick is, they look younger because their skin actually IS younger. Under a microscope, their skin has more collagen, elastin and volume than someone of comparable age that has not had any treatments. By stimulating our skin’s natural regenerative process, we can have more natural, longer lasting anti-aging results. 

From my experience, the best way to treat wrinkles is to take a comprehensive approach and target different aspects of wrinkle formation. First, use a good sunscreen to prevent sun damage and a retinoid to reverse damage that has already happened. If you’re comfortable with botulinum toxin (BT), going in for routine treatments to prevent deep creases from forming or soften existing wrinkles can work wonders. To "pop out" or fill in deeper lines that result from volume loss, use dermal fillers. Lastly, you can use laser treatments to resurface the skin and tightening devices to improve the texture. 

As previously noted, in aesthetics, the best results come from targeting different angles of the aging process. In doing so, your anti-aging results are longer lasting and more natural. A woman can have a facelift and have zero wrinkles, but if her skin texture is poor and looks "weather-beaten" with brown spots, etc., she still won't look as good as she could. A combination of procedures and good skin care ultimately provides the most youthful skin and the best outcomes.

Here are some of the best skin care and cosmetic treatments to address wrinkles and photoaging during each decade:

20s: Sunscreen, good skincare products (retinoid), botulinum toxin, superficial peels, and light fillers for lip volume. Star early for better results down the line!

30s: Botulinum toxin, sunscreen, good skincare products (retinoids), medium depth peels, non-ablative resurfacing, and fillers to nasolabial folds typically starts in this decade. By starting at the onset of these lines, you can protect your skin from developing etched in deep lines that are more difficult to treat later on.

40s: Botulinum toxin, sunscreen, skincare (retinoids to address superficial and deep repair), non-ablative or combination ablative/non ablative resurfacing, and tightening devices using radiofrequency or ultrasound. Fillers to address nasolabial folds, early marionette lines, and temples. 

50s: Botulinum toxin, sunscreen, smart skincare products with retinoids, growth factors and antioxidants, deep peels, non-ablative/ablative combined laser resurfacing or ablative (fractionated or fully ablative), fillers to replace volume loss and lift the sagging skin from the jowls and lower face, tightening devices, and tightening devices using radio frequency or ultrasound. Tightening by stimulating collagen during this decade is very prudent, while it is still active. Fibroblasts, the collagen-producing cells in the skin become harder to stimulate in the later decades but are still very responsive treatment in the 50s and 60s.

60s Plus: Botulinum toxin, sunscreen, skin care, ablative laser resurfacing, fillers to replace volume loss and lift the sagging skin from the jowls and lower face, and tightening devices.