A personal account by Elena Chapman
At the age of 39 I got quite freaked out about becoming 40. Only yesterday I was 25 and all of the sudden, ba-a-am, I am verging on40! I still feel the same as I did when I was 25. Ok, maybe with more wisdom, self confidence and disposable income. But apart from that, no difference!
I have to admit to myself, deep down, yes, it does matter how I look. I certainly want to do what I can to slow down the toll ageing will take on my looks. (Yes, I am so vain and I think this song is about me!)
I do have a bit of an edge, being a aesthetic clinic owner and researching scientifically proven technology for a living. So here is what I have found to work for me.
In terms of treatments, your skin now needs more than a pleasant facial. I will talk about the treatments in this article and will describe the skincare in the next article.
There are science based technologies, other than injectables, that can preserve your youth and keep you looking younger for longer.
You will still look like you, but you on a really good day.
The technologies to achieve that use Collagen Induction process.
The idea of collagen induction is to incentivise your body to produce more of your own collagen.
These clinically proven technologies below do so:
1. Radiofrequency
Radiofrequency was originally used by plastic surgeons to increase the results of surgery by tightening the skin further. It has developed to become a standalone treatment.
In your 40s, you are not likely to need a lot of skin tightening, just a little prevention as soon as you notice the first signs of gravity starting to affect your skin.
Radiofrequency (RF) skin tightening is quite a pleasant treatment that uses RF induced heat to stimulate production of collagen. It feels like a pleasant, warm treatment. Ads the renowned business coach, Cherie Concannon, tells her audience "I go to Fab to have warm balls rubbed on my face!" RF goes down to 1.5mm, the superficial dermis layer, and creates controlled micro trauma using the RF heat.
It works well for light to medium skin laxity. It is used for skin tightening on the face, neck, arms, legs and abdomen.
You will require a course of treatments.
Results vary.
There is no pain and no downtime with this treatment.
Price point is £115 per treatment.
Give Aways:
(1) FREE SKIN SCAN for readers of this article. The skin scan will tell you the physical age of your skin
(2) RF FREE MINI TREATMENT. See if it works for you and if you like it!
Grab it now!
2. High Intensity Focused Ultrasound
You are less likely to need this in your 40s, unless you have lost quite a lot of weight recently. This is more hard core than Radiofrequency. FYI only at this stage.
HIFU comes to us from being used in surgery as well. It is still used to treat prostate cancer and lung cancer. The technology, however, found to be very useful in the cosmetic environment.
HIFU deals with medium skin laxity, particularly jaw sculpting and neck tightening as well as fat destruction just under the chin.
HIFU goes down to the SMAS (superficial aponeurotic system) layer at 4.5mm, deep dermis at 3mm and superficial dermis at 1.5mm and deposits precise amount of energy that create thermo coagulation points.
4.5mm is the layer previously only accessible through plastic surgery.
Unlike RF, the treatment is not pleasant and relaxing, however, it is not overly painful either. Uncomfortable but not quite painful.
After all, you do expect to feel something if you are going down to the same level plastic surgery operates at!
Maximum 2 treatments per year. Results vary and can make a very impressive physical difference.
For those not prone to bruising, downtime is negligible.
May cause some bruising on more sensitive skins.
Price point is between £210 and £799
HIFU AND RF PUT TOGETHER WILL PRODUCE THE BEST POSSIBLE NATURAL SKIN TIGHTENING RESULT FOR YOUR FACE AND NECK.
3. Microneedling
Microneedling works well for lines, criss cross lines, acne scarring, dilated pores and superficial scarring. For example, if you have those more pronounced horizontal lines on your forehead and don't fancy injectables, this treatment may help. It will not completely eliminate the lines, but will plump them out.
This treatment uses 1.5mm needles to puncture the skin and create micro trauma, that is subsequently repaired by your body with newer, plumper skin.
Topical anaesthetic is used during this treatment.
Downtime is likely to be 1-3 days. The procedure may leave some superficial grazes that fully heal.
1 treatment every 4-6 weeks.
Price point is £100-£160 per treatment.
Of course, there are other technologies available at Fab. These ones are my personal favourites for my age and there is minimum downtime and pain with them.
So I am going into my 40s, confident that I am looking my best. I still don't like the change of decade, but I know I going to look great and that's a massive boost. When I see some of my clients looking so fabulous in their 50s and 60s this also gives me comfort.
Hope you enjoyed the read!
Stay fabulous!
Elena x