Working in a beauty salon from the young age of 13, I saw up close the great strides taken by many women to look their best. This immersion led me to a long and rewarding career in beauty and aesthetics, starting with hair, wigs, and makeup, then onto medical aesthetics, learning and teaching permanent makeup, scar camouflage and 3-dimensional areola tattooing, post mastectomy, worldwide.
I have matured alongside many of my clients and found myself aligned with their aesthetic needs, especially during menopause where an entirely new set of physical and emotional needs became apparent. My clients were feeling a bit lack-luster, complaining that their overall complexions had dulled and accumulated spots, much too large to be mistaken for freckles, and some wrinkles no longer resembled the crow’s feet they previously thought of as cute. Throw in some thinning and graying hair, brows, and lashes, and you have the perfect storm for a full-blown menopausal beauty crisis!
When we look better, we feel better. That’s a fact, but how do we get back to looking better and where do we begin to remedy these menopausal maladies? I have found it is best to address one issue at a time to prevent an overwhelming resignation.
Breaking Up with Old Habits
If you are using the same beauty products that you used three, five, or ten years ago, this would be the time to consider updating your products.
Also, if you are continuing to tan your face, when this healthy glow of a tan fades, you will be left with some unsightly reminders of why it’s not a great idea. I always used Robert Redford, God rest his soul, as an example. As handsome as he was, as an outdoors man, we could see his skin tanning and thickening to protect itself from the winds, sun, and harsh winters of Colorado. It is no different for a woman who continues to tan her skin.
Although we are fortunate to be living in these times of amazing, aesthetic scientific developments and breakthroughs that provide us with countless solutions, you don’t want to create additional issues. Tanning will simply challenge and prolong the efficacy of even the best products.
Where to Start?
Although the number of available products is overwhelming, this can be simplified with some basic needs we all face. One product that we all need in our repertoire is Hyaluronic Acid. It is a humectant, meaning it pulls moisture from the air to our skin, which is always welcomed.
There are two approaches to starting a new skincare regime.
One, you can begin at home.
Two, you can seek professional treatment in a medical skincare spa.
Forget the benign, feel-good facials. They will not produce the results you are probably looking for at this juncture.
Having professional treatments in a medical spa performed by licensed medical aestheticians and medical professionals can offer a variety of treatments – chemical peels, microneedling, lasers, PRP (platelet rich plasma), radio frequency, etc. – not available for home use. These treatments or some combination would be tailored to your specific needs. The advantage of a professional or medical spa is that these applications can achieve a much more dramatic result faster than home treatments, but will cost more.
Before you commit to professional treatment, book a consultation to hear and understand their recommendations and prices. Don’t forget to ask the prices for their recommended products. You don’t want any surprises. It is also a good idea to visit more than one medical spa and have more than one consultation. This is a great way to become more familiar and even educated with various recommendations for treating YOUR face and YOUR skin!
Each facility will offer treatments according to what they have invested in their equipment and their product line. Some aesthetic spas will favor lasers while others will employ manual treatments such as peels or microneedling. Laser equipment is very expensive so they may tend to lean toward laser use as opposed to manual treatments.
Home treatments or OTC (over the counter) products can also be very effective, since there are many ACTIVE products on today’s shelves. ACTIVE, meaning they have ingredients like retinols, glycolic acid, lactic acid, kojic acid, salicylic acid, niacin, vitamin C, folic acid, etc., that have the ability to remove the dead cells from the surface of your skin, technically referred to as the “horny layer.”
Home tools for dermaplaning and microneedling are even now available but must be used very carefully, since they can cut and be injurious as opposed to being effective.
Once this horny layer is removed, these ACTIVE products can become more effective and can do what they were developed to do. However, this approach will take longer than the professional treatments.
Another word of caution if you choose an exfoliant to remove this horny layer. If you are fair, this can cause or increase telangiectasia (small spider veins) or rosacea. Avoid hard rubbing as well. You may also want to avoid micro-dermabrasion and choose another approach.
Retinols can be highly effective in removing the Horney Layer and are available in many OTC products. Just approach with caution and note your tolerance.
I developed adult cystic acne in my 30’s and was prescribed Retin-A. (Somehow, an occasional breakout manages to defy my age and returns to haunt me.) I have used it throughout my years and can say it has smoothed and even thickened my skin, but in a good way. Who would have guessed there was a bright side to my acne?
Retinol remains to be one of the best discoveries our skin will ever experience and, in the words of Dr. Albert Kligman, the developer of Retin-A, who said to me, personally: “It is the only product ever developed that thickens (grows) skin.” This makes it highly effective for softening or even removing wrinkles, stains, and acne scars while resurfacing the skin with its continued use.
