Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Skin Restoration and Laser Institute

Someone once said, “inside every older person is a younger person just wondering

“what the hell happened!”

They were so right!  What happened? Well… Stressors happened. Metabolism changes happened.  Sun exposure happened. Menopause happened. Health issues happened. Prioritizing the needs of others over our own happened; not making time for self-care happened. Time happened.

This year, as I stared down all the candles on my birthday cake, I began to wonder what people wish for in 50+ crowd. After thinking about all the conversations I’ve had with patients and friends over years, I would imagine those wishes to include:

• “I wish… I didn’t have these jowls and a turkey neck.”

• “I wish… that when people tell me I look hot, they weren’t referring to my flashes!”

• “I wish… for a face cream that will tighten my skin and make me look 10 years younger without having a facelift.”

Now, if you have limited your sun exposure and consistently used a broad-spectrum, UVA/UVB sunscreen throughout your lifetime then you might just sail through your 50’s, maybe even your 60’s looking pretty darn good. BUT, if you and sunscreen have not been life-long friends, you’ve notice of a few signs of aging.  You may have started to entertain the idea of doing something about it or at the very least you’ve probably stood in front of the mirror and pulled back your facial skin to mimic what you might look like after a little nip and tuck. Maybe you have even started to research a facelift or neck lift or skin resurfacing.

And truly, there are worse ways to spend money than on finding new empowerment at this new stage of life through surgical intervention …like on a facial cream marketed as a “facelift in a jar.”

Myth buster…  facelifts do not come in jars.

There is no cream that will give you facelift-like results.  Nope, nope, nope! A facelift is a highly technical procedure that requires repositioning your muscle structure to create a tighter, more youthful appearance. It involves removing excess skin and fatty tissue, and it requires years of dedicated training and experience to give you the look you desire. A cream, no matter what marketing tells you… cannot do that!  So, if you are showing enough signs of aging to warrant a facelift, then a facelift is the only thing that will give you the results you really want. An effective, at-home skincare regimen plays a vital role in maintaining the health and appearance of your skin. But, if you are expecting a cream or any other topical application to reposition, tighten and lift you back in time, then you will be disappointed.

While skincare products are not a replacement for a facelift, they are a necessary daily accompaniment. Medical-grade skincare products are known to improve the tone, texture, brightness of your skin. They can replenish the skin with antioxidants, create cell turn-over, improve barrier function, increase hydration and most importantly, they can provide protection from future sun damage.  Don’t under-estimate the damage caused by sun exposure. It’s the reason you were standing in front of the mirror wishing a facelift in a jar in the first place!

Unlike marketers, our job at Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Center isn’t to tell a patient what they want to hear; it is to evaluate their degree of aging then match the severity of aging signs and the patient’s goals of improvement to the proper treatment plan. For a patient is in their 20’s, an anti-aging plan often just includes daily medical-grade, broad-spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreen (which by the way, sunscreen is the closest thing you will get to a facelift in a jar, via prevention), along with a good cleanser and moisturizer and a discussion about lifestyle, unprotected sun exposure and how taking care of you skin in your 20’s will determine how you look in you 40’s and beyond.

For that 30 something patient, we might recommend adding a topical Vitamin A product, and anti-oxidants to their at home regimen along with a few micro-dermabrasion treatments or a light chemical peel and a reality check about the effects of unprotected sun exposure.

A patient in their 40’s may need to add a CO2 Micro-Fractional Laser Resurfacing treatment to reduce brown spots, fine lines, wrinkles, and rough texture or a few IPL treatments to take care of broken capillaries.

For those patient’s over 50, the signs of aging become more difficult to minimize with at-home efforts alone.  Gravity really begins to flaunt its superpower and drives everything south. There is a more substantial breakdown of collagen and elastin fibers along with bone and tissue loss.  The result is loose, sagging skin, shadows, hallows, wrinkles, drooping jowls, and a turkey neck.  Skin becomes drier and thinner. Facial redness, visible, broken capillaries / spider veins become more difficult to conceal.

With each passing decade, maintaining a youthful, fresh appearance usually calls for a new plan of attack and after a certain degree of aging, there are no quick OTC fixes, certainly no effective facelifts in a jar. But there are several effective options to help you look and feel your best!

Spread love & sunscreen,

Roxanne Grace
Skincare and Laser Specialist
G. D. Castillo, M.D.
COSMETIC PLASTIC SURGERY

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800-252-7123 (within IL)
217-359-7508 Savoy (Champaign-Urbana)