When I do my skincare routine I often wish I could go back in time and do things differently.
If I could I would tell my younger self to wear sunblock each and every day, not spend hours on the beach and always remove my make-up before going to bed.
Basically, all the things I know are important to maintain healthy skin.
While genetics play a big role in how one ages, poor skin care certainly speeds things up.
The rapidly forming crow’s feet and frown lines and visibly sagging skin are just a few things I would like to hit the pause button on.
While we might not be able to reverse the ageing process, we can certainly slow it down thanks to aesthetic treatments.
Dr Alek Nikolic, a renowned medical doctor in aesthetic medicine and owner of an online skincare store, Skinmiles, shares what treatment options are available that go deep to slow down the signs of ageing.
Neurotoxin wrinkle treatments
Botulinum toxin has gotten a bad reputation in the past, but when done correctly, neurotoxin wrinkle treatment injections are your best bet at diminishing wrinkles.
“Each Botulinum toxin experience is unique. We can even tailor your treatment according to ethnic or cultural differences. For the most natural end result possible, we carefully select the number of units, as well as which muscles to inject,” says Dr Nikolic.
Dermal fillers
Dermal fillers have come a long way in the last decade. With the arrival of new fillers designed to treat specific areas, the approach has changed: from blurring lines to being able to restore balance and harmony in the face.
Dermapen
The Dermapen is a member of the collagen induction therapy family. Dermapen treatments delve deeper into your skin and are designed to create a safe, healing response within your body. The result of microneedles penetrating the skin at specific depths is an inflammatory effect. In this case, inflammation is a good thing, because it sends an emergency signal to your cells to start producing new elastin and collagen.
“Another benefit of the Dermapen is that it assists in creating microchannels. These enable your skin to carry up to 80% more active ingredients. To take this benefit to the next level, I would recommend adding a Dermapen-specific topical retinol,” advises Dr Nikolic.
You can expect to see a difference after just one session, although Dr Nikolic recommends a course of six treatments at six-weekly intervals.
Chemical peels
There are many benefits of a light, superficial chemical peel treatment. Even though they’re technically still medical peels, they won’t leave you red or your skin flaking or sloughing after the treatment.
“At our practice, we love using Skin Ingredients (sk.in), NeoStrata, Dermaquest, Lamelle, and SkinCeuticals peeling systems. The choice between these systems is dependent on your skin type and concern, as well as the results you’d like to go home with,” says Dr Nikolic.
Fractional skin resurfacing
Numerous fractional devices exist, but they’re all guided by the same basic principle, which is using energy to create microchannels of inflammation in the skin, which in turn stimulates the skin’s healing process.
That being said, something one should be aware of is that post-inflammatory pigmentation can be a side effect of some fractional laser devices.
“I love using the bipolar radio frequency fractional skin resurfacing applicator so much. It allows us to safely treat all skin types with no fear of pigmentation in sight,” said Dr Nikolic, who recommends a course of three treatments at four-weekly intervals.
