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A Lifetime Skincare Plan

From pesky pimples at 20 to droopy eyelids at 60, it seems there's no end to our complexion woes. Over the years, added stress can also make a difference in the way your skin behaves. Before you hand in the towel, check out our age-specific skin care guide. Follow these simple tips and you'll be on your way to looking your best at every age!

Early Prevention In Your 20s

"It's never too early to think about wrinkle prevention," says Dr. Paul Cohen, consultant dermatologist at Toronto's Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre. Twenty-year-olds often have problems with acne, sun spots and premature wrinkles. The reason for most of these issues: the sun.

Keeping Dry Skin Away: The Importance of Moisturizers

• Try non-oily products that contain green tea and a minimum of 30 SPF.
• Skin care at this age is all about prevention.
• Moisturizers nourish your skin and keep it smooth and healthy. Green tea may reduce your risk of cancer and added SPF helps protect you from this disease, as well as age spots and wrinkles.
• Oil-free products are your best bet at warding off acne.
• For best results, apply to damp skin.

Your New Best Friends: Anti-Aging Creams

• Alpha ydroxys
• Beta hydroxys
• Retina or Retinol
• Vitamin C

Peels and Exfoliants

Microdermabrasion, a more intense exfoliant, is an excellent way to remove dead cells and keep skin looking fresh.

Cosmetic Procedures

Another Route: Surgery

• Breast augmentation
• Liposuction
• Lip fillers
• Rhinoplasty

Thirty, Flirty & Thriving

"You get a little bit of pigmentation, you get fine lines...you start to develop dark circles under your lower lids." This is the best time to start thinking about wrinkle prevention.

Moisturizers In Your 30's

• Try thicker creams that contain vitamin E to reduce sun damage and sunscreen to protect you from UV rays.
• You're not as prone to acne, and your skin is starting to become dry.
• Thicker creams are more beneficial for locking in moisture.
• Eye creams, if used daily for a month or more, can help reduce the appearance of dark circles.

Cosmetic Procedures In Your 30's

• BOTOX® is a preventative treatment, says Cohen. "It works very well on young women [by preventing] repeated muscle contractions that lead to wrinkles."
• IPL is great for reducing sun damage and eradicating wrinkles.
• Since this therapy doesn't work well for deep wrinkles, it's good to catch them young.

Chemical Peels at 30

• TCA (Tricloraceitc acid) peels
• Laser resurfacing
• Microdermabrasion
• Light resurfacing with an Erbium laser and glycolic peels

Smokers and those with sun damaged skin will be more likely to resort to laser or light resurfacing and a stronger, TSA peel in order to eliminate associated wrinkles on the upper lip and around the eyes, nose and mouth.

Others may want to maintain smooth skin with glycolic peels.

Surgery At 30

Tyical surgeries include:

• Breast augmentation
• Liposuction
• lip fillers
• Rhinoplasty

Saving Face At 40

Moisturizers in your 40'S

Try anti-aging creams that contain:

• Glycolic acid
• Retinol
• Vitamins A and E
• These ingredients have all been proven to help reduce signs of aging and increase the firmness of skin.

Cosmetic Procedures For Your 40's

Typical treatments include:

• Sclerotherapy
• Microdermabrasion
• Laser vein removal
• Thermage
• V-beam laser.
• Fillers

Peels

Surgey In Your 40's

Fabulous 50s

• In your 50s, your dermis, the layer that supports your skin, begins to decrease.
• As a result, "you're more likely to see jowls and bags under your eyes," says Cohen.
• Broken blood vessels and blotchy red skin are also common.

Moisturizering Products

Anti-aging creams with high concentrations of glycolic acid (about 15%) can stimulate retinol, helping to rid your face of dark circles.

Cosmetic Procedures

• BOTOX®
• Microdermabrasion
• Fillers, thermage and IPL
• Feather lift

Filler along the lip border can help prevent lipstick bleeds, while making lips look fuller.

