This is the chapter I’ve been so anxious to get to, hoping that I will find a miracle for combating wrinkles without expensive treatments. But much to my dismay, there are no easy fixes, no magic serum for erasing lines around my eyes. Because I’m not a high-maintenance gal, and I don’t want to spend all our retirement money on my face, aging will just have to include a few wrinkles here and there. But that’s a whole lot better than looking like a plastic doll.
In her book How Not to Look Old
The quickest fixes can be found at your dermatologist’s office, but trips may be frequent, depending on what you choose. Charla sings the praises of injectables because she has had great results with then herself. She recommends Botox for forehead lines and crow’s feet, and Restylane, CosmoDerm and CosmoPlast to fill lip lines. She saw slight improvements with two laser sessions, but did not complete the six-session series so can’t vouch for the results.
If you do decide to go with Botox, here is an interesting tip from Charla. Beware of Botox bargains. She says that Botox comes in powder form and must be diluted with saline before injecting. A nice discount on a Botox injection could mean that the doctor diluted it more to make the powder go further. The weaker the solution, the less time your results will last, meaning you will be back for another injection sooner.
There are several treatments you can get at the doctor’s office for immediate noticeable results.
- Lasers—the old lasers took off layers of your skin, leaving you looking like a burn victim for weeks. The newer versions like the Fraxel Skin Resurfacing Laser can be used to eliminate age spots, scars and uneven texture with a few days of recovery.
- Peels—A light chemical peel such as a glycolic acid peel will speed cell turnover so that skin tone and texture improve, but you need to have several treatments, increasing in strength, to see the best results. This is one of the easiest and least painful ways to brighten up your skin. I’ve had several glycolic peels, and I loved the results.
- Microdermabrasion—A machine is used to exfoliate the skin, scrubbing it using very fine crystals. A series of treatments can improve skin tone, texture, dark spots and fine lines.
- LED Photomodulation—With this treatment, you sit in front of a panel of bright lights that pulsate across your face for 45 seconds. It is supposed to give you more elastic, smoother skin, but the cost is steep, around $1,500 for eight 45-second treatments. That’s a total of six minutes, which is good if you have a busy schedule, but bad if you have a budget.
- Fat—Using your own fat to fill in wrinkles. Sounds like a winner to me! But the fat has to be injected very deeply with a big needle for the results to last, and there are no long-term studies on the process.
- Collagen—CosmoDerm and CosmoPlast are made from human collagen so they don’t require tests for allergies. Zyplast and Zyerm are made from bovine collagen (yes, from cows) and require testing before injections. The results can last up to nine years—great if you get good results, horrible if you get results you aren’t happy with.
- Hyaluronic acid—This actually comes from natural sugar, and is found in Restylane, Juvaderm, Captiqe and Hylederm.
- Silicone—Silicone 1000 is more permanent, and can last at least three years. Again, great if you like the results, but a disaster if it is botched.
Is the pain and expense really worth it? If not, then go the nonsurgical route. Dr. Neil Sadick of New York says,” If you want healthy skin, protect it with a high-dose antioxidant and a sunblock every morning. At night, turn over your skin. I truly believe you can turn back the clock at least a decade on wrinkles at night.”
A good skin care regimen is essential for healthy skin. These five steps will help you keep your wrinkles minimized.
- Cleanse with a gentle cleanser that won’t strip your skin. There are plenty of these available without spending a fortune, such as Cetaphil or Olay. Philosophy Purity Made Simple removes eye makeup at the same time. A 16 oz. bottle is $32 at drugstore.com.
- Exfoliate to speed up cell turnover and reveals smoother skin. The more you exfoliate, the brighter your skin will be. Use a microdermabrasion scrub with tiny beads so they won’t damage your face. Charla recommends Olay Definity Pore Redefining Scrub, Olay Regenerist Microdermabrasion & Peel Kit, and Estee’ Lauder Idealist Refinishing Treatment. I use Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant every day and I love it.