I did hate the initial down time, the redness, and the peeling, but found that my skin adjusted to it over the years. I wasn’t made aware that I could have added a moisturizer to it, that would have helped to avoid the irritation. Unfortunately, this information was not in the prescription instructions.
However, after a peel, my skin always appeared brighter and creamier, and the overall texture was smoother. The residual scarring from the acne diminished, too.
My experience has taught me that women, including myself, do not like, downtime following a treatment or the use of an active product. This downtimemay include irritation, redness and/or peeling that can take from days to a couple of weeks to subside, depending on the treatment. However, once all residual irritation subsides, you will see an improved new layer of skin that is creamier, with fewer lines and discolorations. It is a great pay off but no one is happy during the process.
A funny story, I was teaching a medical aesthetician permanent makeup, and her skin care clients were interrupting us, complaining about the redness and unsightly peeling they were having from their recent treatments, and she turned to them and growled, “you are either peeling or healing! You have to have the peeling if you want to see good, healed results!” She wasn’t eliciting a response, and they didn’t dare offer one. I laugh every time I think of her.
Today, there are several OTC Retinol products available. Neutrogena and L’Oreal both advertise promising results. These OTC strengths are a great place to safely start a Retinol. Remember, if the product instructions read “use daily,” begin use gingerly by starting once each week to see how your skin reacts and then add days, accordingly.
I mentioned above, there are many great OTC products on the market with ACTIVE ingredients, but have you noticed, after we stock up on the last, must-have, highly advertised new product with a newfound ingredient, another must-have new ingredient is advertised? I have dozens of creams but suddenly it seems I must have one with Niacin! I find it interesting that many of our OTC skin care ingredients are consumable but seem to be effective ON the skin. Many have actually proven worthy, like Vitamin C. I can’t wait to see what’s next. If it’s garlic cream, I’m out!
A licensed aesthetician can help guide you with the best OTC choices for your skin and again, they may promote the skincare line they presently carry, but if they see results with it, why not try it.
As a professional, I have always tried to justify the worth of a $250.00 or more skin cream at a designer counter. Are these expensive creams better than the products at the pharmacy like Neutragena and L’Oreal? It’s an expensive gamble. The ingredients are still OTC strengths. Just keep that in mind.
The Neck!
So, you have some direction for your face but let’s talk about your neck. When someone is speaking to you or even looking at you, your neck is part of that picture. I recently saw a celebrity who had appeared extremely gaunt for many years. She is an attractive woman, in her 50’s, but her face had lost tremendous volume as she aged. I wondered why she hadn’t addressed this with a fat transfer, some filler or even a lift? I’m sure she had friends who were dying to tell her. Seeing her now, she looks amazing. Her face is filled out, turning back years and revealing once again, her beauty. That was all it took, until I looked again, to see the skin on her neck was actually pleated with deep folds. My heart sank. Why would her medical professional just stop at her face and not address her neck?
I will explain that the facial skin is unlike any other part of the body, given its sebaceous activity and ability to regenerate. It is the most forgiving, even when taken down to the dermal layer. The neck does not have this capability. Although, it can be improved from some peels and light lasers, it is a different construct.
Often, necks will require a Lower Lift, which is a relatively simple surgical procedure where the loose neck skin is pulled toward the ears, and sutured there, behind the ears and sometimes into the hairline. While this description is a simplification of the procedure, it is important to note that it does not encompass the complexity of a comprehensive facelift, which is significantly more involved.
Don’t Forget the Declotait!
Lastly, our declotait (our chest). This is also in the same scope of the eyes when one views our face. This skin is even less forgiving than our necks, making it the most difficult to restore. We have all seen women tan it until it appears to match their leather handbag. I simply say a prayer for them.
In Summary
I don’t believe I mentioned how lazy I am when it comes to skincare. Don’t even think of selling me 10 products. I will never use them! I know me! Don’t make your new approach cumbersome. Keep it simple with affordable, effective products. Here is what you will need, minimally:
- Recommended facial cleanser. Seek professional advice on what’s best for Your Face!
- Day moisturizer with SUNSCREEN! If you played pickleball in the A.M., used your sunscreen, then plan on running errands all day, you must re-apply your sunscreen! It is not meant to last longer than it says on that bottle.
- Night Moisturizer that is Active! Remember, we heal during our sleep so you want a product that will continue to work during the night.
- Neck and Declotait Moisturizer that may be heavier than your facial product since this area is more difficult to restore.
Keep in mind, there is no one and done. We require maintenance. Try to schedule active facials every four to six weeks. Remember, these aging signs took years to accumulate, so you want to offer your face the best opportunity to reverse this damage.
Enjoy this journey and welcome the compliments you’ll receive. You’ve earned them!
Top photo: Bigstock
