Hey friends! This week I wanted to write a post on when you should be starting to get in office procedures. I know there is a lot of information out there in regards to anti-aging procedures. You hear terms like microneedling (here is my blog about that if you missed it), Botox, fillers, IPL (intense pulse light), HALO laser, CO2 laser and many more! It can sometimes make your head spin on where to start. One of the easiest things you can do right now is get on a good skincare routine at home. I have a simple skincare routine here in case you don’t have one. If you are going to spend thousands of dollars on procedures for your face, you have to use the right products at home. This includes using a medical grade Vitamin C serum and a retinol at night. It is also very important to have healthy habits in order to get the maximum out of your in office procedures. Think about the basics, eating right, drinking enough water, not smoking and staying out of tanning beds. Now let’s breakdown at what age you should be doing what procedures.
20 somethings. One of the most important things you can do at this age is prevention!! Use that sunscreen every single day. Your skincare routine is simple at this point. A good Vitamin C serum and a good retinol (I like Differin gel at this age). Now is the time to start thinking about sprinkles of Botox. Maybe a little between the eyebrows and a little on the forehead. At this age, collagen hasn’t started breaking down yet. So, most of the time fillers are not needed. We are seeing younger girls coming in for lip fillers. This is the age to start getting regular microdermabrasions and light chemical peels about three to four times per year. Chemical peel are a miracle worker at exfoliating off dead skin cells.
30 somethings. This is the perfect timing for collagen boosting procedures. During our thirties, we still have some collagen left and now is the time to wake it up!! In case you missed it, I have a blog post on stimulating collagen. It is during our thirties that our remaining collagen and elastin start to break down. Now is also the time to change up your skincare routine at home. You will need to continue a Vitamin C serum in the morning and now is the time to get a little more aggressive with a retinol at night. My all time favorite is the Skinmedica .1 retinol. It has been my holy grail product for many years. This is a good time to add in a medical grade eye cream (I love DEJ by Revision) and neck cream (Nectifirm by Revision is another fave). At this point, you will need to get Botox about four times a year and possibly a little filler in the cheeks from volume loss. Fillers are not as often as Botox. I usually tell my clients one to two times per year. I also have a blog post about Botox and fillers. The main thing to start at this age is microneedling. It is one of the best collagen inducing therapies out there. You can also start to think about adding in some lasers like laser genesis (promotes collagen) and IPL (corrects sun damage).
40 somethings and beyond. What you start in this decade needs to be what you continue in your fifties, sixties and so on. It is very important to add in a product with growth factor. Two of my favorite products are the TNS Advanced from Skinmedica and the IS Clinical Youth serum. You are going to want to continue all of the above products. Botox and fillers will still be apart of your journey. This is also a great time to start Sculptra. This is a filler that stimulates collagen production. It develops gradually, looks completely natural and lasts longer than other fillers. This is also the time to get a little more aggressive with in office procedures. Fractional lasers target the deeper layers of the skin to encourage new collagen and elastin growth. Microneedling with radiofrequency heat is another popular procedure with fractional like results with less down time. You are also going to want to do some time of maintenance with these procedures. It’s just like getting our hair and nails done! It’s all about up keep. So, in between getting these more aggressive procedures every few years, you want to do something about every six to eight weeks. You could mix it up with alternating microneedling with a laser genesis.
There we have it! Each decade broken down into which skincare you should be using and when you need to start certain in office procedures. I hope you all find this helpful. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment!
