Anti-Aging Skin Treatment Options

There’s no way to grow older without getting wrinkles. But – in addition to plastic surgery – there are effective medical treatments to fight wrinkled skin. Your doctor may recommend procedures based on the location, depth and extent of your wrinkles. Today’s methods aren’t like a dip in the fountain of youth. Before making a decision, get a clear picture of what improvements you realistically can expect.

• Abrasion. Doctors use a wire wheel or other device to gently “sand” your skin. This approach reduces wrinkles around your mouth and eyes.

• Chemical peel. Doctors “paint” a medication (trichloroacetic acid) over wrinkles near your eves and mouth, as well as on your cheeks and chin, the medication lightly wounds the skin. But instead of producing a scar, the healing process develops smoother skin.

• Retin-A. Also known as retinoic acid, this prescription cream is a synthetic derivative of vitamin A. Doctors have used it for about 20 years to treat acne. Retinoic acid can reverse the effects of sun-damaged skin. After about four months, there’s less wrinkling, mottling and roughness. Skin has a “rosy glow.” Retinoic acid causes the sun-damaged layer of your skin to peel away. It thins and smooths the outer layer of your skin.

• Alpha-hydroxy acids. These chemicals are the only substances, other than Retin-A, with true potential for fighting wrinkles. They have fewer side effects. Alpha-hydroxy acids are naturally contained in sugar cane and fruits such as apples, mangoes and pears. Alpha-hydroxy acids are applied as a cream or lotion. They reduce fine wrinkling and improve overall skin texture. They loosen dead cells from the surface of the skin, leaving a smoother, softer layer. They also help retain moisture in severely dry skin.

In addition to smoothing the skin, doctors fill in wrinkles with a variety of materials:

• Bovine collagen. Collagen is the fibrous molecule that makes up 90 percent of human skin. Doctors inject collagen from the skin of cows to fill wrinkles or indented scars. Just as your own collagen follows a natural cycle of breakdown and replacement, the implant degrades over several months, triggering your body to grow new collagen over the implant.

Wrinkles from facial expressions return with time, and you may need touch up implants each year or two. Implants reduce large wrinkles such as: creases between your eyes from squinting or frowning; furrows below each side of your nose; marionette lines at the corners of your mouth; vertical lines around your lips; and crow’s feet.

Children, pregnant and nursing women, and people with autoimmune diseases such as lupus and scleroderma should not receive a bovine collagen implant, nor should people who are allergic to it.

• Silicone. This synthetic material helps repair the nose and earlobes. Doctors also use it for wrinkles on the cheek, chin and around the lips. It’s not recommended for forehead wrinkles, marionette lines and crow’s feet. Silicone got a bad reputation in the 1960s. Additives to prolong the implant sometimes caused irritation. Today, the only occasional problem involves beads that may form months or years later. They’re unattractive but not dangerous.

• Fibril. This is the trade name for an absorbable sponge. Doctors take a sample of your blood, mix it with chemicals in the sponge and implant the material on a wrinkle. The sponge stimulates collagen growth over the wrinkle. Fibril is a newer product, and doesn’t seem to last as long as silicone or collagen. Treated areas may be red for a week or so.

• Lipotransplantation. Using local anesthesia, doctors remove fat from your thigh or abdomen. They discard blood and fluids, and implant the fat into a large facial wrinkle, such as between your eyebrows or in the furrows near your nose.

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