The ESSNTL Secrets to Recognizing Aging Skin
Aging is a natural process however, taking care of our body, consistent skincare, and cosmetic procedures have shown they can help slow this process down. But the biggest mistake most people make is focusing only on the wrinkles on the face. Like forehead lines, crow’s feet and nasolabial lines. Many people have successfully covered or treated these areas but usually, I can still make a pretty good guess at your real age with recognizing other signs. Here are some of my secrets on detecting aging features and how you can prevent them.
Neck and Chest: Have you caught yourself doing skincare and forget to keep going past the face. I have met many older women that will have beautiful skin on their face but their age shows immediately on their neck and chest with wrinkles, sagging/dull skin, and age spots. The big one here... sunscreen, and of course consistent skincare and massaging on the neck and chest will help prevent aging here. If there’s a lot of work that needs to be done or you are really concerned, fillers and lasers are a good way to tighten and revive the skin in this area.
Hands and Feet: This is the same idea as the neck and chest where it is forgotten but very recognizable. It is one of those areas that we forget to do skincare and sunscreen every single day, especially sunscreen during the darker winter days. But even with sunscreen, our hands and feet start to lose that density and the veins and bones start to become more prominent. The way to fix this is, again, the same thing as mentioned for the neck and chest.
Aging Face Triangle Theory: This theory was another concept that I learned in my cosmetic chemistry course that really caught my attention. This idea shows that a triangle facing down will fit the shape of a young looking face with higher and full cheeks and a more defined jaw line whereas an upward facing triangle will fit the shape of an aged individual with sagging skin falling toward the jawline of the face. There are times you may look at someone and think, I know they look older, but I can’t quite put my finger on why they do...well this theory might be the reason why. To help prevent that triangle from turning upside down, facials, facial massages, lasers, fillers, and most importantly a healthy diet. We tend to focus everything we can see on the outside but what we put on the inside is even more important.
4. Hyperpigmentation: Most of us already know that hyperpigmentation and dull skin is a sign of aging but it’s not as well noticed because it can be covered up by makeup. But even as I look at pictures from myself 5 years ago, I ask, what is so different about the way I look and one of the big differences is the tiny sun spots/aging spots that are by my hairline. The areas that we tend to neglect in sunscreen and skincare are going to be the first areas that show the hyperpigmentation. To help with hyperpigmentation, the best treatments are sunscreen, lasers, Vitamin C, Retinoid, along with many other active ingredients that are used for hyperpigmentation.
5. Botox only: WOWOWOW. The amount of skincare bloggers I have seen recently (that actually seem to really know their stuff) have gotten the whole botox thing wrong. I understand the holistic approach and focusing on skincare and massages to reach your goals, but there are many people who prefer to go the more effective and quicker route of injectables. One blogger had discussed how botox had made her skin worse over time, especially after she stopped getting more botox. Botox helps to relax the muscles to help prevent the motion of the skin that creates the wrinkles. When only using botox, your skin will not just lose density from the muscle, but also from the dermis layer of the skin that provides fullness. This is why facial massaging and skincare with botox are still very important. And it is also important to get the right practitioner to administer botox who will put the correct amount of botox in the correct area. Botox and fillers are an ART! But if you are too far gone with all the botox and the skin is very dull at an older age, fillers are the best way to help bring that density and fullness back into your skin. Fillers are typically just hyaluronic acid which is very healthy for our skin so don’t let the idea of fillers scare you from having the best skin ever.