Anyone who claims that effective skin rejuvenation can be achieved just by using a good moisturizer, is either very misinformed or else they are intentionally trying to mislead people for one or other reason. If there was some sort of miracle cream or lotion out there, we would all have heard about it by now. The sad truth is that there are no miracle skin care products.
Admittedly, there are some excellent products on the market that can help to rejuvenate your skin. Likewise, there are also some really good anti aging facial treatments out there than can help to greatly reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Anyway, let us forget about skin care products for the time being, and instead, let us take a look at some advanced skin care treatments that are more or less guaranteed to produce very noticeable results.
I am only going to discuss 3 different treatments/procedures, and I am only going to discuss each one very briefly. If you want to find out more about any of these procedures, you can simply do some online research. Alternatively, if you are trying to decide which treatment would work best for you, then you should ideally schedule an appointment with a board-certified cosmetic surgeon or dermatologist.
Plastic surgeons and dermatologists have a lot of tools at their disposal nowadays, and they can perform a number of procedures which can produce truly amazing results. Just remember though, if you want those results to last, it is imperative that you take proper care of your skin once you have had any one or more of these procedures. Okay, let’s take a look at 3 such treatments:
Ablative Laser Treatments
Ablative laser treatments are popular and very effective for treating things like fine lines, wrinkles, acne scars, sun spots and etc. They allow for extremely precise targeting, and they work by removing the targeted skin one layer at a time. The treatment also results in effective skin rejuvenation.
The energy from the laser heats up the underlying skin in the area being treated. The skin at this depth is known as the dermis. When the dermis is heated by the laser energy, it stimulates the production of new collagen fibers. Once the outer skin has been removed and the treated area has healed the new skin will look and feel a lot firmer and smoother than it did before.
Skin rejuvenation and skin resurfacing can also be achieved with some other types of laser treatments, including Intense Pulse Light Treatment.
Chemical Peels
A chemical peel is a procedure during which one or more chemicals are applied to the skin in whichever area is being treated. The strength of the chemicals used, as well as the technique, depends on what sort of problem is being treated, and also the severity of the problem. Your skin type should also be taken into consideration.
Chemical peels are most commonly used on the face but they can also be used to treat other areas such as your neck and the back of your hands. The results can be very impressive when used for treating uneven skin pigmentation, rough or scaly skin, acne scars, and fine lines and wrinkles. However, they are not an effective treatment for deep lines, wrinkles, or scars.
While chemical peels can be used to successfully remove or reduce fine facial lines, they are considered ineffective for treating loose or sagging skin. For example, a chemical peel cannot get rid of bags under your eyes.
Most chemical peel procedures do not require hospitalization. However, a short stay in hospital may be necessary in the case of a deep chemical peel. The chemicals used for these procedures are potent and can cause irreversible damage when misused and/or used incorrectly. If you are considering getting a chemical peel, I would highly recommend that you look for an experienced board-certified plastic surgeon.
Mechanical Dermabrasion and Dermaplaning
If removing scars or facial lines is part of your skin rejuvenation goal, you could consider dermabrasion or dermaplaning. Both of these procedures can produce very impressive results if they are done by an experienced surgeon or dermatologist. Regardless of which of these two treatments you choose, the surgeon or dermatologist will use a device which allows him or her to remove layers of skin in the area being treated.
The number of skin layers removed depends on the type of problem being treated, and also the severity of the problem. Obviously they cannot go too deep, so if you are having deep scars or deep lines removed, it will mostly like be done in stages.
Mostly, patients are given local anesthesia in the area being treated. Patients might also be given a sedative shortly before the procedure. In cases which involve a very large area, or cases which require very deep treatment, general anesthesia may be used so that you are asleep throughout the procedure. You may also be required to spend a day or more in hospital.
Other Skin Therapy Options
The most obvious other option would be actual cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery can be highly effective. It can also sometimes be cheaper than the three treatment options discussed above. Cosmetic surgery is a more radical and more invasive option that comes with greater risks. If done by an experienced surgeon, results can last for up to 10 years.
Botox injections and different filler injections are of course other options which can help you to look younger. Both of these options are only able to produce temporary results. They merely disguise signs of ageing for a few months at a time. They do not and cannot stimulate or even encourage skin rejuvenation.
Skin Rejuvenation and Skin Resurfacing Costs
Unfortunately, I cannot really give any accurate advice regarding the costs of the aforementioned procedures. Prices fluctuate wildly from one country to the next and even from one surgeon to the next. Of the procedures I have discussed in this post, chemical peels are generally seen as being one of the most cost effective treatments.
Considering that most people have these sorts of procedures done on their faces, I would DEFINITELY advise against basing your decisions on cost alone. If you are contemplating having one of these treatments, now is not the right time for you to be looking for the cheapest possible price. I would highly recommend only using a board-certified cosmetic surgeon or dermatologist, and one who has experience with the procedure you intend having done.
What Comes After Treatment?
If you decide, or if you have already decided to get one or more of the aforementioned procedures done, it is important that you familiarize yourself with the recovery process. Depending on the nature of treatment, recovery can take as little as one day, but it could also take up to four weeks or more. Taking proper care of treated areas during the recovery period is crucial, but I am sure any and all cosmetic surgeons would explain this to you anyway.
