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Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:48 am  |
Hello,
I am going to be twenty five in a few months and am looking for a professional anti-aging procedure that can be done through a physician or dermatologist. I have gone through microdermabrasion, peels, dermarolling, and Photofacials but feel none of them offer real visible results. I am looking for something a little more intense, that will help stimulate the product of collagen in my skin (three months prior to birthday) and also provide some results in the way of tightening/firming (nasiable folds, eyelids). I would like little to no downtime with a reasonable price. 
I have looked into getting a micro skin-peel but judging by the reviews on here the results are not that great. 
Any of you gorgeous members have any ideas?  |
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Fri Feb 11, 2011 4:17 am |
At 25 do you really need tightening? Its possible that the procedures you have done already don't offer results because you don't have anything to improve.
With the exception of dermarolling none of the other things you have tried stimulate collagen. It seems like you have already tried alot of things and I'd be careful about overdoing it. You could damage your skin. If you really need to improve your NL folds, I'd try filler.
What is your skin care like? Do you use retin-a, antioxidant serum and sunscreen? |
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Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:18 am |
Thankyou for your response. Yes, I have a major big-time skincare routine that contains loads of anti-aging ingredients including: retinol, vitamin c, niacinamide, vitamine, matrixyl, argeriline, idebenone, coffee berry, DMAE, glycolic acid, lactic acid and the list goes on (I am a DIY skincare product junkie). I was encouraged to use proper skincare habits from a very young age.
I have inquired about fillers but have been told that unfortunately the areas aren't deep enough yet, which hasn't really helped because they are still there. I have considered Botox on the upper eyelids but am not really set on the idea.
What do you suggest? |
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Fri Feb 11, 2011 8:03 am |
Hello, hello, echoecho,
I know what you mean. I'm cursed with prematurely aging skin, thanks to bad genes, unbalanced hormones, and bad luck.
When I turned 25, I bought an anti-wrinkle cream, and proceeded to slather it all over my face (which broke me out) and around my eyes (which made them sooo puffy and red). That cured me for awhile, I gave the wrinkle cream to my mother, and stuck with my trusty simple routine of sunscreen and cleanser and occasional acne treatments. Now, several years later, I've learned a LOT about anti-aging and anti-acne skin care. And there's a point to this story which I'll come back to in a moment...
About those NL folds, children have them too, and they're (NL folds, not children) part of what make a relaxed face look pleasant. People who have too-shallow NL folds tend to look sullen if they're not smiling, so I say keep 'em! (And revisit the idea of fillers in 5 or 10 years if they're getting too deep.)
The single most important thing at our age is avoiding damage in all forms:
- sun damage: so it's good to use sunscreen, sunglasses, etc., and repair sun damage with tretinoin (much stronger than retinol, so also potentially irritating, caution required) My mother taught me to use sunscreen from a young age, and I'm really glad!
- irritation, which can happen from too-strong products for sensitive skin or eyes, which breaks down collagen and causes puffiness in the eyes, more on that in a minute
- acne, which eats away at collagen
- frowning, scowling, pouting, squinting; but keep on smiling!
- allergies, which over the years can cause bags under eyes and broken capillaries around the nose if not treated
- too much weight loss or gain; a healthy diet is really important (skin health and general health go hand in hand)
- hormonal imbalances, which may be a possibility if you have acne, PMS, puffy eyes
- puffy eyes, which I'm making separate because you might be concerned about this and it's important to me. I'm sure that my morning puffiness is a precursor of my mother's sagging upper lids, and I think the cause is hormonal, so I'm using things like oral cranberry extract to treat it (with partial success; on to horse chestnut supplements in a couple of months if I don't get the results I want).
And more importantly, tying this back to my story of turning 25, I avoid putting anything too close to my eyes that has fragrance, chemical sunscreens, other known irritants like bismuth oxychloride... even actives that the rest of my face can handle might make my eyes puffy.
All Botox will do on your upper lids is prevent you from opening your eyes, and I doubt that will address your eye-area concerns--what are they, exactly?
So I guess the short answer is sunscreen, Retin A, and avoid damage.
Cheers,
Kay
P.S. Here's a great resource whose main message is "Do no harm": http://www.smartskincare.com/
The infopacks are especially thorough and helpful, and free in exchange for reviews. |
_________________
30-ish, sensitive fair skin, oily and acne-prone, faded freckles; tretinoin since Oct 2010 |
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Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:11 am |
I just had a lovely walk (albeit dodging cigarette smoke!) and thought of two more kinds of damage to avoid:
- Pollution, including cigarette and firewood smoke: There's a fascinating study about elderly European women that finds a strong correlation between depth of NL folds and pollution in their neighborhood.
- Stress, enough said.
So if you have the choice, I highly recommend choosing to live in a small town with a short commute, preferably on foot, rather than a big city with a long commute. Or at least have a good indoor air filter and a great masseuse on speed dial. |
_________________
30-ish, sensitive fair skin, oily and acne-prone, faded freckles; tretinoin since Oct 2010 |
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