Welcome to the third, and last, part of essential skincare for your fifties. In part one, I discussed the prevention of photo aging, lines and wrinkles, as well as slowing down the formation of lines and wrinkles with Botulinum treatments. In the second part, I discussed the importance of exfoliation, and then aggressive filler and laser treatments that correct, or just improve, more advanced lines and wrinkles and other facial contours. In this part, I’ll discuss skin tightening and firming of sagging skin, especially in the lower face and neck, as well as surgical procedures for the eye area, neck and facial sagging or wrinkling when it just defies everything I’ve already discussed.
As we get older, and particularly in our fifties, as a result of the loss of collagen, elastic tissue and even some fat in your face, the skin of the lower face starts to sag, especially around the jaw line and below the corners of the mouth. That also results in early jowl formation. And, in addition, there is sagging and loosening of the skin in the neck, so we start of lose the definition of our jaw line. This results in the bottom part of our face actually getting wider, which is the opposite of the way it used to be when we were younger, when the bottom of the face was tapered to the jaw, and the upper cheeks was much wider than your lower face.
Today, there are various devices that are non-invasive… which means there’s no cutting, no surgery, no needles, and no anesthesia… and they actually tighten that loose skin to firm it, and to help restore normal contours. Some machines do it in one or two treatments, others require five or six, but they all work and they do it without surgery. Examples of that technology are Intense Pulsed Light, or IPL, and radio frequency devices. There are brand names such as Skin Tite by Sciton, which is IPL. On the other hand, Exilis by BTL, Thermage by Solta Medical, and Velashape by Syneron, are all radiofrequency technology.
Unfortunately however, at a certain point, the sagging or wrinkling just defies all the techniques I’ve discussed in skincare for the fifties. In those cases, if you want to treat them, then it’s time to consider plastic surgery, in terms of either getting a face lift, eye-lid surgery, or even neck surgery to help restore youthful facial and neck contours. These procedures are done by plastic surgeons and require general anesthesia. If you do pursue this path, make sure you find your surgeon from a reputable referral such as a friend or the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, not from an ad in the newspaper or on the Internet.
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