Aging Gracefully

There’s no way around it. All organs begin to lose some function and resilience over time. By age 30, our bone and muscle density begins to diminish1. Skin, as the body’s largest organ (not to mention the most environmentally vulnerable organ), is no exception. Skin is our body’s first line of defense for all heat, light, chemical, and physical threats. We have the amazing opportunity to protect and maintain our body’s largest and most versatile organ through everyday lifestyle changes. Not only do these healthy habits help protect our skin from external threats, they can also help us stay healthy and age gracefully with less fine lines, superficial wrinkles, sun spots, and other tell-tale signs of age and distress. Read on to learn how to fight wrinkles and sun damage at any age.

In your 20’s, focusing on protection is key. Think sunscreen and sunglasses year-round, daily moisturizer, and avoiding tanning beds like the plague. Sunscreen should be at least SPF 30 or more. We recommend pairing your daily sunscreen with Fernblock, an innovative plant-based (PolypodiumLeucotomos) product with the photo-protective properties needed to prevent superficial lines and skin cancer through daily ultraviolet exposure2. Couple these products with daily exfoliation and cleansing to ward off future wrinkles. We recommend Exfoliation Therapy to encourage cells to regenerate and Sensitive Crèmeto nourish the skin and provide rejuvenating and protective antioxidants.

By the time you hit your 30’s, you’ll probably start to see some crow’s feet, smile lines, or worry lines. Fear not! Keep up your daily skin care routine as noted above, and customize Dr Barad Illuminated SkinCare to your needs. Come in for a consultation so we can help optimize your skin care routine. The 30’s is often the time that Botox or Dysport use starts in order to prevent frowns and crow’s feet from becoming permanent creases.

In your 40’s, attention to skin care is even more important. It’s a good time to add retinoids, if you haven’t done so already. Topical retinoids are considered to be somewhat of a “cure-all” for skin conditions such as acne, wrinkles, and psoriasis. They have collagen stimulating effects which help smooth skin, as well as doing a wonderful job unclogging and cleansing pores and improving overall skin tone and pigmentation. We recommend Dr Barad Illuminated SkinCare Intense Retinol, as it combines the retinol with stem cells and unique antioxidants selected specifically because of their synergistic ability to intensify the beneficial effects of retinoids.

The 40’s are often a time that facial volume loss becomes a problem, so using fillers or Sculptra can help reverse these aging changes.

In your 50’s and beyond, it’s all about consistent maintenance! Of course, the regimen noted above needs to continue as part of the overall plan. You may need to switch to a different moisturizer and add hydration, and perhaps consider bio-identical hormones. The changes in our estrogens, progesterone and testosterone levels during peri-menopause, and especially once in menopause, can reduce our body’s natural production of collagen and leave us looking and feeling dry, deflated and sallow. Fillers and Sculptra can be used to smooth deeper wrinkles, stimulate the production of collagen and recreate youthful contours. This is also a time that NovaThreads, a procedure using special absorbable sutures to re-suspend facial sagging, may be beneficial.  RF Microneedling or Complete Skin Solution will help tighten and rejuvenate – building collagen and elastin. Results of all these procedures and treatments may be further enhanced with PRP.

There are benefits from other lasers, light sources and RF that can also help with rejuvenation and maintenance at any age! We are fortunate to have many options to keep you looking your best, aging gracefully and looking natural – without having to resort to invasive procedures. And most of the time there is no downtime – yet delivering spectacular results.

It’s never too late (or too early) to start a healthy skin care routine to start on the path to aging gracefully. Grab yourself some Dr Barad Illuminated SkinCare products to keep your skin healthy and vibrant all year long and all life long! Note that your skin care regimen may need seasonal modifications – so let us help you find the right products to address your concerns!

1 https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/004012.htm
2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257081/