Anti-Aging Skincare Treatments for Skin Rejuvenation | Botox, Moisturizers, Lasers, Cosmetic Fillers and AHAs

Anti-Aging Skincare Treatments

You can't change the fact that you are aging, but you might be able to slow the process down, at least make it look like things are slowing down. Dermatologists have a number of skin rejuvenation tools are their disposal to help older skin look more like younger skin, and to help aging skin fight off the ravages of time.

Topical Treatments for Skin Rejuvenation

If the signs of aging skin aren't too bad, many topical treatments can help give you younger looking skin. There are a number of over-the-counter products that can help with fine lines and wrinkles. Moisturizing creams, alpha hydroxy acids (AHA), anti-oxidants and retinols from the vitamin a family can all help improve the appearance of the skin. AHAs must be less than 10 percent concentration to be sold over-the-counter. Dermatologists may use a stronger concentration. There is also a prescription topical treatment called Renova (tretinoin). The cream comes in concentrations of .02 percent and .05 percent. It is part of the vitamin A family and is used to treat sun damaged skin for fine wrinkles, age spots and skin discolorations, as well as rough and splotchy skin.

Chemical Peels for Aging Skin

With chemical peels, the chemicals are applied to the skin. It results in blistering and peeling of the skin over a number of days. The skin that is now visible, tends to be smoother and have fewer wrinkles. Chemicals peels are not a permanent solution. Chemical peels will only treat surface problems they do not fix things such as sagging skin and jowls. Exfoliation can also be done with less harsh substances, such as over the counter creams or lotions.

Dermabrasion and Dermaplaning Aging Skin

Dermabrasion and dermaplaning are processeses that remove a layer of the skin. They can be used to remove the lines, wrinkles and sunburn damage of mature skin, as well as acne scars. In dermabrasion and dermaplaning, a rapidly rotating brush basically sands the skin down. It is a deeper process than a chemical peel. It should only be done by a rained and experienced dermatologist. Dermabrasion should not be done around the thin skin of the eyes. Special care also needs to be taken around the mouth.

Laser Treatments for Aging Skin

Lasers can also be used to remove damaged skin. The laser can be very precisely targeted to remove lesions on the skin such as moles and age spots. They can also be targeted to improve the appearance of wrinkles and lines.

Cosmetic Fillers and Augmentation for Younger Skin

Your dermatologist can also perform some augmentation with cosmetic fillers. With augmentation, either fat from the person's body, collagen or a cosmetic filler is injected under the skin to plump things up. This helps smooth out wrinkles and other skin imperfections. A number of products can be used for this. Some of them include:

• ArteFill® - combines a made man product of polymer beads with bovine collagen to smooth out wrinkles.
• Radiesse® -is made up of calcium-based microspheres that are suspended in a gel that is injected into the skin to fill in wrinkles.
• Juvéderm® - is made of hyaluronic acid, which is also made in the body. Hyaluronic acid attracts water to the site which can also plump up and fill in the wrinkles.
• Restylane® - is also a hyaluronic acid compound. The hyaluronic acid in Restylane is from non-animal sources.

Botox for Skin Rejuvenation

Best known as Botox this substance is dangerous if you swallowed it but when used for cosmetic purposes it is considered safe. It works by paralyzing the muscles it is injected into. It is particularly effective in treating frown lines, facial wrinkles and crow's feet.

Cosmetic Surgery for Aging Skin

There are also certain surgeries that can be used to help slow the signs of aging on your skin. We've all heard the term face lift. The medical term for a face lift is rhytidectomy. It helps to tighten sagging skin on cheeks, chin, neck and around the mouth. A full facelift is surgery that addresses the entire face, including the forehead and upper eyelids, mid face and lower eyelids, lower face and lips, as well as the neck. A mini-face-lift deals with specific areas of the cheeks, neck and the jowls, without targeting the full face.

Sagging loose neck skin - sometimes called wattles or jowls - can also be treated with a face lift, or with liposuction if there is extra fat that is causing the problem. Tumescent liposuction is a newer type of liposuction that was designed to better control post operative bruising, swelling and pain.

As with any cosmetic surgery, make sure you check out your doctor's qualifications, board certification and years of experience in this area.

Eyes are another area that can be treated with cosmetic surgery. As we get older, the eyelid skin can start to droop, which creates a hooding effect. Eyelid surgery called blepharoplasty can fix this problem. Upper eyelid blepharoplasty removes excess skin, muscle and fat, with the scar hidden inside the natural fold of the upper eyelid. In lower eyelid blepharoplasty, a plastic surgeon removes excess skin and fatty tissue with an incision under the eye. And a brow lift can help lift the eyebrows and reduce lines across the forehead.

Plasma Skin Regeneration

There are other types of treatments for looking younger as well. A newer one is called Portrait® Plasma Skin Regeneration. It has Food and Drug Administration approval to treat wrinkles of the face and for the treatment of facial and non-facial areas for superficial skin lesions, actinic keratosis, and seborrhoeic keratosis. Nitrogen plasma (a highly energized gas) energy, is used generate new collagen. The skin's outer layers remain intact and act as a protective cover until new skin regenerates. Once this happens, the old skin peels away taking with it many of the brown spots, fine lines and deep wrinkles.

Thermage

Thermage or Thermacool is another procedure used to rejuvenate skin. It uses a hand-held device to deliver heat energy to the skin. Proponents say this stimulates collagen production. Aluma is another type of radiofrequency device.

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Updated May 2008

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