With so many treatments available, the choice can be overwhelming and leave some of us feeling like we don’t know where to begin. With almost 20 years experience in advanced anti ageing treatments, we asked our expert team to delve deeper into your top concerns and educate us on the best, most effective treatments for maintaining ageless beauty.
What Causes Skin Ageing?
Skin ageing is a natural process which changes the quality and appearance of our skin. While we all age slightly differently, the signs of ageing follow a general pattern and most of us will be thinking seriously about preventing the signs of ageing in our 20s and 30s. The rate at which we age is determined by a multitude of internal and external factors, some of the most significant being…
Collagen Production
Collagen is a naturally produced protein which holds the structure of our skin together – think of it as skin scaffolding. People often think of collagen as something we add to the body but collagen is actually essential to the integrity of our skin accounting for roughly a third of our body’s protein content.
As we age, collagen production starts to decline, a process which speeds up as we get older. The exact age at which this process begins varies slightly but is generally in our late teens and early 20s. This decline in collagen production affects the quality of our skin, leading to many common ageing concerns such as wrinkles, skin laxity and volume loss.
Hyaluronic Acid Production
Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance with the primary function of helping us retain moisture in our skin, eyes and joints. As with collagen production our bodies start to slow down in producing this substance as we age. “Over the last couple of years the focus on hyaluronic acid in both aesthetics and the beauty industry has exploded but this is something we’ve been educating clients on for years. When it comes to anti ageing and general skin health, ensuring the skin is sufficiently hydrated is always a priority.” Alyona, Medical Aesthetician, Ace Aesthetics
Bone Density
Many of us associate a loss of bone density with the elderly, but there’s less awareness that the density of our bones – determined by cell regeneration – actually begins to decline as early as our 30s! This process does more than affect facial volume, it actually causes enough bone movement to change the structure of our face. Visible consequences of this process include a hollowed appearance around the eyes and a change in the structure of our jawline which can cause a jowl effect.
Sun Damage
Exposing unprotected skin to powerful UV rays from the sun, has long been proven to accelerate the signs of skin ageing, as well as having a serious effect on the health of our skin. Most of us are stringent about applying sun cream and protecting our skin in the summer months, but where we often fall short is in the colder winter months or cloudy days. This is because there’s less awareness that sun damage from infrared, visible and ultra violet light is a risk that we face everyday regardless of the weather.
Without doubt, the most effective way to protect the skin and prevent sun damage is to use a broad spectrum SPF 50+. This should be incorporated as part of your daily skincare routine, easily achieved by using clinically proven professional skincare products from brands such as Heliocare or Obagi – ZO Skin Health.
Diet & Lifestyle
We all know how much better we feel when we’re putting our health and wellness first; however, maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle goes further than just making the right choices. “The pandemic has been a period of prolonged and unavoidable stress. A physical response to this is elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This hormone is bad news as it’s clinically proven to break down collagen and elastin. Which speed up the ageing process!” If you’re noticing the signs of ageing accelerating despite focusing on your diet and exercise then it might be time to look for practical ways to help improve your emotional wellbeing as well as your physical health.
Treatment Options
By understanding and outlining the physical causes of aging, we can now effectively pinpoint exactly what we need our aesthetic treatments to do. We can also begin to identify common concerns that most of us experience at some stage. To find out more read our guide to ‘Your Top Skin Ageing Concerns And Our Expert Recommendations’.