Cosmetic surgery is a way to look younger, it is also an invasive and expensive procedure. Cosmetic enhancements have come a long way and beauty procedures to get rid of wrinkles, plump the skin, and getting rid of age spots and melasma, are easier and cheaper than the old standard of plastic surgery.
Some treatments can even be done in the comfort of your own home. Now it is possible to get your youthful glow back without going under the knife. We look in the mirror and start to notice fine lines, wrinkles, dark circles and thinning hair to name a few. AEDIT.com did a ton of research on this topic, so let’s check out these procedures and products that don’t require plastic surgery.
Why We Look Older
What exactly causes us to look older as we age? Take two pictures of yourself, one from say, 10 years ago, and one now, you will absolutely notice that you look older. The changes are so subtle and gradual, that you can’t really put your finger on why you look so much older.
What are these changes? It is mostly due to fat loss in the face, which makes sense, because I feel like I look older now that I lost some weight. The fullness and softness of our skin is gone, as our bone structure changes and our skin begins to sag due to the fat loss in our face.
Youthful skin also has elasticity, As we age the fibers in our skin that keep it firm and smooth become weak, causing an older appearance. Sun exposure from years of tanning without sun protection, shows up on our face as fine lines, and discoloration. Our oil glands, which help keep our skin supple, also decrease with age.
What Makes Us Look Younger
In a study of British and Danish females, ages 45 to 81, there are a few qualities that make us appear younger. Large lips, less sun exposure, vibrant hair and fewer wrinkles cause them to look younger. The study also demonstrated that perceived age is a better indicator of skin, hair, and facial aging than chronological age.
In other words, age is nothing but a number. No matter which birthday you’re celebrating this year, there are non-invasive ways to lessen the look of some of these qualities of aging so we can look years younger without surgery.
Vitamin C – Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant which can improve the look and texture of our skin. Vitamin C is one of three antioxidants proven to decrease the sun’s harmful effect on the skin and prevent future damage. It also encourages collagen production to promote skin elasticity and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
What’s more, this miracle antioxidant targets stubborn skin discoloration and reduces the appearance of hyper pigmentation, redness, and under eye circles. One of the best ways to add this to your skin care routine is using a serum. Serums absorb into the skin fast and deep, so after cleansing and toning, follow up with a pea sized amount of serum.
Microneedling – This procedure is done by using tiny, fine needles to prick the skin causing tiny tunnels to make an anti aging product enter the skin deep down. This causes the skin to look more youthful and supple. When performed in a dermatologist’s office, the doctor will apply serum to your face and chest before moving a needling device over the treatment area, allowing for deep penetration.
Even if no serum is used, the tiny injuries caused by the needles promote collagen production and builds new elastin. The anti aging benefits of microneedling are seen typically after 4 or 5 treatments. It also helps to treat large pores, acne scars, neck lines, and wrinkles around the mouth.
Dermal Fillers – These anti aging injectables fill in deep wrinkles and depressions promoting supple looking skin and a youthful look. Dermal fillers like Restylane and Juvéderm® use hyaluronic acid, a sugar naturally found in the body, to soften facial wrinkles and restore volume.
“As a general rule, I favor hyaluronic acid fillers because they look the most natural and give me the greatest ability to contour a patient’s face,” says Dr. Davis Nguyen, a board certified facial plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills. When injected into the skin the hylauronic acid plumps up and causes swelling with then leaves a smooth appearance.
The effects of hyaluronic acid last between six and 12 months. It is important to find an experienced injector who understands facial anatomy and can give you the natural results you want. When you start to notice the anti-aging effect wearing off, it is time to schedule a touch up treatment.
Laser Resurfacing – This procedure uses short concentrated beams of light to remove layers of the skin for a smooth surface and improved texture. Age spots, acne scars, blood vessels, wrinkles, and sun damage respond well to laser resurfacing as it smoothes out your skin for a complexion that not only looks younger, but actually is younger.
“I’m a big proponent of laser resurfacing as it reduces fine lines and wrinkles, builds a patient’s own collagen, and can, in some instances, tighten the skin,” says Dr. Nguyen. “This is achieved by harnessing the natural power of the patient’s healing process that generates younger, healthier looking skin.” In some cases a single treatment does the job, but most lasers require a few treatments to see lasting results.
