Youth-preserving skincare strategies
By: Carla Snuggs

Do you have that one nagging beauty concern that you obsess about in the mirror? Whether it’s crow’s feet, an uneven complexion or deepening lines – you’re not alone.

A recent survey by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) sheds light on our most pressing beauty woes and uncovers what women are MOST concerned about. The study found 39% of women were most concerned with sagging cheeks or eye bags, while 33% worried about fine lines and wrinkles and 28% dreaded the “turkey neck” effect.

But don’t despair! With the growing number of aesthetic options, holding off the hands of time has never been easier. Here are a few youth-preserving strategies to tackle the most prevalent skincare concerns:

Protect Yourself
The first step to staving off wrinkles and maintaining healthy skin is to always use SPF. Choose a formula with broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection to ensure the most complete coverage. The ZO Skin Health Oclipse Sunscreen and Primer SPF 30 provides broad spectrum protection and serves a primer to smooth and prime skin.

Restore Cheek Volume
We lose volume because as we age there is the loss of subcutaneous fat over the cheek bone, loss of fat deep in the cheek and loss of bone volume. “In addition to the loss of fat and bone volume there is the decent or drooping of the existing fat over the cheek. Full cheeks are important because having the greatest width of the face at the junction of the top and middle thirds of the face is the youthful contour. This width should be at the level of the cheek,” says Dr. Edward H. Farrior, President of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

A little strategically placed filler right in youth-defining sweet spots can drastically turn back the clock! According to the most recent AAFPRS survey, 55% of filler injections were performed on patients between the ages of 35 and 50.

Get Rid of Eye Baggage
There are six main eye-area complaints—hyperpigmentation, discoloration from iron deposits, inflammation, dry lines and wrinkles—and Lumixyl Revitaleyes corrects them all. It’s formulated with decapeptide-12, the star ingredient that works to brighten skin and erase signs of discoloration.

Fine Lines
Pellevé Wrinkle Reduction System is a non-ablative skin tightening system that relies on radiofrequency technology to deliver heat into the deep layers of skin, stimulating collagen production to plump up wrinkles, firm, and tighten skin. The treatment is comfortable (relaxing, even!), needs no downtime, and results last six months.

Wave Goodbye to Your Waddle
There are many temporary solutions that lift skin on the neck and chin. That being said, facial plastic surgeons are seeing women as young as 40 for neck lifts. Recent surveys suggest that AAFPRS members respectively perform an average of 22 neck lifts annually.