Your way to a perfectly glowing skin

Photo: Karina Twiss

Aesthetic medicine offers a panel of techniques proven to effectively restore the quality of the skin. What do we start with? What can we expect, and when? Here’s the over 6 months plan to a beautiful skin.

As usual, we plan our sessions with the dermatologist or cosmetic doctor for a better skin, just the way we take an appointment at the beauty salon. Rather than a big project, we always choose small steps. Logically, the less damaged our skin, the less time we need. "On a person who has never done anything and whose skin is very damaged, especially by the sun, the 'refreshing' operation is spread over three to six months, but at each stage we see positive results", underlines Dr Nelly Gauthier, aesthetic doctor in Paris.

Photo: Karina Twiss

For immediate result

1 Session per year

"For an instantly visible “a better me” effect, we start by treating the loss of volumes and the consequences of sagging," explains Dr. Anne Grand-Vincent, aesthetic doctor. Hyaluronic acid injections are used to fill the areas that are hollowed out. "We use a small amount, it must remain discreet" insists the specialist. At the level of the lines between the eyebrows, the famous frown lines, place to the Botulinum toxin, it can also be injected on the forehead and for an immediate boost to the eyes.

To this base, we add, as needed, "mini-shots" of hyaluronic acid regularly to refresh the face especially where negative expressions are marked: we subtly enhance the cheekbones and we redraw the lips.

After six weeks
Shiny skin
Three sessions spaced two weeks apart.

This is where “Mesotherapy” comes in, a mix of liquid hyaluronic acid, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Mesotherapy does not give volume, only glow in addition to improving the quality of the skin. “It also tightens the pores and prevents aging", comments Dr. Anne Grand-Vincent, who advises to combine it in the same session with a superficial peel to remove dead cells, or LEDs (pulsed light) to stimulate fibroblasts.

After one to two months
Erasing spots and redness
One to three sessions spaced a month apart.

The treatment of pigment spots is done in fall or winter, when you are not exposed to the sun, and away from other procedures. "When there are only two or three spots, I opt for the TCA peel, otherwise it is the pigment laser which is more precise and goes deeper than liquid nitrogen", estimates Dr. Anne Grand - Vincent. Final result is in about three weeks, with the obligation to wear sunscreen so that the spots do not come back. On small red spots, caused by dilation of the vessels, the laser also works very well, in one to two sessions. Two to three sessions of Yag laser are recommended.

Treat spots at home?

Not so easy! When the spots are recent and clear, cosmetics can be helpful, under one condition, you use them daily for three months, while protecting your skin from the sun. Vinoperfect, Caudalie, Anti-Pigment Serum, Eucerin, Discoloration Defense Serum, SkinCeuticals, and Phyto Blanc Le Concentré, Sisley, have been proven successful.

Among the new products, Dark Spot Corrector Serum, La Chênaie, Light Renew Gel, Eneomey, and Pigmentbio C-Concentrate, Bioderma, are particularly effective.

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After three months
We plump up
Three sessions one month apart.

To restore density and softness evenly to the entire face, we use the skinbooster: weakly cross-linked hyaluronic acid, which aims to rehydrate the skin in depth. "I do this session a week after having injected hyaluronic acid and botulinum toxin” says Dr. Anne Grand-Vincent. Sometimes a second session is necessary two months later. We can also do just that, when the folds associated with the loss of volume are not very marked. If we want the extra sparkle, we let a week pass after the last date to attack the meso.

Smoothing out the skin
Two to three sessions every three weeks

For an overall youthful look, a luminous skin is interesting regardless the age. "You have to wait two to three months to see the final result, while the body resynthesizes collagen and elastin," says Dr. Nelly Gauthier.

Revitalizing in depth

Three sessions every month.

When you're 45 or your skin needs a little more than refreshing, it's time for deep regeneration with fractional, non-ablative lasers. “They force the skin to renew itself. We then treat radiance, sagging, wrinkles" explains Dr. Nelly Gauthier. Usually, it will take two to three sessions, but more can be done depending on the condition of the skin. The technique is also recommended for reducing light acne scars.

What about facial massage?

Alone or in addition to aesthetic techniques, the stimulating and deep facial massage, performed by facialists (estheticians specializing in facial care), is not anecdotal. In her practice, Delphine Langlois observes this every day: "We gain a real boost, even more important 24 hours later. The features are less tired, more lifted, and the plump effect is seen over the following month, as the maneuvers boost cell renewal. With a massage once a month, the results are visible longer and longer and the skin reacts quicker. Depending on the age, state of fatigue or health, it is sometimes necessary to start with an attack treatment at the rate of once a week for a month, then twice a month and finally once every month”.

After six Months
Full-skin Change
One session, at least three weeks of redness and several months for optimal results.
 

Now if the skin is really damaged, with wrinkles around the eyes or the mouth in particular, stronger treatments are used, only on these areas. You have the choice between deep peels, ablative lasers (like the CO2 laser) or the plasma pen, which performs an ablative macro-fractionation using an electric arc called "voltaic". The technique is "Creating small spaced holes that force the skin to reconstitute itself, more intensely than with a fractional laser," explains aesthetic doctor Nelly Gauthier. All of these treatments remove a superficial layer of skin, resulting in long consequences, especially few weeks of redness, until the skin is restored”.

What about radiofrequency, which improves the thickness of the skin in depth? “It's a bit out of fashion because you don't really see a surface effect and the wrinkles persist. When we do ablative, deep peeling, CO2 laser or voltaic arc treatments, we combine deep and superficial action, which gives a more complete result" says the specialist.

If the skin is parchmented by the sun, the entire face must be treated with the CO2 laser used in resurfacing mode, or opt for a phenol peel, which completely removes a layer of skin. "The followings are of course heavier since we treat the entire surface," warns Dr. Nelly Gauthier.

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