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Aging skin

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Aging skin is inevitable, however, there are changes that occur that we would like to minimize. The good news is, there are things we can do to slow down this aging process.
Over the past 40 years of being an Aesthetician, I continually hear my clients say, “I just want to age gracefully.” Well, this is possible!
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WHY YOUR SKIN AGES AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP SLOW DOWN THE AGING PROCESS…

Adipose Tissue Layer:
In our youth, skin has a healthy fat (adipose) layer; as we age, this fatty layer loses volume, resulting in flaccid skin. Meanwhile other parts of the face gain fat, particularly the lower half of the face, making the skin saggy and jowly.
Diet plays a significant role in maintaining adipose tissue. Foods such as fatty fish, flax seeds, soy, avocados, olive oil, apples, Aloe Vera, seeds, and nuts have been known to maintain fat in the skin.
Muscle Tissue:
Muscle tone also begins to diminish; after age 30, you begin to lose as much as 3% to 5% per decade. Female faces age – on average – about twice as fast as male faces.
Muscle stretching, exercise, and massage are the most effective ways to maintain muscle tone. Massage helps increase muscle tone by increasing circulation, increasing temperature of the soft tissue, and removing waste products, making monthly facial treatments a vital age management solution.
Pigmentation:
Over time, pigmentation spots begin to develop. The number of pigment-containing cells (melanocytes) decreases, and the remaining melanocytes increase in size. These dark spots give your complexion a dull, older appearance. Uneven pigmentation can make skin look at least 10 years older than it is.
The best way to avoid pigmentation spots is to apply SPF products every morning and reapply approximately every 90 minutes to two hours when outdoors, even on cloudy days, and after swimming or sweating.
Professional Dermal Peels and the application of products containing AHA’s, ABH’s, Retinol, and Kojic Acid help to brighten and reduce pigmentation spots, while topical powdered Vitamin C with Ferulic Acid reflect UV rays and repair the skin from UV damage.
Collagen & Elastin:
And of course, there is the degradation of collagen and elastin fibers. With the loss of collagen and elastin over time, the skin loses tone while lines and wrinkles become deeper and more apparent.
Eating foods rich in Vitamin C and amino acids can increase collagen and elastin in the skin. Foods such as oranges, red peppers, kale, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and strawberries are all rich in Vitamin C. Garlic and bone broth also help increase collagen and elastin.
Skincare products high in antioxidants, peptides, hyaluronic acid, powdered Vitamin C, AHA’s, BHA’s, and Retinol can significantly slow-down aging & help retain collagen and elastin.
Facial massage is another terrific way to maintain collagen and elastin. Roulage is a type of massage designed to break down glycation, which is the presence of excess glucose in skin fibers. These sugar molecules adhere to the collagen and elastin proteins and decrease the critical flexibility and permeability of the skin and reduce cellular turnover.
Sebaceous Glands:
Our oil (sebaceous) glands, which help the skin stay hydrated and protected, begin to produce less oil. With dehydrated skin lines and wrinkles become more apparent, and the skin is more vulnerable to the environment.
Consume foods rich in beauty fats, such as chia seeds, walnuts, sesame seeds, hemp, and flax seeds.
Avoid hot water as hot water can strip off the sebum for the skin.
Use a hydrating serum to plump the skin and a moisturizer with organic oils and butters to restore oil, lock in moisture, and repair your skin’s natural barrier.

SPA BELEZA OFFERS SEVERAL AGE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS THROUGH TREATMENTS AND HOME CARE PRODUCTS.

