Your skin can be a real snitch! You can do everything you can to look and feel your best, but one day your skin is going to let EVERYONE know that you’re getting older.
Wrinkles and laughter lines can be the signs of a life well-lived. Our faces tell the stories of nights spent laughing till we cried over bottles of wine with best mates and falling asleep in the sun after a night clubbing on an amazing holiday.
But there are things you can do, from your 20s onwards, to stay looking younger for longer. Even if those wrinkles have taken up residence, you can make them fade away and we’ll tell you how.
What makes our skin age?
In our teens and 20s, most of us have healthy, smooth, bright and stretchy skin. As we age, the skin becomes thinner and wrinkles start to emerge. One of the main reasons is that the collagen and elastic fibres, which allow our skin to stretch, get older and looser. Skin doesn’t bounce back the way it used to. Collagen can also be damaged by stress, pollution and smoking.
Sun damage builds up over the years. Those UV rays can bombard our skin even on a cloudy day. So if you’ve spent lots of time outside without sun protection, your skin will age faster than the folks who’ve slapped on sunscreen every day.
Genetics also play a role in how fast your skin ages. Some lucky people inherit great genes from their parents and keep smooth skin for longer.
Over time, the fatty tissue between your skin and muscles changes and that can make you look older. Rapid weight loss can also show in the face and some long-term medications can thin the skin over time.
Looking after your skin
It’s never too early to start looking after your skin. Sun damage is stored up from childhood and emerges decades later, so encourage children and teenagers to use sunscreen and keep up the habit yourself throughout your lifetime.
You can help to protect your future skin by giving up smoking, drinking in moderation, following a balanced diet, getting enough sleep and staying active. A regular skincare regime where you cleanse and moisturise daily will also pay dividends later.
How the Lumenis M22 can help
We love the Lumenis M22 IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) machine because it can help rejuvenate your skin in so many different ways. At the Avance Clinic, we regularly use it with the M22 ResurFX Photo Fractional skin rejuvenation system. There’s no need to go under the surgeon’s knife when these brilliant machines can tighten the skin, stimulate collagen and elastin production, and tackle pigmentation, fine lines, redness and thread veins. You’ll still look like you – just a fresher, brighter, younger version.
Carbon Peel Facial
Here’s a treatment that the celebrity A-listers love – and we do too. It’s the carbon peel facial. Despite its name, it’s not a harsh chemical peel that will leave your skin feeling red and raw. It’s a much gentler treatment that stimulates collagen production and softens fine lines and wrinkles.
A carbon powder paste is spread on your face, like a face mask, and dries quickly. The M22 Laser Q-Switched handpiece is then swept across the paste and fires short pulses of laser energy into the skin. This does lots of great things including tightening the skin and lightening any patches of pigmentation caused by ageing, sun spots or old sunbed treatments. It’s painless and there’s no recovery time.
Botox and dermal fillers
We work in partnership with Highfield Aesthetics to offer a range of injectable procedures, Botox and dermal fillers, that revitalise your skin and make it look smoother and fresher.
Contact us to find out more and book a free consultation and learn about the best treatment for you. We’d love the chance to help you face the world with more confidence. Call us on 01332 460045 or email info@avanceclinic.co.uk