- Restore with vitamins and antioxidants to boost the skin’s defenses against damaging free radicals. For daytime, she suggests Garnier Nutritioniste Ultra-life Serum, available at grocery or drug stroes, Boots No. 7 Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum, available at Target, and Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Concentrate, available at drugstore.com. For maximum nighttime results, use a Retin-A product like Renova. The most potent ones are only available at the doctor’s office, but you can get weaker versions at the drugstore. Charla recommends Clinique Turnaround Concentrate Visible Skin Renewer and Patricia Wexler Intensive Night Reversal and Repair Cream.
- Moisturize to temporarily plump up skin and diminish wrinkles, and make sure it contains a sunscreen. You can spend hundreds on designer label creams, but some less expensive ones are Olay Definity Deep Penetrating Foaming Moisturizer, Patricia Wexler Skin Brightening Daily Moistuizer, available at Bath & Body Works, and Olay Complete Defense SPF 30 Daly UV Moisturizer.
- Protect if your moisturizer doesn’t have sunscreen. This is absolutely essential for preventing skin cancer, and for defending against UV rays that age skin. Don’t underestimate the effects of your lifestyle on your skin. If you are going on vacation or will be spending the day outdoors, be sure to wear sunscreen on your face and body. Those made with Mexoryl have peak efficiency, blocking both UVA and UVB rays.
Lastly, a note about the eyes. If you got started too late like I did in taking care of your undereye area, you have a lot of catching up to do. Discoloration can be lightened up with Restylane, which can sometimes diminish the shadows of those hollow dark circles. Pads of fat have to be removed by a dermatologist. For intense moisture treatments, Charla recommends Clarins Super Restorative Total Eye Concentrate, and Elizabeth Arden Prevage Eye Treatment. She also mentions Olay Regenerist Derma-Pod Triple Response System, but the product gets mixed reviews for ease of use on several websites.
On a personal note, I’ve seen way too many women who have gone the plastic-surgeon route and turned out looking worse than they did before their treatments. There is nothing wrong with a few wrinkles—we don’t need to try to look like our daughters. I think clean, smooth, natural skin is much better than artificially enhanced skin. I follow the 5-step regimen myself, and most people think I don’t look my age anyway. For the past two months, I’ve been using Vitamin Enhanced Face Firming Serum from Made From Earth and my 25-year-old daughter says my skin looks better than it has in a long time.
AND…this is my second week trying out the new NuSkin Galvanic Spa at-home treatment. So far I love it–more to come later!
Do you have experience with any of the above procedures? If you do, please leave a comment below and tell us about it. We’d love to know what works, and what doesn’t!
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i use a combo of shea butter and aloe vera moisturizer. Works great. I use shea butter on my lips, around my eyes and nose (dry areas), My father swears by vasoline.
p.s. I dropped your name on Gina's post, Barb. ;)
I just made an appointment with my dermatologist for Juvederm for next week. I hope to fill in the “smile lines” I have around my mouth. I already use a Clarisonic for cleansing followed by Renova. I agree, a few wrinkles are fine, I am just trying to keep my skin looking healthy.
Hi, Feltski!
Just wondering how you like the Juvaderm–we’d love a report!
Thank you Miss Susan for sharing your fountain of life info. I would’ve never been able to guess your age the day we had lunch. You’re definitely doing something right!
The best all around products to use are by BEAUTI CONTROL….they never mention this company at all. They are the….B..E….S….T. I have been using Beauti Control products for 4 years. Come On everyone….check out Beauti Control
Has anyone tried the new treatments from Rodan & Fields ? Would like some feed back.
A word of caution about fillers, like Restalyne. The literature says it lasts “up to six months”…mine lasted 3 weeks. When I called the company they said it “can happen” and does so in about 1% of the people who use it. When I pointed out that their literature does not warn consumers that the product could be absorbed by the body rapidly, the gentleman on the other end of the phone made no excuse. He called it “unfortunate” and said it would be reported to the FDA. My board certified plastic surgeon just shook her head, took some pictures and gave me the names of other fillers we could try. I suppose if you can afford a bunch of $550 experiments it may be worth it. But there are NO refunds. Period. But, For three weeks I looked great!
Has anyone heard of or tried Arcona skin care products? The place I go to for micro dermabrasion etc recomends (and sells) this skin care line. Its pretty expensive, but I would try it if it works.
Hi, I have had Juvederm twice. The first time, I had minimal redness and swelling and it lasted for over 9 months. It was injected into the folds and also the marionette lines. The PS wanted to also inject Botox but I wear bangs and didn’t want the additional cost and my forehead isn’t too bad.