TREATMENT SOLUTIONS 
This treatment stimulates fibroblasts, which increases collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid.
By stimulating fibroblasts, and increasing collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid, PlasmaLift softens lines and wrinkles while tightening flaccid skin.
Like PlasmaLift, this treatment increases collagen and elastin to slow down the aging process, reduce pigmentation, minimize pore size, and soften lines and wrinkles with less downtime.
The benefits of LED include treating acne, regulating natural oil production, stimulating collagen and elastin, and minimizing redness and wrinkles. Certain wavelengths have even been shown to reduce dark spots and uneven skin tone. LED Therapy is NON-invasive with no downtime.
Spa Beleza’s Facial Treatments are designed to provide the best possible results, which is why each facial includes a professional Dermal Peel that is customized for your specific skin conditions.
Dermal peels speed up cellular turnover, brighten pigmentation, and deeply exfoliate keeping the skin more youthful.
ORGANIC HOME CARE SOLUTIONS
Illuminating Cream Cleanser:
All-natural jojoba beads for a gentle polishing action and AHA to cleanse, exfoliate, and keep your skin renewed.
Nourishing Toner:
A hydrating toner with DMEA and OptiMSM to restore a natural glow, increase firmness, tone, and lift to your skin by strengthening and supporting collagen.
Hydro Serum:
Loaded with hyaluronic acid, peptides, and antioxidants, this serum will keep your skin dewy, firmer, and even aid in collagen retention.
Renewal Serum:
With AHA, BHA, and retinol to speedup cellular renewal and kojic acid to minimize hyperpigmentation, this serum keeps your skin youthful.
Restorative Vitamin C & Ferulic Acid:
Vitamin C helps you retain collagen and slow-down the aging process by reflecting sun rays, and ferulic acid boosts the benefits of the antioxidant vitamin C.
Timeless OptiMSM Cream:
Formulated with Vitamin C Ester and loaded with vitamins to revive that youthful glow.
Age Defying Eye & Lip Cream:
A gentle cream enhanced with hyaluronic acid, calendula, rooibos, pomegranate extract, and evening primrose to retain moisture and soothe.
Luxurious Morning Lotion:
This lotion imparts deep hydration without greasy residue. With DMEA and MSM for skin tone and to maintain youthfulness.
Vitalizing Evening Lotion:
Working as nature’s retexturing masters, AHA’s help refine and brighten, while a blend of soothing butters and oils leave your skin soft, supple, and renewed.
Nourishing Body Butter:
This luxuriously silky African Shea Butter is rich enough to replenish skin oils yet has the absorbency of a lotion.
Invigorating Body Polish:
Reveal fresh, rejuvenated skin with bamboo, oat, aloe, and vitamins to powerfully slough dead skin cells and soften skin without excessive oil.
Rejuvenating Milk Soak:
A natural source of lactic acid exfoliates lifeless skin cells, while vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients support, balance, and moisturize your skin.
Sun Protection Lotion:
With a blend of light oils and butters to keep your skin supple, MSM to help keep skin tone, and Non-Nano Zinc to block damaging sun rays.

Getting Results

Want to slow down the aging process and possibly reverse signs of aging?

3 types of facial resurfacing treatments that pack a punch and give results.

Fractionated Lasers

One of the most popular fractionated nonablative lasers is the Fraxel Dual, which delivers two wavelengths.  One clears surface pigmentation, and the other goes deeper to stimulate collagen production and smooth lines, wrinkles, and scars.  No other treatment creates the same degree of rejuvenation.  Recover time is one to two weeks of irritated skin and sloughing of skin cells, followed by months of lingering redness.

Average Cost: $900 – $1,500

Collagen Induction Therapy – MicroNeedling

This is a Spa Beleza favorite because you’ll get results with minimal down-time.  You’ll have redness for 24 to 48 hours, followed by light flaking for one week.  A dozen of tiny needles puncture the pre-numbed skin with a motorized stamper causing microscopic channels in the skin forcing the skin to regenerate, thereby smoothing lines and wrinkles, and fade pigmentation for an even skin tone.

Average Cost: $260 & up

Dermal Peels – Chemical Peels

Peels are an effective way to lessening the aging process.  There are several types and strengths of chemical peels.  Stronger peels, such as Salicylic Acid or THC, go deeper and give more successful results.  The downtime for deeper peels is redness and tightness for two to three days with approximately one week of peeling.  These peels yield better results than mild or gentle peels and are recommended to be done twice to four times a year.  With medium depth peels and gentler peels, you may experience slight redness for a day, followed by a few days of light sloughing that may be unnoticeable.  These peels are designed to keep your skin rejuvenated and should be performed on a monthly basis.

Deep Chemical Peel Average Cost: $150 and up

Medium and Gentle Chemical Peel Cost: $65 – $90

NOTE:  It is highly recommended that your home care regimen also has a chemical exfoliator to be used at night.  By using a chemical exfoliator nightly, your skin regenerates more effectively, revealing younger, healthier skin and slowing down the aging progression.  It will also enhance the benefits of your chemical peel.

Exfoliation

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The Key to Looking Younger

There are two types of exfoliation that can be done at home to keep your skin healthy and younger.

One is physical exfoliation, which is done with a facial scrub product, a rotary brush, or a scrubby mitt.  Physical exfoliation removes surface dead skin cells and is important to do daily.  This type of exfoliation aids in product absorption and keeps skin moister.

The other is chemical exfoliation, which is the application of an exfoliating product.  Chemical exfoliation goes deeper than physical exfoliation.  These products breakup the glue that holds skin cells together, thereby, stimulating cellular turnover.  From age 25, cellular production begins to slow, and the skin begins to show signs of aging, with chemical exfoliators you can slow the aging process.  Chemical exfoliation ingredients should be applied to clean skin nightly.

Here are some of the ingredients used in Spa Beleza’s Custom Formulated Renewal Serum.

