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Top Tips on How to Age Gracefully Without Looking Plastic

Aging is a challenge for everyone. While the passage of time provides us with wisdom and other gifts, it also burdens our skin with wrinkles, lines, spots, lesions, and more. Everyone’s skin ages differently, and there are many ways to slow down the aging process and even restore your skin to a more youthful appearance. However, certain methods can leave your skin with an artificial appearance, especially when overdone and/or mishandled by unreliable practitioners. Knowing this, it’s worthwhile to review your options when it comes to mitigating outward aging before jumping into just any treatment. Here are some useful tips on how to age gracefully without looking plastic.

How to Age Gracefully

Take Care of Your Overall Health

Though your skin might be your main concern here, graceful aging begins with a more holistic approach to health. Indeed, your skin’s appearance is closely related to your body’s overall health. If you’re not taking care of internal health, the evidence will likely express itself on the outside as well. For starters, make sure you get enough quality sleep each and every night — giving your body proper rest allows it to heal more efficiently and boosts your immune system. It’s also important to get regular exercise, as doing so keeps your metabolism in check, improves blood circulation, and helps promote collagen production (which helps your skin retain its strength and texture). While you’re at it, be sure to stay hydrated, as drinking enough water has been shown to help reduce wrinkles, scars, dark spots, and more. The foods you eat also contribute to your skin’s health and aging. Fruits, veggies, fish, and nuts contain various vitamins that are great for your skin, whereas foods rich in sugars and sodium nitrates can exacerbate aging signs by destroying collagen and elastin in your skin.

Protect Your Skin from the Sun

As we’ve gone over in previous blogs, the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation can do serious damage to your skin. Not only can sun damage result in burns, hyperpigmentation, and wrinkles — it can also lead to various forms of skin cancer. Those who expose their skin to the sun for prolonged periods of time tend to outwardly age more quickly than those who protect their skin from UV rays. If you want to age gracefully, try to steer clear of prolonged sun exposure (especially if your skin is exposed), and wear sunscreen (30+ SPF) each and every day, year-round.

Establish a Skin Care Routine that’s Right for You

Your daily skincare routine can become your strongest defense against outward aging, so long as the products and methods you use are optimized for your skin type. There are loads of cleansers, serums, moisturizers, exfoliators, and more on the market, and they’re not all created equal. Some of these skincare products are specifically tuned for those with oily skin, while others are better applied to dry skin. Likewise, if your skin suffers from certain conditions (e.g., acne, eczema, rosacea, etc.), you might want to use specialized products, some of which might require a prescription. Whatever the case, it’s important to talk to your dermatologist about your unique concerns and needs so they can steer you in the right direction. Ideally, you’ll come up with a routine that keeps your skin clear, hydrated, firm, flexible, bright, and youthful.

Consider Dermal Fillers

As we get older, no amount of self-care or skincare products will keep wrinkles and other aging signs at bay entirely. While there’s nothing wrong with these features, you might wish to take a more active approach and eliminate them to whatever degree is possible. Injectable dermal fillers may offer the solution you’re looking for, providing your skin with increased volume via injection of natural and/or synthetic substances. When applied by an experienced practitioner, dermal fillers can yield natural-looking results, eliminating wrinkles and fine lines. However, these results are only temporary, lasting an average of 6-18 months. Receiving multiple treatments over time can lead to improved and more natural results.

Though not a dermal filler, a Botox injection is another commonly sought-after option for those who wish to reverse outward aging. While these injections can also yield natural-looking results, they can also provide that “plastic” look you wish to avoid when overdone. Some patients have adverse reactions to Botox injections as well, so it’s important to take these matters seriously and discuss them with your dermatologist beforehand.

Ask Your Dermatologist About Other Cosmetic Options

In addition to fillers, there are numerous cosmetic dermatology treatments that can help your skin age more gracefully. A chemical peel, for instance, sloughs off dead skin cells and stimulates collagen production. Laser resurfacing treatments can reduce wrinkles and lines, restore skin tone, and mitigate hyperpigmentation. Sclerotherapy can remove varicose veins. The list goes on.

Whatever your particular aging concerns, the experts at Premier Dermatology Partners can help you find the right solution and avoid unnatural-looking outcomes. To learn more about our providers and all the services we offer, contact us today.

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