Is it possible to look younger without going under the knife? Today, with new treatments, technological advances and doctors’ expertise, the techniques to preserve your youth are now gentler and less invasive. These days, patients no longer want over-stretched skin and a face that doesn’t move. Gentler than surgery, cosmetic medicine aims to maximize natural beauty discreetly with precision and subtlety. Cosmetic medicine specialists adapt and customize their methods for dealing with skin aging to each patient to achieve facial harmony that respects individual features and personality. Hyaluronic acid, Botox, laser treatments, mesolifts – find out more about these procedures used to correct the signs of aging and naturally rejuvenate the face.
Hyaluronic Acid: acting against the loss of volume and filling hollow areas
In cosmetic medicine, hyaluronic acid injections are one of the most popular anti-aging solutions. Naturally found in the body, hyaluronic acid is responsible for keeping the skin hydrated and protected against external aggressors, but it also gives the skin structure (volume). The substance contributes to smooth, radiant skin. However, with age its natural production declines, and the face tends to lose volume: facial contours sag, cheeks and even the forehead and temples hollow out, the lips become thinner, etc. Hyaluronic acid injections provide one particularly effective way of restoring volume in the face and counteracting the signs of aging.
The treatment is administered through injections into the dermis, a few millimeters deep, without incision or heavy anesthesia. The doctor takes a personalized approach to injecting the volumizing product into nasolabial folds, frown lines, cheeks, cheekbones, lips, facial contours, etc. based on the individual’s needs, skin type and desired effect. Results are immediately visible and natural-looking to boost facial harmony, lasting six to eight months as hyaluronic acid is biodegradable.
Another treatment used to look younger without surgery is botulinum toxin.
Fighting expression lines and movements that make you look older
More commonly used on the upper part of the face, botulinum toxin (often erroneously referred to as Botox) can be used alone or as a complement to other treatments. Due to repeated contractions, our skin gradually ends up marked by expression lines. The process is accentuated as skin becomes less toned with aging. Naturally produced by a bacterium, the toxin is injected in small doses directly into the muscle fiber to reduce the contraction and relax the muscles. The face is visibly less tense, and wrinkles and fine lines are subtly smoothed at various places on the face – glabellar lines, forehead, crow’s feet and eye contour – as well as the neck (platysma muscle) and the “frown” muscle (DAO). Thanks to the expertise and precision of cosmetic doctors, the effects are natural-looking and achieve facial harmony as they are perfectly adapted to individual needs. The commonly conveyed “frozen face” cliché no longer applies. The skin is visibly smoother and more beautiful, with effects lasting from six months to a year. These effects last longer as the number of treatments you have had increases.
Cosmetic medicine also focuses on improving skin quality, which decreases with age.
Looking younger by improving skin quality
On top of losing volume and developing wrinkles, the skin shows other effects of aging: dark spots, scars, dullness, lack of tone and elasticity, dehydration, etc. Skin quality is hit hard by the passing of time. However, effective, custom solutions are available to regain beautiful skin.
Peels
Peeling is a cosmetic medicine treatment used to counteract changes in skin quality that come with aging. The treatment restores youthfulness to the face and erases flaws, including dark spots, scars, loss of radiance and firmness that develop over time. With this technique, a naturally derived or chemical solution is applied to the face to peel the skin away. It also removes dead skin cells and stimulates the skin to a certain depth. Peels can be adapted to the degree of abrasion – superficial, medium or deep – based on the skin’s needs. The more damage there is, the deeper the peel.
Facial mesotherapy
Mesolifts are a technique involving superficial micro-injections of a cocktail of nutrients containing hyaluronic acid, vitamins, minerals antioxidants and other nutrients to improve skin quality. By directly filling the skin with active ingredients, the treatment helps restore radiance and enhance, smooth and moisturize the skin, while reinvigorating skin cells. Mesolifts are an ideal way of erasing fine lines, a dull complexion and other effects caused by the aging process. The skin is visibly improved, more supple, more elastic and revitalized while staying natural.
Laser treatments
First, you should understand that there is not just one type of laser treatment. Ulthera, Fraxel Repair, miraDry and Cynosure Affirm® are just some of the many laser procedures used in cosmetic medicine that personalize the way skin is treated as part of a skin rejuvenation and correction treatment. Sagging skin, scars, pigmentation spots and lack of tone can all be addressed. By creating gentle abrasion on the skin, cells are stimulated and tissue regenerates.