Thermage tightens collagen without the use of sugary, while IPL can help eliminate wrinkles and skin discolouration.

Peels For Your 50's

Surgery At 50

• Brow lift
• Face lift and blepharoplasty; a mere feather lift probably won't be enough to make a big difference.
• These more involved surgeries are sure to shave off years, and wrinkles, from aging faces.

Skin Solutions In Your 60s

"You've got lower estrogen levels and less hydration," says Cohen. "There's less collagen being synthesized."

Moisturizers In Your 60's

The same anti-aging creams used in your 50s. Also opt for moisturizers that boast soy on their labels.

"As you get older and estrogen decreases, your lax of skin starts to decrease," says Cohen. "Soy helps retain moisture and hydration and firmness."

Cosmetic procedures at 60

• Liquid nitrogen
• IPL
• Laser therapy
• PDT (Photodynamic therapy)
• Feather lift
• BOTOX® and fillers.

PDT in combination with a laser light can photorejuvenate the skin to get rid of certain cancers.

Peels In Your 60's

TCA or erbium peels. Lighter glycolic peels won't make a difference now that your skin is starting to sag and you've developed more age spots. TCA peels are a great alternative to laser therapies for those with lots of sunspots.

Surgery at 60

• Sclerotherapy
• Laser vein therapy
• Face lift
• Blepharoplasty.

Our eyelids are drooping more now than ever and wrinkles are more pronounced.

Healthy Skin: 60 And Up

At this age, we're less likely to crave a boob job than we are a good night's sleep.

We have drier, more blotchy skin and "there's more falling with gravity and more wrinkles," says Schacter.

The good news is, in comparison to the younger crowd, we get the best results from surgery.

Moisturizers 60+

Hydrating creams that contain

• Soy
• Green tea,
• Retinol
• Glycolic and alpha hydroxy acids.

Cosmetic Procedures: 60 And Up

• IPL
• Microdermabrasion
• BOTOX®
• Photorejuvenation
• Feather lift and thermage.

Peels: 60+

• Glycolic
• TCP peels
• Laser resurfacing

Surgery

• Sclerotherapy
• Laser vein therapy
• Face lift
• Blepharoplasty

Additional Ways For Helping Your Skin

Sunscreen

• cancer
• wrinkles
• discolouration and droopiness

Choose products with a minimum of 30 SPF. Apply at least a half-hour before sun exposure and reapply every two to four hours after.

Cleansers

Wash at least once a day and apply moisturizer while your skin is still damp.

Oral Therapies

Terms

Microdermabrasion - a deep form of exfoliation. It is more invasive than a glycolic peel, but less effective at treating acne, sun damage and deep wrinkles.

Glycolic peel - a mild, or "lunchtime" peel, glycolic acid is applied to the skin to help fight wrinkles, sunspots and other signs of aging.

TCA peel - a Trichloroacetic acid peel is a more intense peel than the glycolic variety. Often used on the neck, hands, forearms and chest, it fights wrinkles, blemishes and pigmentation.

IPL - Intense Pulsed Light therapy is a type of photorejuvenation therapy. Light energy is gently pulsed through your skin to remove lesions, age spots and sun damage, restore pigment and treat veins and rosacea.

Feather lift - a minimally invasive face-lift, tiny hooks are inserted under the skin and thread is used to lift up dropping areas.

Thermage - this non-surgical procedure is an advanced method of skin tightening using a radio frequency device called ThermaCool TC.

V-beam laser - a great way to reduce facial blood vessels, this laser offers little to no post treatment bruising.

Laser resurfacing or erbium laser - Also known as a "laser peel," this treatment uses a carbon dioxide (CO2) laser to minimize fine lines and remove damaged and wrinkled skin.

TIP:
Did you know it takes 15 to 20 years to notice sun damage? When wrinkles and pigmentation problems occur in your 40s, they're likely a result of a few too many hours in the sun when you were 20.

Laser Skin Resurfacing Surgery Information Guide

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