ekf17
#61
Hi All - As an (almost) 42 year old chica I have gotten into anti-aging skincare/treatments in the last few years and thought I would share what has worked for me. Most people think I am in my mid 30s.
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Red light therapy (has helped me to avoid fine lines/wrinkles and improve circulation but has not helped in firming the skin. Have used for 3 years now 2x/week with at home device.)
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A natural Vit A serum (retinol) at night from MadHippie (plus Vit C serum and facial mist from the same line) Vitamin A Serum | Mad Hippie (a good quality natural retinoid - it helps keep my skin moisturized but canāt say I have seen major changes). I may experiment with the stronger retinoids mentioned above in this chain.
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Radiofrequency facials - to stimulate collagen and thicken skin (have seen some skin thickening but it required a number of sessions - like 8-10, to see results.)
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HiFu facials - It uses a laser type device to create tiny injuries at a deeper layer in the skin to promote skin tightening. I have seen skin tightening results from this and will probably continue to do it about 2x/year.
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Sculptra injections. Sculptra is a biostimulator of collagen. It is not a filler. It injects small fiber-like particles into the face that stimulate the body to build new collagen around them. The fibers eventually dissolve into the bloodstream, but your own real collagen is built and results can be fairly long lasting. Typically it is recommended to have a series of 2-3 injections at least 1 month apart for the full effect. I have seen significant facial firming from this. It has helped firm/lift my jawline as well. This has probably been The Most Effective treatment I have done so far. It can be a bit pricy, but I live in Mexico so it was significantly less than it would be in the US. Great idea to get facial treatments on your next Mexico vacation! 
Also, I have heard dermatologist Dr. Davin Lim say that injections are the most reliably successful skin care treatment out there and at this point I would concur.
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I have not done botox as I have some concerns about it weakening facial muscles over time. I do like facial exercises from https://www.youtube.com/@facerobics
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Next Steps - Dermarolling. Dermarolling seems to have pretty amazing results as an at-home routine to thicken skin and improve collagen. Some of the top biohacking beauties recommend it such as Rachel Varga and Leslie Kenny - videos below.
Dermarolling video - Rachel Varga, Biohacking skin expert. Dermarolling and Microneedling Information | How To Dermaroll Your Skin | Expert Tips - YouTube
Dermarolling video - Leslie Kenny, Biohacker and Founder of Primeadine, 55 yrs and gorgeous. Skin over 50: alternatives to Botox & fillers - YouTube
Also, for general inspiration, the Instagram page of Magdalenaās Secrets is amazing and with great tips as well. She is 57 and looks about 30. https://www.instagram.com/magdalenas_secrets/
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How much less expensive are the Sculptra injections in Mexico vs. USA?
Is the ādiscountā of derm services in Mexico generally about this % lower in Mexico vs. the USA?
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Thierry
#64
Agree. Tretinoin is the gold standard . I use it. I am a cosmetic doctor. It works. Differin is the same family, no better but less side effects apparently. A simple way of avoiding side effects with tretinoin is to apply it with a moisturizer. As simple as that.
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I have been using Adapalene for the past week, and wow! What a difference!
I had a bad case of dry, cracked and inflamed lips for about the past 8 months. I think it is due to the fact I must wear a face mask in every public location except while eating. I am guessing that the bacteria from my breath wreaked havoc on my lips. Especially in the corners of the mouth. The outer layer of my lips would peel off daily and my lips were incredibly painful daily and would usually bleed.
After applying a very thin layer of adapalene it all cleared up in a day! The corners of the mouth completely healed in 3 days. This condition had been occurring daily for months! My lips are still dry now, but itās a normal non-painful dryness that I can overcome with lip balm. Much preferrable to peeling cracked painful lips!
