Perils of Aging Skin – Interventional and Non-Interventional Treatment Options
With age, comes signs of aging like fine lines and wrinkles. Your skin stops being as supple as it used to, and you may find that your skin is gradually losing its elasticity and thinning. As we age, our collagen production slows down, and our skin bears the brunt. It grows more fragile than before. You may notice that you bruise easier. As fatty tissue also decreases, you many notice a loss in terms of fullness of your face.
Areas we especially notice differences include the cheeks, eyes, mouth, jawline, brow and nose. A reduction in production of natural oil in our body also affects the skin and we find it grow drier as we age. Although signs of aging seem quite intimidating, treatment options are available to counter them. We list interventional as well as non-interventional treatment options for aging skin.
Interventional Treatments
Interventional treatments include fillers and Botox. These methods aim to work directly on your skin and impact your look. Administered medically via injections, these are highly refined procedures developed with great technological advancement.
Fillers for the face include injecting substances into the soft tissue of your skin to smooth out wrinkles, fine lines, spots and rejuvenate your skin temporarily. Also known as dermal fillers, these are minimally invasive injections that help with lost volume, sagging skin, wrinkles etc. The treatment is non-surgical, and patients require only a little aftercare and are free to resume almost all of their daily activities. Fillers come in a variety of types, and often, a combination is used for best results.
Popular fillers include Belotero, Juvederm, Radiesse, Restylane, and Voluma, among others. Different fillers use different components and have specific purposes. Some of the most common are hyaluronic acid, calcium hydroxyapatite and poly-L-lactic acid.
The procedure for these injections is simple. After areas of injection have been marked on your skin by your doctor, your skin will be sanitised with an anti-bacterial agent. Following this, you will be administered a numbing agent, or local anaesthesia to reduce any possible discomfort during the procedure. The injections may feel like a sting or incite a burning sensation during administration. Depending on the procedure, your doctor will advise you on after care and further sessions.
Botox is yet another interventional treatment option to smooth out signs of aging. The treatment, while fairly common, requires training to be administered. As such, take note to consult your dermatologist and undertake the procedure only when done by a licensed medical practitioner. Botox, also known as Botulinum Toxin Type A, prevents signs of aging from being visible by causing a temporary reduction in muscle activity.
The bacteria that causes botulism is used to produced Botox. The toxin, when cultured for treatment, works by temporarily affecting nerve activity in the given area. Botox is used not only for signs of aging, but has proven to be useful in the wider medical field as well. Botox is injected in small doses so as to not completely paralyze your face. It is thus important to choose your doctor after careful consideration, and to be transparent with them about your medical history. Depending on your requirements, your doctor may suggest a series of sessions across a given period of time.
Non-interventional Treatments
Non-interventional treatments are non-invasive procedures that use sound, light or radio therapy to work on your tissues and skin cells and help naturally rejuvenate your skin’s youthful glow and good health. Non-interventional treatments for aging skin include HIFU and Tripollar RF, both of which are detailed below.
High-intensity focused ultrasound therapy, also known as HIFU, is a modern procedure that makes use of ultrasound waves in its treatment. Like Botox, HIFU finds use not just in skincare, but in the wider medical field, being effectively used to also treat conditions such as tumors. The procedure is non-invasive, non-surgical, does not have any ionizing radiation, brings lower risks in its treatment, has a faster recovery time, and is well known for its precision.
HIFU uses high energy ultrasound to produce sound waves that can generate high heat. By focusing this energy on specific tissues, the affected tissues are efficiently destroyed. The procedure thus uses ablation to treat signs of aging and encourages newer tissue to grow in the face of the destruction of the older, affected tissues. The procedure is harmless and when administered by a professional, shows stunning results.
TriPollar RF uses radiofrequency and is an effective and safe skin-tightening treatment. Radiofrequency is used to heat the deepest layers of our skin. This incites the cells in our body to redouble efforts and produce collagen to heal the minor ablation caused by the radiofrequency waves. As collagen production is renewed, a marked decrease can be seen in fine lines, wrinkles and sagging skin, revitalising aging skin naturally and from within.
The procedure includes clearing your skin of makeup and using an antibacterial agent to clean the surface layer. The RF is then administered by using the device to slowly massage your skin. Once the duration is through, your skin is cooled. One usually requires a few consecutive sessions to start seeing visible effects of the procedure. There is no scarring, no lengthy recovery, and you may resume your daily activities after undergoing the procedure, making it a very accessible treatment option.
While early signs of aging may make one panic and cause worry, they are treatable when one follows the right guidance.