I had a flexible spending account at work so saved up for a year for Juvederm again. I had it done in November. It was a disaster but not the Juvederm but the PS (went to a different one). I had huge bruises and lumps until mid January but on only one side of the face. It was a mess. Now that it has settled down, one side looks great but the other side still has lines.
I would caution anyone thinking about fillers to do your research on your PS or dermatologist. Most of the fillers, the Hyaluronic acid variety, are fine but who does the injecting is as important as the filler itself. The first time, I had a topical anesthesia but the second time I had a dental block. It was moderately to slightly painful, not anything too severe, both times.
This second PS wanted to do it in my undereye area and I am SOO glad I did not let her, I can only imagine!
I take very good care of my skin, stay out of the sun but still wear sunscreen, I use Dea Sea Minerals for cleanser and day/night creams and have used eye cream since I was 30, just better products now. I would definitely get Juvederm again. I only let them use 1 vial and not the Premium, just the regular, and the change was modest and made me look more rested. Depending upon your age, some doctors will want to use 2 vials and I think it would fill just those areas up too much for most of us and give a lopsided effect and then the need for something else done. Just my 10c on the subject.
Oh, another thing that seems to help if any wear foundation and/or eyeliner or shadows are the primers. They fill in lines (not so much wrinkles) for the under the eye area nicely and gives a super smooth appearance. Apply with a light hand only! A little goes a long way. I have a friend who just uses primer, no foundation and she is a big fan. If you wear foundation or eye makeup, it keeps it put and doesn’t smear. Sephora.com has a full range of products and prices and good reviews to read before choosing.
For your daily chuckle, The Wrinkled Ladies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaruNs_7okY
Great! I love it
Wonderful information from everyone! Sounds like there are many pros and cons to consider.
I’m really loving the NuSkin Galvanic Spa hand-held device. I can already tell a difference in the size of my pores– I think the only time I haven’t had huge pores on my nose was when I was born. But they are definitely shrinking, and the texture of my skin has improved after just three weeks. My husband laughed when I told him abut the “gizmo” I was using, but then he admitted that my skin really does look nice! More to come…….
I’ve used MaryKay products for a year now, my friends tell me I look younger then ever, and this includes the friends that have given in to age and gotten botox and restiline and a few other proceedures. I also make sure that my diet supports my body in the best way possible. There is a herbal 100% whole food that I just started adding to my diet in February and I’ve noticed a huge change in my skin and in how I feel. The product is called Sunrider. You can find it on the net. I’ve been tempted at times to go under the knife, as we call it here in Canada, (we are so brazen!) but I think until I’m really really really in need, I’ll stick with my MaryKay and my Sunrider! I’m afraid I’d be one of those worst case scenarios, where you were better looking before the surgury!!!. I have not once yet seen a women who’s been “worked” on that I couldn’t tell that she’d been worked on. So, until I finally see someone that you really can’t tell, then I’ll stay with the fresh air, lots of water, good food and a great skin care program. Seriously check into MaryKay skin care, with over 50 years behind them, they know what they are doing!
For the last several years I found myself very confused on how to tackle the wrinkles, dark spots, and some adult acne on my face. I recently went to plastic surgeon who only works on the face. He came highly recommended. I agreed to get one lazer treatment done on my face that will take everything away. They say that the down time will be approximately a week. They said that when I get out of there I will look as if I got badly sunburned in Hawaii. I like the fact that I will only have to do one treatment to get everything taken care of instead of visit after visit for injections and other less invasive treatments to accomplish the same thing. BUT, I am being charged 3K for the laser treatment!!!! That price tag seems a bit high to me. I like the fact that the actual doctor will be doing the treatment instead of an assistant. And maybe this is why the price is high. But then again because the laser treatment is only a series of lights, couldn’t an assistant do the job just as well? Maybe I should go and look for another clinic where an assistant is trained to to the exact same procedure for less? I would like to hear comments of people who have had the Fractional Laser treatment done to their entire face using the UltraPulse Laser? I’d like to know their experience and who actually did the treatment on their face. I’d like to know how much they paid. Thank you soooo much!