Starting to see the first signs of face aging? Not to worry, today's anti-aging skin care treatments (and some skin care products) are pretty remarkable in restoring a more youthful appearance.
Surgical procedures are not your only option.
Ahead, we'll show several at-home and non-invasive in-office facial treatments to tackle those first signs of skin aging over 40 and restore your youthful glow.
As we age, it's important to take extra care of our skin. Face aging can be a difficult process to reverse, but with the right anti-aging skin care treatments, it is possible to improve the appearance of your skin.
There are both at-home and in-office solutions that can help to fix the signs of face aging.
So if you're looking for ways to reduce wrinkles, fine lines, and other signs of aging, be sure to explore all of your options listed below.
Sometime in your 40s, collagen and elastin production slows down considerably. You probably hear this all the time, but why are these proteins important?
Well, collagen is that good stuff that gives your skin it's skin strength and elastin and keeps it bounce and keeps it tight!
Lower levels of these proteins leave your skin weak and vulnerable to internal and external environmental assaults and quicker to show signs of aging - like lines, wrinkles and sagging.
A little too much wine, not enough sleep, maybe too much sun, pollution, poor diet, poor sleeping habits, lack of proper skincare, etc…suddenly the skin starts showing minor signs of aging.
But, there are anti-aging treatments (along with a healthier lifestyle) you can use to protect, reduce further damage and keep your skin looking healthy.
Sign: fine lines and wrinkles get deeper or wider
Those tiny fine lines around your eyes, on the cheeks, and between your brows (frown lines), or around your mouth (smile lines) or neck, suddenly become deeper, wider, and more noticeable.
Treatment
We know most anti-aging skincare products and creams can't reverse the aging process.
But one thing dermatologists and plastic surgeons agree on is the rejuvenating benefits of topical retinoids and peptides to stimulate the production of collagen, strengthen the skin, hydrate and improve the look of wrinkles and lines.
Inexpensive - Over-the-counter retinol and peptide creams are probably one of the best anti-aging treatments for your money.
Consider trying over-the-counter creams with retinoids for nighttime use and peptides in your daily moisturizer. Make sure you check the label to make sure the cream contains enough to be effective.
You can read more about how to select a good retinol and peptide creams at the following links:
Expensive – Popular treatments like Botox and Dysport injectable neurotoxins can reduce wrinkles caused by excessive facial movements that develop around the like crow’s feet, forehead, and in-between your eyebrows.
The results are temporary (lasting 3-5 months), and injections must be repeated to maintain results.
Botox injections are not just for forehead wrinkles. Today, there are many incredible ways to use Botox to rejuvenate the face and neck for a more refreshed look.
This procedure is called Baby Botox. Find out how this Botox is different and how it could benefit your anti-aging results.
Also, get the facts on Botox for face aging and what mistakes to avoid that actually make you look older. Learn more here: Disadvantages of Botox injections.
Sign: enlarged pores and dull, dry skin
Treatment
As we age, our ability to get rid of dull skin cells becomes less efficient, which results in a build-up of sticky cells on the surface, causing our complexion to look dry and dull.
These dead skin cells also settle into your pores, clogging them and exaggerating their appearance.
Exfoliating your face once or twice a week will greatly improve your complexion. After just one treatment, you’ll see brighter smoother skin, and a more lustrous, healthy-looking complexion.
Inexpensive - Home chemical peels are excellent, inexpensive choices that offer huge benefits. See which products to help dull skin and at-home chemical peels are best for hyperpigmentation, dry skin or acne / oily skin conditions.
Other great options include, at-home exfoliating solutions, natural chemical peels, and home microdermabrasion machines as well. Here are 4 "cheap" at-home solutions using juices, scrubs, and peels.
Expensive - If you have sensitive skin with severe sun damage, dark spots, rough skin texture, or superficial hyperpigmentation or acne scars, you might consider getting an in-office professional peel.
Professional strength chemical peels like glycolic, TCA, and phenol peels are generally applied in-office by an aesthetician or dermatologist.
Also consider a BBL facial treatment. It takes 15 minutes and there is very little recovery time, except avoiding excess sun exposure and use a high quality, high SPF sun protection cream.
And, it's less invasive than laser treatments, and effective at rejuvenating the skin.
Sign: age spots, liver spots, brown spots
Treatment
If you’ve ever been in the sun, you probably have a few of these solar lentigines (age spots) on your body. But, when they start to pop up on your face, now it’s a problem!
Nothing says “aging face” like liver spots marring your complexion.
I'm not going to lie; treating these stubborn liver looking patches can be a very difficult and time-consuming task. Which is why the first and most important treatment is prevention.
Always take extra precautions while outside, as well as following safe practices when exposed to UV rays by protecting your face with sunscreen every day.
Inexpensive - vitamin C serum applied daily, along with exfoliation, can help reduce the color and size of the age spots.
But, his will take months of treatments before you see results. Does it work? You can see my before and after results using vitamin C serum and weekly home exfoliation treatment here...
Home chemical peels can also help lighten those brown spots. You can read more and find out which peel is best for skin discoloration here...
