My Skincare Routine
Until my 30s, my skincare routine consisted of washing my face when taking a shower and putting on sunscreen when on a beach vacation. Needless to say, my routine evolved and improved over the years. I’m now 52 and I am very happy with my aging skin and I credit it to making reasonably healthy choices in life, adding in a skin care routine and, let’s not leave out the obvious, procedures.
What are my reasonably healthy habits?
First, I’ve never smoked cigarettes. Smoking certainly causes increased wrinkles due to the continuous pursing of the lips, but tobacco also causes premature collagen breakdown leading to earlier and deeper wrinkle formation. I added daily sunscreen before it was too late. I did start washing my face every night in my mid 30s and I began to wear tinted sunscreen every morning to make it look like I had a little bit of a rosy glow. After residency, I promised I would always get enough sleep. And I have. Good quality and quantity of sleep is associated with healthier skin. Scientific studies actually back this up! So, you’ll find me fluffing my pillow most nights at 10PM. Finally, I love water. I also love coffee and wine, but I really love drinking water. I’ve never been a soda drinker and my hydrated skin thanks me for my water consumption.
What about Faceyoga?
I don’t practice face yoga, but I know there are tremendous benefits of yoga for the body. I do practice restorative yoga and it is a game changer for how I feel. Face yoga can relax the muscles in your face and lead to overall stress reduction which will certainly give your face a more pleasant appearance. Plus it is a natural way to reduce the size of your masseters that hold so much of your stress.
What are my favorite skincare products?
As I mentioned above, I now wash my face every night. I use Elta MD foaming face cleanser. I absolutely love the way it makes my face feel. I use a Retinol twice a week. I’m actually not picky about the brand of retinol. I just want to see my skin show a little bit of dry turnover to know I’ve gotten enough. Other than sunscreen, the product with the most science behind it is Vitamin C. So, I do add a vitamin C serum most every night. I alternate between the Jan Marini C esta and the Obagi 15% vitamin C serum. I don’t know why I alternate; I just can’t seem to decide which I like best. And I layer either Neocutis Biocream or Bioserum on top for some moisture and added peptides. I love the smell of the Biocream. It is very clean and makes my skin silky, but not oily. I LOVE IT.
What about procedures?
Okay, well, Botox became my best friend even before I started washing my face at night. I started getting glabella Botox at age 29. It helped relieve me of my constant scowl. Over time, I added in the occasional full forehead or around the eyes to minimize wrinkle formation. And now, I also do corners of mouth to prevent the downturned sour look. Peel me, zap me please. I do a CO2 big ablation about once every 5 years and I do an erbium ablation once a year for maintenance. I also alternate Dermapeel and microneedling so that I am doing something to my face, neck and chest every four months. I add in my zaps, radiofrequency energy using Pixel-8 to improve the skin tone twice a year in combination with my Erbium or Dermapeel.
What about surgery?
Yes, but of course. If you know me, you know I’ve had a few. Nothing is going to put those falling structures back where they are supposed to be without surgery. Ultherapy helps boost the collagen to maintain the surgical result so I try to do that in between, but I have had at least one anti-aging surgery about every 5 years starting around the age of 40. So that means I’ve gone under the knife at least four times, but who is counting?
