Have you wondered that once it's safe enough to step outside, how will we take care of our skin, especially our face? After all, we have spent 15 months staying indoors.
Basically, are our faces ready for the outside world?
Brighten up dull skin
If you want to spruce up your skin, maintain a youthful look and prevent pigmentation and fine lines, Clear Brilliant, or “baby Fraxel” as medical insiders like to call it, is an option.
Also read: Meet today's beauty customer
This fractional laser—it treats a small portion of this skin at a time—creates microscopic injuries to the dermis, which promotes new collagen production. “I use Clear Brilliant on young patients because obviously, their rooms aren’t too dirty, and (the skin] doesn’t need that much cleaning up,” says Paul Jarrod Frank, a New York-based celebrity cosmetic dermatologist, reports Bloomberg. “Or I’m doing it for my older patients who get their Fraxel every September at the end of the summer, but they want a little quick fix.”
It’s gentler than other fractional resurfacing lasers, but the skin is noticeably brighter afterward. Patients may experience a little redness, and skin may feel like sandpaper after treatment, but there’s no downtime. Skin immediately looks refreshed, and it feels softer; depending on the condition of skin and desired results, though, four to six treatments are recommended.
Address saggy jowls and chicken neck
Board certified dermatologists such as Bruce Katz of JUVA Skin & Laser Center in New York and celebrity aesthetician Joanna Vargas use this Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved hands-free device, called Evoke, by applying applicators to the cheeks or neck, which deliver radio frequency to heat deep tissue layers. This stimulates collagen production for noticeable lifting and tightening of the skin, according to the Bloomberg report. “This proprietary, non-invasive technology is an industry first, delivering a structural reorganization of the facial and submental tissues,” explains Vargas. A slightly more sculpted jawline can be seen in 30 minutes, but four to six treatments, spaced one to two weeks apart, are required for optimal results. Virtually painless and with no downtime, patients can meet friends for a cocktail right afterward.
Facelift for beginners
Evoke may be the new kid on the block, but Ultherapy is the trusted veteran when it comes to non-surgical lifting. This high-intensity device uses ultrasound technology to penetrate and heat under the skin to kickstart collagen production. It is FDA-cleared to treat the brow area and to smooth lines on décolletage, in addition to tightening cheeks, chin, and neck, states Bloomberg.
Take on enlarged pores, scars and wrinkles
“People who have very discreet lines around their mouth or have enlarged pores or acne scars—I’m doing a lot of microneedling,” says Tina Alster, a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, founding director of the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery, and clinical professor of dermatology at Georgetown University Medical Center, reports Bloomberg. Not to be confused with a derma roller purchased at a beauty store for at-home collagen induction therapy, this device is an automated pen with 36 fine needles that puncture tiny holes in the skin. It stimulates the body’s natural wound-healing process and creates new dermal tissue, building more even tone and texture.
Erase fine lines and wrinkles
A report released by The American Society of Plastic Surgeons revealed that the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns didn’t keep almost 8 million Botulinum Toxin Type A (Botox, Dysport, Xeomin) and soft tissue-filler procedures from being performed in 2020. Injectables remain wildly popular as a quick fix for fine lines and wrinkles. “Within 10 minutes to a half hour, I can take seven to 10 years off an appearance with no downtime, other than perhaps some transient swelling,” says cosmetic dermatology expert Kenneth Mark.