  • Retinol – Vitamin A in its different forms (retinoids) are the most studied anti-aging ingredient.  Retinol is one of the most used retinoids in topical skincare.  It not only facilitates exfoliation; it has been proven in multiple clinical studies to help the skin improve overall performance of collagen production and even skin pigmentation.
  • Salicylic Acid – derived from willow bark and is oil-soluble.   Oil-soluble ingredients can penetrate the skin at a deeper level than water-soluble ingredients.  Salicylic acid works deeper and is able to penetrate into the pores to unclog them, therefore, this a must have for acne or congested skin.  Once it penetrates the skin, salicylic acid begins to break up the glue that hold dead skin cells together, which speeds up cellular growth, and it emulsifies trapped debris and sebum.  It also reduces inflammation, thereby calming red, inflamed acne.
  • Lactic Acid – this gentle acid is derived from dairy and is water-soluble.  It helps the older, dull cells on the skin’s surface to slough away by dissolving the glue that hold them together. Lactic acid speeds up cell turnover and stimulates cell renewal.  It also improves the skin’s natural moisture, which is vital in an aired climate such as ours is here in the Wood River Valley.

Step 1

Drink eight to ten glasses of water per day. Water is very beneficial to your skin, which is your body’s largest organ. Water flushes toxins from the skin and promotes collagen fiber formation.

Step 2

Take a 10mg vitamin E supplement daily. Vitamin E is essential to collagen rebuilding by providing the supporting nutrients required for your body to produce collagen.

Step 3

Apply a retinol-enriched serum or moisturizer to the skin after your evening cleansing. Retinol, or vitamin A, is responsible for the formation of collagen fibers. A retinol serum or moisturizer will also get rid of dry skin, exposing newer, plumper skin.

Step 4

Consume foods high in vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, greens, and leafy vegetables. Vitamin C is an anti-oxidant needed for skin health and collagen production.

Step 5

Mix topical powdered Vitamin C to your morning serum or moisturizer. Vitamin C helps reflect the suns damaging rays and has been shown to increase collagen in the skin.

Step 6

Get regular Facial Treatments. Facial massage breaks-up glycation, which is a build-up of sugars in the skin causing collagen degradation.

Step 7

Get professional Dermal Peels every 4 to 6 weeks. Dermal Peels break-down the glue-like substance that prohibit cellular turn-over; by stimulating cellular turn-over, collagen is produced.

Step 8

Invest in collagen inducing therapies, such as: MicroNeedling, Sculplla Facial, laser resurfacing, and LED therapy.

Step 9

Apply Age Reversing Growth Factor Serum daily. The Age Reversing Growth Factor Serum allows for a molecular communication with the underlying layers of the skin that contributes to increased epidermal thickness and collagen production.

Step 10

Use sunblock daily and reapply every 90 minutes.  Sun rays breakdown collagen and elastin, making the skin flaccid and more wrinkled.

Tip

Avoid creams that claim to contain collagen. Collagen cannot be absorbed through the skin, rendering such creams useless.

Topical Vitamin C (L-Ascorbic Acid) is one fantastic vitamin for your skin. 

Here are some of benefits

  • Reflects the damaging sun rays
  • Lightens and brightens the skin
  • Slows the aging process
  • Promotes collagen bundle and elastin fiber production
  • Provides the skin with concentrated levels of antioxidants, that can neutralize free radical in the skin
  • Reduces under eye discoloration
  • Speed up healing
  • Reduces inflammation

Powdered Vitamin C – vs – Vitamin C Serums or Creams

It is always best to use Vitamin C in a powdered form.  Vitamin C is not stable and has about a two-week shelf-life, therefore, vitamin C serums and creams becomes inactive very quickly.  In powdered form it is activated once it is mixed with your serum or moisturizer giving you the highest activity level for your skin.

Moisture content in your skin plays a significant role in the development of wrinkles. 

When the skin is dehydrated micro-wrinkles develop and those micro-wrinkles become deeper.

Being in an aired climate, such as Southern Idaho, is a major contributor of dry skin.  With low humidity, the outer layers of the skin become dry and stiff; when this happens, the micro-wrinkles become much deeper and more visible, sebum (oil) becomes hard and unable to come to the surface to protect the skin, and lifeless skin cells do not slough off properly.

We tend to think that drinking a lot of water can cure dry skin, but the truth is that’s not effective.  Dry skin is an external problem and is best treated from the outside.  Skin care products such as: creamy or oily cleansers, toners, exfoliators, serums, and moisturizers assist in plumping the skin and keeping it hydrated.  These products should be recommended specifically for your skin type and conditions by a Licensed Aesthetician, Aesthetic Dermatologist or Plastic Surgeon.

Schedule now for a complementary skin analysis; and bring your skin care products to be evaluated.