WHAT IS IT? WHAT ARE THE CAUSES, SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS?

As we get older we start to notice that our once smooth, firm and supple skin struggles to retain its youthful appearance.

Natural defence mechanisms, such as collagen and elastin, begin to break down when we reach our 30s, and suddenly we see all the small lines and wrinkles that weren’t there before. While collagen gives body tissue shape, firmness and strength, elastin supplies the skin with much-needed flexibility. So when we reach an age where they both start breaking down, our skin becomes more vulnerable to external factors such as sunlight and pollution, emotional strain and occasional sleeplessness. Bad habits such as smoking and not using SPF protection can accelerate our skin’s aging process.

Aging skin can be characterised by a loss of firmness, tone and elasticity, creating the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and pigmentation.

Skin aging can and will occur naturally or can be brought on prematurely by external factors or the environment around us.

From our late teens, collagen and elastin production starts to slow down, becoming even slower after age 30 – fine lines start to appear which later develop into deeper wrinkles. As collagen is responsible for skin firmness and tone – and elastin responsible for elasticity – the reduction in their production can also create sagging and hollowing. The skin’s natural renewal process also starts to slow down, creating a dull and sallow complexion.

The number one cause of premature aging is sun damage from UV exposure. Just a few minutes a day of exposure can create the acceleration of collagen breakdown, stimulate pigmentation and age spots whilst increasing the appearance of uneven skin tone, fine lines, wrinkles and rough texture.

Other factors that contribute to premature aging include:

  • Smoking – Smoking is attributed to be the second-highest cause of external and internal aging and constricts blood vessels reducing blood flow to cells and therefore reducing nutrients and oxygen to the cells whilst stimulating free radical activity.
  • Sleeping positions
  • Diet
  • Exercise
TREATMENT SOLUTIONS

ANTI-WRINKLE INJECTIONS

Anti-Wrinkle Injections are muscle relaxants, which blocks nerve signals and reduces muscular contraction. The treatment helps to reduce the appearance of facial wrinkles and fine lines. The most popular areas of treatment include the forehead, glabella (frown lines between the eyebrows) and crow’s feet. Treatment may also be performed to sagging jowls and to rejuvenate the jawline and neck area.

DERMAL FILLERS

Dermal Fillers are injections designed to add volume and help to create a lifted, firmer and contoured appearance. The most popular areas of treatment include lips, cheekbones, tear troughs (under eyes), nasolabial folds (smile lines from the nose to the mouth) and marionette lines (from the mouth to the chin). Treatment may also be performed to increase skin hydration.

SKIN HYDRATION & PLUMPING INJECTIONS

Skin Hydration & Plumping Injections are used to help plump and soften the look and feel of the skin by restoring the skin’s hydrobalance. It improves the elasticity and skin structure and treats crepey skin and smooths out fine lines and wrinkles.

Hydrators are an injectable treatment that involves tiny molecules of a gel-type substance placed underneath the skin. They work by pulling and holding moisture into the gel particle, which keeps the skin hydrated and boosts the overall skin quality. The result is softer, more hydrated fuller and firmer-looking skin. Skin Hydration & Plumping Injections can be used on the face, neck, décolletage and hands.

SKIN NEEDLING

Skin Needling used fine needles to safely penetrate deep into the underlying layers of skin. It promotes the body’s natural wound healing response within, producing and distributing new collagen, elastin and skin hydration to provide a smoother and even surface. Skin Needling can provide long-lasting wrinkle correction and reduce the appearance of pigmentation, fine lines, uneven tone and the loss of elasticity.

PHOTO REJUVENATION

Photo Rejuvenation is performed with a medical-grade Intense Pulsed Light (IPL). Using a specific light designed to stimulate collagen, the light is transformed into heat energy that can treat fine lines, wrinkles and uneven texture without harming the skin’s surface.

MICRODERMABRASION

Microdermabrasion superficially smooths and refines aged and wrinkled skins. The mechanical exfoliation provides a softened and refreshed complexion whilst the vacuum assists with lymphatic drainage to reduce puffiness and to promote a clearer complexion. Microdermabrasion is a suitable option to treat prematurely aged complexions.

CHEMICAL PEELS

Chemical Peels are able to provide an appropriate option to treat premature and established aging. Chemical Peels can provide a simultaneous action to soften and smooth fine lines and wrinkles whilst stimulating cellular renewal for a revitalised and re-texturised complexion.

LASER FACIAL

Laser Facial uses Q-Switched Laser technology which uses a combination of high power and short pulse widths (less than 20 nanoseconds – one nanosecond is equivalent to one billionth of a second) that deliver energy throughout the layers of the epidermis, faster than the normal relaxation time of the tissue. This process helps to stimulate the production of natural collagen and other vital proteins to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, giving it a healthy and youthful appearance.

PLASMA PEN

Plasma Pen is a revolutionary non-surgical, skin lifting and tightening treatment. Plasma Pen treatments contract and tighten the surface skin tissue, giving an immediate lift and dramatic skin tightening. By firstly rejuvenating the outer layer of skin – known as the epidermis, the Plasma Pen treatment replaces old skin cells with beautiful new ones, then stimulating collagen and elastin production and strengthening, plumping and lifting the facial structure.