Vitamin A – The freckles and wrinkles we see as we age are mostly seen on the facial structures more prominent to sun exposed areas, such as the forehead and nose. Vitamin A, which you might also see labeled as retinol, helps fade these dark spots and stimulates the production of new skin cells. And these are just the creams and serums you can get over-the-counter.
Prescription strength retinoids can renew the skin by treating acne, reducing fine lines and evening out your skin tone. Not only can it treat damage that is already there, it may also prevent future damage. Experts recommend applying retinol as part of your nightly skincare routine.
Be sure to apply retinol to your eye area, which is often the first to show signs of aging. It takes an average of 12 weeks for retinol to produce noticeable anti-aging benefits, so keep it in your skincare routine for at least that long to see results.
Botox – Botox is one of the most performed minimally invasive procedures today. Botox is used to reduce fine lines and wrinkles in the face by paralyzing the underlying muscles. When the muscles cannot move, the overlying skin does not crease, which creates a smooth, younger-looking appearance.
This is mostly used in areas of the face such as forehead and frown lines and crows feet around the eyes. The anti aging effects last anywhere from three and six months depending on the area treated. Its important to note that Botox will not treat wrinkles caused by sun damage, but when coupled with another treatment like microneedling, you will see excellent anti aging results.
Radio Frequency Skin Tightening – This quick and comfortable anti aging procedure is painless with no downtime. Leaving no scars, this makes it a popular way to get younger looking skin with no surgery. A radio frequency (RF) treatment involves heating the deepest layers of the skin to encourage new collagen production and cell turnover to help the skin become firmer, thicker, and younger-looking.
While lasers work to improve the skin’s surface, radio frequency treatments use a lower frequency to safely penetrate to a deeper level. This helps improve skin tone and structure, and it can even lift tissue. Radio Frequency treatments can be performed in tandem with injectables, microneedling, and other minimally invasive treatments to achieve complete facial rejuvenation.
Makeup – The least invasive option for anti aging is something I am sure most of us already have in our arsenal. When applied correctly, makeup is a great way to minimize the appearance of aging. To create a smooth texture, start with a primer. This helps minimize pores and fine lines by filling them in.
Follow up with foundation or a tinted moisturizer using light strokes with a blender sponge, making sure to blend along the jaw line. You don’t want an obvious makeup line. To fake fuller lips, use a lip liner matching your natural lip tone, and draw a line right around the border of your lip for a fuller pout.
Top with a sheer gloss for a finished look. Fuller brows are another way to look younger, so darken them a bit and fill them in with a brow pencil that also has a powder like finish using small strokes that look like hairs. To enhance your eyes, use a cream shadow in a neutral shade and apply powder illuminator to the inner corner of your eyes.
Cream and silicone-based cosmetics work best for aging complexions because they “melt” into the skin and offer a flawless, natural-looking finish. Avoid powder, which settles into fine lines and can actually make the signs of aging more apparent.
Micro Blading – Just as our hair thins with age, so do our eyebrows, this I have noticed on myself.Micro Blading is a non-surgical cosmetic procedure that can give you the appearance of thick, lush brows to lift your face and make you look younger. The technique involves using a hand-controlled device with ultra fine needles to make microscopic strokes in the skin.
The strokes are filled in with semi-permanent pigment that resemble your natural eyebrow hair to create a defined shape and fuller look. At about 4-6 weeks you will need a touch up, but other than that maintenance is minimal. The results last between 1-3 years with touch ups about every 12 months or so.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, you don’t always have to go under the knife or shell out your hard-earned money for an anti aging lift. Some of these procedures can be done in your own home, and there are devices you can but for RF treatment and microdermabrasion for the amount of one or two professional treatments. I would like to thank AEDIT.com for the research on this topic, they are an excellent website for up and coming cosmetic and beauty treatments so check them out at the link above. Thanks for reading and as always don’t hesitate to leave questions or comments down below.
Wow I love this article and come the first I will be back for there are some lines on my face I want to get rid of and whether do so then do needles or a knife. Thanks for the great read and O have bookmarked your site.
Awesome thanks so much for reading and commenting. I am glad you found this post informative. I have some lines I want gone too and I think I would go the needle route. Thanks for stopping by and come back for more posts weekly!