With deep chemical peels, dermabrasion and dermaplaning it is particularly crucial that patients protect treated areas from direct sunlight. This does not only apply in the days and weeks following treatment, but instead, it will be a permanent necessity.
I would love to be able to recommend using a commercial sunscreen lotion, but I cannot do that with a clear conscience. Virtually all sunscreen lotions contain one or more highly questionable chemicals. I would personally rather recommend covering treated areas and/or wearing a hat. If you really want or need to use a sunscreen lotion, it would be best to use a non-nano zinc oxide based sunscreen. Zinc oxide is a natural UV filter and it cannot be absorbed into the skin.
Adopting a New Skin Care Regimen
No matter which of the aforementioned treatments a person opts for, it is going to cost money, and in most cases, quite a substantial amount of money. If you were to invest that money into purchasing some sort of material asset, you would no doubt want to look after that asset. Looking after skin which has been treated should be seen in the same light.
If you want face therapy results to last for as long as possible, you need to adopt a skin care regime that supports and encourages skin rejuvenation.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but if you ask me, I personally do not believe it is necessary to spend a fortune on body moisturizer. Most parts of our body are protected from the elements, including the sun, thanks to the clothes we wear. For use on your arms and legs, I think a good all-natural body lotion is perfectly adequate.
Facial skin care is a different matter, and particularly if you go for one of the aforementioned treatments. Our faces are already vulnerable due to the amount of time they are exposed to the elements. Treatments like laser skin resurfacing, chemical peels and dermabrasion cause the treated areas to be even more sensitive to the elements.
Whether you have had any of the above treatments done or not, I would seriously recommend that you only use really good quality skin care products on your face. I definitely would NOT recommend any products that contain chemicals. My advice would be to choose all-natural products, and even better if they are also organic.
Luminous Facial Serum
I have three go-to facial skin care products, and Luminous Facial Serum is one of them. It is an all-natural organic skincare product manufactured by Xtend-Life in New Zealand. The primary purpose of this serum is to deliver intense hydration to the skin. In an independent 2018 clinical study, 20 women were given Luminous Facial Serum and they were instructed to apply it twice a day for 4 weeks.
Skin hydration, elasticity and roughness was measured at the beginning of the study and then measured again at the end of the study. The results showed the following:
- Skin Hydration – An increase of +26.5%
- Skin Elasticity – Improvements were: R0 Parameter -17.6% and R2 Parameter +10.7%
- Skin Roughness – Improvements were: Rz Parameter -5.3% and Ra Parameter -7.6%
I am not going to get into a discussion about the different parameters mentioned and what they actually stand for, but I will say that the figures you see were definitely impressive enough to convince me. If you really want to find out more about what these different parameters refer to, there is quite a nice article which you can read here.
Soothing Eye Contour Cream
Earlier, I mentioned having three go-to skin care products for use on my face. Well, this is the second one. I have already written a product review about this eye contour cream so I am not going to go into too much detail here, and I will just cover only the basics.
As with the Luminous Facial Serum, the Soothing Eye Contour Cream is also designed to deliver intense hydration to the skin around your eyes. It also contains an impressive blend of antioxidants and other ingredients to help nourish the skin, which in turn helps to support and encourage skin rejuvenation.
Microderm™ Facial Exfoliator
The third in the list of my go-to skin care products that I safely use on my face is the Microderm Facial Exfoliator. This is one among several skin care products manufactured by Skinception, a company delivering high quality skin care solutions for several years now.
In order to look young, exfoliating the skin is a must which helps in removing dead skin cells. This, in turn, helps in the reduction of dark spots and blemishes. It also brightens and makes the skin look healthy.
Natural Sun Protection You Can Make At Home
As I have already mentioned, if you decide to undergo any of the skin treatments I have discussed, it will be crucial that you protect the treated area from the sun. You can do this by wearing suitable clothing, wearing a wide hat, or by staying in the shade as much as possible. However, if you enjoy spending time in the sun, then you can protect treated areas of skin with an easy to make natural sunscreen.
Yes, you can make your own sunscreen lotion with easily obtainable natural ingredients, and yes, it will be just as effective as any store bought sunscreen lotion. There are supposedly many different natural sunscreen lotions on the market, but if you start digging, many are not actually 100% natural. Why take a chance when it is so easy to make your own at home.
The magic ingredient for a homemade sunscreen lotion is zinc oxide. You simply add the zinc oxide to any essential oil or even a blend of essential oils, and there you have it, a 100% natural sunscreen lotion which offers as much protection as any commercial sunscreen. You can read more about zinc oxide and its effectiveness as a sunscreen ingredient on the National Library of Medicine website.
You just need be certain that you use non-nano zinc oxide. In other words, the individual zinc particles must not be small enough to be considered nano-particles. Nano particles are small enough to penetrate the skin, whereas larger particles form a layer on the surface of your skin that effectively filters out harmful UVA and UVB rays. You can read all about nano-particles and why they should be avoided here.
If making your own skin-nourishing all-natural sunscreen sounds like a good idea, check out this easy to follow homemade sunscreen recipe.
Stay safe and ENJOY!
