Healthy Skin at Any Age

By Hema Sundaram, MA, MD, FAAD

Sundaram Dermatology, Cosmetic & Laser Surgery Center

. http://doctorhema.com

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Healthy Skin at Any Age

New Lasers and the Latest No-Downtime Procedures

How do you view midlife? If you’re like most, you probably have every expectation that this stage of life and beyond will be active, fulfilling and productive.

Our skin is the largest organ in our body and the mirror of everything inside. It’s natural to want our skin to reflect externally the youthful vigor and vitality we strive for internally. This life philosophy is redefining midlife, and revolutionizing skin health and cosmetic dermatology. We are especially inspired by our patients in their 80s and 90s who are living life to its fullest, and typically taken for being 20-30 years younger than they actually are!

The idea of looking and feeling good at any age has inspired groundbreaking non-surgical strategies that naturally rejuvenate you, while preserving your individuality and avoiding an overdone look. For the latest thinking from the world’s cosmetic experts, read the article in RealSelf, “The 6 Buzziest Treatment Launches of 2022”.

In recent academy teaching for dermatologists and plastic surgeons, we have focused on the science and research behind state-of-the-art techniques and technology. The key concept is to rejuvenate your skin layer by layer by harnessing your body’s own capacity to renew itself. This approach reflects advanced understanding of the aging process and, if started in time, can save you from ever having to go under the surgical knife.

The American Board of Medical Specialties recognizes four types of specialists as being appropriately qualified and trained to perform cosmetic procedures – Board Certified Dermatologists, Plastic Surgeons, Oculoplastic Surgeons and Facial Plastic Surgeons.

The uppermost layer of your skin can be treated with Elos Plus photofacials, VBeam pulsed dye laser, micro-laser and chemical peels, to fade discolorations, spider veins, prominent pores, acne and rosacea and give your skin a beautiful glow.

Photofacials can be alternated with DermaSweep MD, a medical-strength, crystal-free alternative to microdermabrasion, which painlessly polishes your skin with silk and other brushes and then infuses it with customized therapies to fade discolorations, tighten pores and make your skin radiant and youthful.

The upper and middle skin layers can be stimulated to create new collagen and elastin with fractional resurfacing lasers like the new eMatrix Sublative, eTwo, Co2RE or Fraxel. These are exciting technologies that remove wrinkles, scars, stretch marks and other blemishes with no scarring and little or no down time.

Voluma, Juvederm, Restylane, Juvederm and RHA resilient fillers are pure, synthetic forms of natural hyaluronic acid to precisely replace the volume that our skin loses with time. Radiesse is a natural calcium-based filler. Sculptra is another effective volumizer. These fillers, as well as your own natural fat containing stem cells, can fill “smoker’s lines” around the mouth, gaunt cheeks and under-eye hollows, shape your brows, and sculpt your profile. Truly expert technique doesn’t just fill wrinkles – it actually restores your face, to create ideal contours and lift your face subtly and beautifully with no scarring or down time. Recent research shows that filler placement in the right way can actually stimulate your skin to produce new collagen and elastin, for more natural and longer-lasting results.

A recent addition is platelet-rich plasma (PRP) with microneedling – the so-called “vampire face lift” – that harnesses the regenerative power of your body’s own healing processes to achieve smooth, radiant skin. Studies show that PRP is also effective for hair loss, and emerging uses include treatment of vitiligo (loss of color from the skin) and imporvement of scars.

The lowest layer of your skin can be treated with Ultherapy, Exilis Ultra or Sublime lasers, the newest no-downtime, no-surgery face lifting and tightening treatments. Ultherapy tightens collagen and elastic tissue, to lift your brows and cheeks, define your chin and jawline, and tighten and lift your neck, chest, abdomen, buttocks, arms and elsewhere. You will see prompt results that improve even more over time. Stimulation of your skin’s self-tightening is long lasting and can take years or decades off you.

These revolutionary lasers not only tighten and lift; they can also improve loose skin, cellulite and stretch marks on areas such as your stomach, arms, buttocks and legs.

Kybella injections or Laser Lipo treatments can remove unwanted fat with no down time and no anesthesia to chisel your jawline. You can also melt fat away painlessly from your hips, abdomen, waistline, buttocks, arms and other areas.

Precise doses of the muscle relaxers Botox, Dysport, or Xeomin or Jeuveau can be injected with expert technique to gently and safely relax overactive muscles, smooth frown lines, worry lines, crow’s feet, lines around the mouth and neck wrinkles, while preserving your natural facial expressions and avoiding a telltale frozen look.

Rather than focusing on individual procedures, this multi-level makeover integrates state-of-the-art techniques to achieve subtle, natural-looking results with no surgery, scarring or recovery time.

This highly sophisticated approach doesn’t change you into the cliche of a “new you.” Better yet, it empowers you to re-discover the real you, balancing how you feel inside with how you look outside. Scientific studies show that a youthful and harmonious appearance makes the best first impression we make on others, and maximizes our personal and professional success at all ages.