What should I do to keep myself looking my very best? Is there the perfect time to start if I want to stay ahead of the game?
The answer to this question is complex, and depends on genetics and your environmental exposure. Are you a sun worshipper? Are you always outside? Do you smoke? Be it at the beach or hiking in the mountains, always wear sunscreen. Smoking is bad for your looks, period. In fact, a recent study of twins who had facelift and other rejuvenating surgeries were followed by researchers for 10 years. While their surgeries held up well, the smoker looked way older than her twin. Still another study showed smokers developed more changes around the mouth, which is not surprising!
So…if you’re wearing your sunscreen, and not smoking…bravo! You can also consider the following timeline I put together to try to stay ahead of the aging curve.
In your 20’s:
Focus on your skin. Wear that sunscreen and moisturize by using a product designed for your skin type. We can make some great recommendations. We will probably suggest you start using Retin-A or glycolic products to prevent fine lines from forming.
In your 30’s:
It may be time to start Botox for wrinkles that appear in forehead and crows’ feet, but understand that once you start, you must continue every 3-6 months to keep the wrinkles away.
In your early 40’s:
In addition to the regular Botox, it will likely be time to recover what you might have lost in volume with fillers like Juvederm or Restylane. Those products can last 3-6 months, but also need to be repeated to maintain the youthful fullness they create.
In your late 40’s:
Botox and filler may no longer do the trick by themselves. This is often when we start talking to patients about eyelid surgery to rejuvenate the area and/or cheek lift surgery to restore a youthful, heart shaped appearance to face. We can also offer longer lasting volume augmentations using your own fat (usually done at the time of surgery.)
In your 50’s:
Facelifts are common in this age group. The surgery improves the jowls and neck area that have lost the war against gravity. We also offer a minimally invasive surgical procedure in our office called ThermiTight™. A surgical consultation with us may help you define what choice would work best for you.
In the 60’s and 70’s:
if you’ve followed the timeline above from the beginning, you won’t be showing your age and all we will have to do is offer minor touch ups!
If you haven’t started, the good news is that it’s never too late to catch up. You may even be able to skip a step or two. As always, we’re happy to customize a solution individualized to your needs.
