by Susan Isom

We all want a skincare routine we can rely on to stay at our best. When it comes to our skin, we put a lot of trust in products and professionals to help us do all we can to fight the signs of aging. We all want to hold on to that youthful look and feel as long as we can. 

Until most recently, only a handful of procedures were out there for people who wanted to minimize the hints of aging as they got older.

The old means of thinking was that whenever lines, crow’s-feet and sagging got excessive enough, it had to be time for plastic surgery. On the contrary, times have changed a lot in the past 15 years. There has been explosive development throughout the area of non-surgical types of treatments intended for use in responding to the issues involved with aging much earlier, while not requiring surgical procedures.

A growing number of women and men are starting to make use of Botox as early as their 20s as a means of protecting against the development of lines and wrinkles. As soon as they reach their 30s, Dermal Fillers like Juvederm are employed to restore and maintain fullness in the cheeks, lips and moderate to severe lines and folds that form around the mouth and nose.

 In the 40s and older, skin treatments such as lasers and medium depth peels are generally used in order to even your skin texture, erase sun damage and other age blotches and tighten loose skin.

Which is exactly why I recommend the Clear + Brilliant laser, something a little stronger than a light chemical peel but not nearly as aggressive as CO2 laser resurfacing. The Clear + Brilliant is a gentle laser treatment designed to help you fight, or even prevent, early signs of aging. It works in the surface layers of the skin and gives subtle results with little or no downtime.

Clear + Brilliant uses fractional technology, which reduces recovery time by splitting the laser into many tiny beams — treating enough of the skin to get results and sparing enough to be gentle and speed recovery. The many thousands of tiny punctures (micro-injuries) made by the Clear + Brilliant laser jumpstart your body’s healing process, creating fresh, new skin. 

 It is the latest generation in the Fraxel Dual System, which is recognized as one of the most successful treatment options designed to help you fight, or even prevent, early signs of aging.

Clear + Brilliant facilitates the removal of brown spots from the skin in a one-time therapy for extraordinary, instant results. Sun damage, freckles, age spots, melasma — any sort of dark spots can be removed from the skin of the face, neck, chest or hands in just one treatment with negligible downtime. The procedure takes around 90 minutes for a complete session, which involves application of topical numbing cream to your face prior to treatment in order to provide additional comfort.

Immediately post treatment, you may experience some redness and mild swelling, but both typically diminish in about 12 hours. Over the next few days, your skin may feel tight or itchy, even sandpapery. You will also experience some sensitivity (to touch or temperature). Both are indications of the natural renewal process and typically dissipate a few days after treatment

Most people return to routine activities the next day. The number of treatments you’ll need varies based on your skin concerns. Typically, most people need a series of three to six treatments spaced three to four weeks apart. After your treatment series, plan for a series of three treatments per year.

You’re likely to burn easily after a treatment, so protect your skin from the sun with a wide-brimmed hat and sunscreen of at least SPF30.