How Will You Age?

A group of plastic surgeons from the Loma Linda University Medical Center in California scanned the faces of mothers and daughters using computer modelling and 3D cameras. The research team found that mothers and daughters who look similar also age in a strikingly similar pattern. They found the daughters’ faces were beginning to sag, wrinkle, thin and lose elasticity around the eyes in the same patterns as their mothers’ faces. This similarity particularly increased after the daughters reached the age of 30.

The findings may be especially helpful for women in their mid-30s to early 50s, which is the ideal window for using minimally invasive techniques to maintain a younger looking appearance.

Recognising how your mother’s face changed over the years could help guide a cosmetic surgeon in the appropriate procedures to address similar patterns of sagging skin or volume loss. For example, doctors would be able to pinpoint the appropriate areas to inject dermal fillers.

The team at Esteem Medi Spa are leaders in the cosmetic injectable industry. Visit their clinics in Brisbane and the Gold Coast to learn how they can help you slow down the ageing process.

Knowing exactly how a woman’s lower eyelids will change with age can help surgeons plan a surgical correction that will prevent the changes seen in her mother.  The findings were surprisingly repetitive regardless of ethnicity and the actual age difference between mothers and daughters.

Nature vs. Nurture

Whether you grow old gracefully depends partly on genes and your lifestyle. It’s been noted that one of the most important factors is the way that skin collects and retains moisture, using molecules that connect water into skin. As our skin ages, the genes that control this process become less active, and the skin preserves less moisture, causing wrinkles and fine lines.

Another involves collagen, as we age, the genes that degrade collagen become hyperactive, creating more wrinkles. Other factors include inflammation, how the skin reacts to sunlight and the skin’s response to free radicals.

Of course, all this data doesn’t mean you’re going to look exactly like your mother. Using SPF on your skin regularly will help you ward off harmful sun rays and minimise the risk of immature fine lines and sun spots.

Preventative Measures for Daughters

When you’re young, it’s all about preventative, gentle and nourishing products. Your hormones are still balancing themselves, so stick to oil-free cleansers, moisturisers and makeup where possible.

Getting into a good skincare regime in your teens not only helps resolve some of the teen angst-causing problem skin issues but it also forms good habits for the coming decades. Cleanse, tone and moisturise are the three necessary steps at any age and should be followed daily both morning and night.

Many teens find oily skin is their primary concern, so a gel-based cleanser is best – perhaps one that includes salicylic acid to help clear acne. Use a light, non-comedogenic, oil-free moisturiser to follow up.

Women in their 20s may choose foamy gel cleansers and light moisturisers, perhaps a milky cleanser if prone to dry skin. If you’re a 30-something, even if you’ve taken good care of your skin it may become a little drier, and sun damage may begin to appear.

As you age, keep adjusting your routine. Your mid-30s is an excellent time to start using a nutrient-packed serum and effective night creams. Use a creamy cleanser and creamier moisturisers to lock in hydration and continue with a slightly richer eye cream at night.

A clay mask used weekly will deep clean your pores if you’re oily, or a light hydrating mask if you’re slightly drier. Use a grainy exfoliator or something with alpha hydroxy acids for a chemical process twice a week to remove the top layer of skin and deal with clogged pores.

Try adding some products with antioxidants to combat free radicals and introduce some products with Vitamin A derivatives in your 30s.

You must use sun protection at all ages – the younger you start, the better. Not only does it protect your skin from the sun but 90 percent of premature ageing is caused by UV exposure.

Damage Control for Mothers

Kicking up the nutrients a notch is a must as the signs of ageing deepen – it’s all about products with firming and plumping benefits. Those beach holidays may have started to catch up, and the gradual loss of collagen is a part of intrinsic ageing and becomes more apparent.

You can help slow cellular degeneration with the antioxidant properties of Vitamins C and E, which help protect the skin from free radicals that devour healthy cells. Vitamin C can also boost the synthesis of collagen, especially when it is applied in a potent form.

Additionally, prescriptions containing Vitamin A acid used topically is a potent free-radical fighter. It can increase collagen production and exfoliation, reduce brown spots, thicken the epidermis and can help reverse sun damage. Chemical peels are also useful for refining the skin’s surface, and injectable dermal fillers work well in replenishing volume and boosting collagen production.

Anti-ageing or wrinkle-reducing prescription formulas containing retinol or glycolic acid products are essential in reducing fine lines and wrinkles, improving skin texture, skin tone and colour, and boosting hydration.

There is a plethora of cosmetic surgery and dermatologic treatments applicable to the more mature woman. Laser skin resurfacing is one such procedure that can offer an effective solution, significantly improving crepey eyelids and wrinkles around the eyes, minimising lines and age spots, and improving the overall appearance of the skin.