Expensive - For serious age spots and discoloration, in-office cosmetic treatments, like laser skin rejuvenation, which offer the best results.
There are so many in-office procedures to treat hyperpigmentation. These skin rejuvenation treatments range from chemical peels, IPL (intense pulsed light) and laser resurfacing (CO2, Fraxel, Clear & Brilliant).
And some – like Clear & Brilliant - have little or no downtime at all. Your dermatologist can advise you on what’s best.
Sign: loose skin and hollowness
Treatment
Aside from wrinkles, and sun spots, sagging skin, and loss of volume are one of the most visible signs of aging. The loss of collagen and elastin, which are proteins that help keep skin firm and elastic, can cause skin to sag.
These issues can cause:
There are a number of anti-aging skin care treatments that can help to improve the appearance of sagging skin.
What about Topical treatments? These anti-aging creams and serums containing anti-aging ingredients like retinol and vitamin C. But they really won't do much to tighten or lift sagging skin.
Aside from a face lift, fillers and/or radiofrequency therapy or other ablative treatments may be recommended to tighten loose skin.
Inexpensive - Facial exercise. I’m a huge proponent of face exercises for so many reasons. If done correctly, a facial exercise routine can not only help add more firmness and volume (especially to mid-face) but can help improve the tone and texture of the skin. A comprehensive face exercise program should include facial muscle building from the scalp to the neck along with skin massaging.
Expensive - Hyaluronic acid (HA fillers) dermal fillers like Juvederm, and Restylane can restore facial volume throughout the face. Because these fillers contain smaller particles, they can restore volume in small areas throughout the face, like lips and crow's feet.
These treatments can also reduce the appearance of fine lines too.
Sculptra seems to provide more bang for your buck because it works by stimulating your own collagen production and, therefore, can last for years. But, it can only be used in certain places of the face - like temples, mid-cheek and lower face.
Sculptra seems to provide more bang for your buck because it works by stimulating your own collagen production and, therefore, can last for years. But, it can only be used in certain places of the face - like temples, mid-cheek and lower face.
Radiesse can be used as a mini-facelift since it’s a great option to use along the jaw bone (to lift sagging jowls) and cheekbones to add more volume to sagging or flat cheeks. It can last up to two years and also helps stimulate collagen.
Restylane and Juvederm, on the other hand, are softer, pliable, and can restore loss of volume in small sensitive areas like nasal labial folds and lips.
Radiofrequency Therapy (RF)- Radiofrequency therapy heats up (using ow energy radiation) the deep layers of the skin. The causes slight damage which stimulates the body to produce collagen. Over time, this can help improve sagging skin.
Research suggests that RF therapy is safe and effective anti-aging skin care treatment for mild sagging skin. Your doctor will be able to provide you with more details and decide if this treatment will work for you.
Sign: Upper and lower lips are thin and/or wrinkled, shriveled, dehydrated, with loss of natural plumpness.
Treatment
As we age the skin on our lips thin out, flattens and develops vertical wrinkles around the entire mouth area. Lips, like our face, gets it's shape, moisture and plumpness from collagen, which we lose as we age.
Inexpensive: There are some pretty effective over-the-counter products that can help keep the lips smoother, hydrated and a bit fuller. Check out the best treatment for aging lips options. The City Lip gloss is my absolute favorite. It even helps lip fillers last longer!
Expensive: The most effective option to plump up lips are lip fillers. Lip injection treatments are expensive, but they can correct many aging issues associated with the lips, such as:
Professional in-office treatments are powerful anti-aging treatments and offer fast dramatic results.
But whether you should try them or not really depends on your age, your current skin condition, and, most importantly, your expectations.
While at-home treatment results are not as dramatic, they can make a difference and improve your complexion, especially if you start them early.
Regardless you should at least consider at-home treatments as preventative measure or a form of maintenance if you've had professional treatments.
NOTE: If you choose a combination of in-office and at-home treatments, make sure you speak with your doctor and let him know about your at-home skincare routine. For example, after a professional chemical peel, you shouldn’t use at-home exfoliation treatments or vitamin c or alpha hydroxy serums for about 5-7 days. Over-exfoliating can cause redness and skin sensitivity. Let how your skin feels, be your guide, and always check with your doctor.
Don't have a doctor or wish to consult with one in your area? Visit Realself, your go-to advisor for plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures.
If you have any questions about anti-aging skincare treatments, please feel free to ask us here.
A: You can expect results to last up to one year. But, depending on how many treatments you get and if you stay on a maintenance program, your results could last longer. Most dermatologist suggest getting a maintenance treatment once or twice a year, after your initial set of treatments.
A: Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) peel are very effective, especially for hyperpigmentation.
TCA peels are medium to deep peels and shouldn't be done at home, unless you really know what you're doing.
To remove stubborn brown spots you might need a pretty strong concentration (20-30%) which can damage your skin if you don't know what you're doing.
I would highly suggest getting these peels done with a trained professional.
A: If you're looking for non-invasive procedures to provide a natural face-lift, then Radiesse might be your best bet because it not only helps stimulate your own collagen, but will last for years.
It's often injected along the jaw bone and on the lower cheek area, lift the whole lower face and restore volume to the cheeks.
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