What do holidays, weddings, and graduations all have in common? Photos! You can almost guarantee you will be captured in selfies or professional photos at one of these events. So, let’s talk about being photo ready.
Cosmetic services are like french fries . . . one is not enough, but too many can be even worse! There’s definitely a sweet spot that maximizes your own natural characteristics, but doesn’t push beyond into unnatural. When it comes to being photo ready, your skin quality is of primary importance. Think of someone you know with beautiful skin and a few wrinkles and lines – this person probably looks great in pictures. Now think of someone with un-lined, but very troubled skin. 😕
Options:
Improving skin quality cannot be accomplished in a single visit, or with a single treatment or product. It usually requires a combination approach. Listed below are some key treatments that improve and maintain the quality and appearance of skin.
1) Skincare products: Sure skincare products work - but how do you choose the right ones? The answer is that you let us help you. There are 5 key products that you need in your skincare regimen. In a complimentary skincare consultation, our Esthetician will review the products you actually use, help you fill in any holes, and streamline or augment as needed. Excluding a few niche products, we offer only two skincare brands: SkinBetter Science and Leaf It To Me (natural). We believe in these brands and have seen excellent results. Daily use of the right high-quality products makes a BIG difference in the appearance of skin.
2) Accelerating cell turnover: By stimulating skin cell turnover, your skin will look younger, more luminous and less lined. Going from the lightest to the most intense treatments, we offer: skincare products, microneedling, peels, BBL, Halo, and laser treatments. Our recommendations for you are based on your needs, skin condition, recovery tolerance, and skin type.
3) Improving firmness and elasticity: By stimulating your body’s ability to form collagen and elastin, your skin becomes thicker, firmer, smoother and more elastic (less saggy). Increasing the volume and quality of collagen and elastin in your skin is often accomplished with: microneedling (SkinPen), Sofwave, and Halo (from least to most invasive).
4) Injectables: While not often recognized for their ability to improve skin quality, both neurotoxins (Botox & Dysport) as well as HA (hyaluronic acid) fillers like Versa or Restylane contribute to improved skin quality. HA fillers are hydrophilic, attracting and bonding with water. The bonded water and HA molecules plump skin giving it a fresh, dewy glow. Neurotoxins improve skin’s appearance by minimizing pore size.
Timing:
Luckily all the skin quality treatments listed above work synergistically. They also work over different time frames and at different skin levels. For best results we suggest layering the first three, so your skin is always being stimulated and nourished.
1) Start daily use of skincare products now. Begin with a skincare consult to make sure you are using the 5 critical types of skincare product every day.
2) Turning over old cells to reveal new cells can take a few days to a few weeks depending on the intensity of the treatment.
3) Growing new collagen and elastin takes anywhere from 1-6 months. Think of a Bell curve where you slowly begin to grow collagen in the first month and reach peak collagen growth in the sixth month.
4) Skin quality improvements from injectables are subtle, think of them as a side-benefit of an injectable’s primary role (decreasing wrinkles, lines and folds).
So, if you have 3-4 weeks you can absolutely make a difference in the quality and appearance of your skin. While nothing happens overnight, you will see a difference if you start now with good skincare and schedule a peel or microneedling.
If you are unsure where to begin, start with a complimentary consultation – either with our Esthetician or one of our Providers. We will help you develop a plan that fits your goals, timelines and budget.At Yag-Howard Cosmetic Dermatology (YHCD) we offer many skin improvement options and we would be happy to see you for a complimentary cosmetic consultation or appointment 239-529-DERM(3376) or reach us at: Contact YHDerm.