My only concern is that you are not supposed to put adapalene on your lips due to dryness and inflammation. Although, in my case, adapalene has cured the existing dryness and inflammation that I had prior to using it and which was quite horrible. I researched toxicity and could not find out any toxic side effects. Would applying a very very thin layer of adapalene on my lips after dinner have any toxic side effects? This is all I could find:
Toxicity information regarding adapalene is not readily available. Patients experiencing an overdose are at an increased risk of severe adverse effects such as redness, scaling, and skin discomfort. Symptomatic and supportive measures are recommended.8
Adapalene has an acute oral LD50 in S-D rats and CD-1 mice of over 5000 mg/kg. The LD50 of 0.3% applied topically to Credo OF1 mice is over 10 ml/kg (30 mg/kg). No systemic or local toxicity was observed in rats treated topically with 6 mg/kg/day of 0.3% adapalene.9
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Agetron
#66
Nice. Waiting for my Amazon order of adapalene.
1 Like
ekf17
#67
I would say that Sculptra costs about 50% less in Mexico than in the US and the same percentage applies to pretty much all derm procedures.
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I recently came across this new skin treatment. Itās the first FDA approved procedure for skin laxity. It works by removing small cores of skin from the lower face.
As we age our dermis get bigger and loses collagen. Hence the downward pull and bunching of tissue around the neck and jaw. The only way to counteract this thus far has been facelifts.
I had a treatment about 2 months ago and it works. Itās not cheap though and itās recommended to have a few treatments which Iād agree with , but sadly canāt afford.
I feel as though this might end up being a bit of a quiet game changer. But itās so early that itās not widely available or known yet.
Definitely worth knowing about.
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Jay
#69
Thierry, since you are a cosmetic doctor do you have any opinions about fraxel laser treatment? Is it a possible replacement for topical treatment products?
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ekf17
#71
Thanks for this - I am hearing really good things about mesotherapy too.
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Davin8r
#72
Thanks for this! I hadnāt heard of it until now. Our clinic isnāt doing this yet, but I imagine we will in the future if it continues to pan out and show benefits with minimal risk.
BTW for that video above, fast forward to 3 min 20 sec unless you love pillow infomercials 
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I have to say that my own experience it works great. It takes a few days to heal, but as I said previously the difference is subtle, but noticeable. Itās still very early on it. I expect it to become quite popular as thereās very minimal downtime.
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Davin8r
#74
Do they do lidocaine injections into the entire lower face prior to the procedure?
Yes, that was the worst part. I was seriously regretting my life choices for a moment, but once the injections were done it was fine. Regarding the price, I think it varies depending on where you are in the States. Iām in LA so you have to add at least a third onto the price.
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Yes. I paid a little more. I donāt think there are too many clinics with the machines at this point. The technician who did my procedure said there were only six machines at clinics in the entire country. She explained that people were flying in from all over the world to have procedures āoff labelā on knees and stomach. it is expensive and Iām not sure if it will come down, but it works and a positive is that itās permanent.
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By applying a 2% retinol (which is actually just the active form of Vitamin A), I accelerated the turnover of the cells on the top layer of my skin, bringing a more youthful layer to the surface. I found it difficult to capture the difference meaningfully on my iPhone camera, but I did take some before & after photos. IRL (thatās āIn Real Lifeā for the less hip crowd) the results were quite obvious. My ācrowās feetā had receded, and the skin around my eyes was visibly less wrinkled. I plan to continue my use of retinol, increasing the concentration of the serum to at least 4%.
^does accelerating turnover accelerate stem cell depletion?
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Thierry
#79
Hi Jay,
yes and no. itās a very good question. All these treatments work on the same concept: you create a mild damage to the dermis and you get a rejuvenating effect with the repair process and the production of new collagen, elastin etc.
You can do this with chemical peels, lasers (ablative or not like the Fraxel), mechanical dermabrasion and topicals such as retinoids.
If one year of tretinoin gives you the same result than a deep TCA 20% peel or a few sessions of fraxel but without the risks, what should you do ? It really depends on the practitioner/patient interaction. Personally I would recommend seeing people that specialize in what they do. If you want a Fraxel, go and see someone who specialize in this.
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more diagnostics (if only i knew a clinic with them) - Courage + Khazaka Electronic, Kƶln - Skin
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