Whether you’ve been following an anti-aging skin-care routine for years or just noticed your first sunspot, prejuvenation is a beauty vocabulary word you should know. A combination of prevent and rejuvenate, the category encompasses treatments that are meant to stave off the signs of aging as well as reverse any damage you may already notice.
Thanks to procedures with zero downtime, qualified plastic surgeons and dermatologists, and cutting-edge technology, it’s easier than ever to stop aging skin concerns in their tracks. Ahead, we look at the beauty techniques and treatments that have changed the game—from lasers that won’t keep you at home for a week to innovative injection methods.
Moxi laser technology
In-office laser treatments can be highly effective at treating a host of skin concerns in their early stages. Dr. Steven Swengel, a board-certified dermatologist in Los Gatos, California, is particularly excited about Moxi, a new non-ablative laser that’s reportedly less painful than some of its competitors and requires no downtime.
Moxi works by “using diode laser energy to create tiny perforations in the top layer of skin,” which stimulates the repair process for “a healthy epidermal and dermal remodeling,” Dr. Swengel explains. For the patient, that means brighter-looking skin, with improved texture and a lessening of the brown and red spots that develop due to aging or sun damage.
“Moxi can be customized to your skin type and condition and is offered at varying levels of treatment energies and densities,” says Dr. Swengel. “This allows for customized treatments [that are] safe for all skin types, regardless of season.” It’s ideal for men and women who are looking for maintenance and prevention rather than a complete overhaul.
Platelet-rich plasma treatments
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) anti-aging treatments, best known as Vampire Facials and Vampire Facelifts, take their name from their key ingredient: blood—in this case, the patient’s own. According to Dr. Michele Green, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City, “PRP, since its release, has proven [to be] very effective as a facial aesthetic treatment in anti-aging as well as one of the most effective treatments for hair loss.”
PRP treatment is a two-step process. First, the doctor will draw the patient’s blood, then they’ll run the sample through a centrifuge to separate out the platelets before injecting it back into the skin. “The platelets contain the growth factors, which are replete with anti-aging properties,” says Dr. Green.
There are two main types of PRP treatment, both of which help with anti-aging, says Dr. Green. One option is to inject the PRP into the scalp, to stimulate hair growth. The second is to inject PRP directly into wrinkles or microneedle it just below the surface of the skin, which Dr. Green says “helps to rejuvenate and produce younger-looking skin.”
Though PRP injections have been performed since the 1970s, new uses are still being discovered and studied. If your face looks 10 years younger and you want the feeling in your knees to match, talk to an orthopedist or podiatrist about PRP joint injections. “PRP has been used in the treatment of injuries to the joints,” says Dr. Green. Other innovations, like PRP additives, are currently being studied. Green points out ACell, a cellular additive that can be mixed with PRP, to potentially prolong your results.
Because PRP requires no downtime and can deliver significant results, it’s one of the most popular procedures in Dr. Green’s practice. “It improves tone, texture, and fine lines for all skin types, unlike many lasers, so all of my patients [can] benefit from it.”
Fillers
Injectable fillers, such as Juvéderm, Restylane, Bellafill, and more, are used to temporarily plump lips, address hollowness of the cheeks and under-eyes, volumize smile lines, improve pitted acne scars, fill cellulite dimples, and even reshape the nose.
“There are normal fat pads in the cheeks that migrate downward, and placing filler in the upper face can create a lift so that less is needed in the lower face,” says NYC board-certified dermatologist Dr. Michele Farber. “For example, strategically placed filler in the cheeks is important, to lift the nasolabial folds around the mouth—starting in the right place and lifting first means that even if you still need to correct hollowing in the lower face or under-eyes, you’ll often need less overall, with the appropriate-density filler lifting in the right place first.”
She recommends filler for patients who notice a specific area they’d like to improve, such as sagging cheeks or jawlines. The general goal with filler is “revolumizing,” or adding plumpness back into the skin, but filler is now being used to rejuvenate the skin as well.
Doctors have begun injecting filler into cellulite and dimples on the thighs, using the volumizing agents to plump up the small divots that can appear due to age, diet, and genetics. People looking for anti-aging treatments are also turning to the injectable, to smooth wrinkles and address crepiness in the hands, knees, and elbows.
Dr. Farber’s preferred course of action is a custom one. In her practice, she works to “make an individual plan with a patient, choosing the right-density filler for each area, and a thoughtful approach, to create lift from above, for a natural look.”
Microneedling
“Microneedling involves using tiny needles to help stimulate collagen, which improves scarring, textual concerns, and wrinkling,” Dr. Farber explains. It’s a resurfacing treatment, which means it can “rejuvenate skin quality” and create the look of a smoother, more youthful complexion.
A microneedling treatment typically starts with a numbing cream, says Dr. Farber, followed by a thorough cleansing. The procedure is performed “with an automated skin pen that creates thousands of micropunctures in the outer layer of the skin,” she explains. The depth of the puncture can be adjusted up to an average of 2.5 millimeters below the skin.
The formula used with microneedling can be customized to your skin’s needs—and what’s more innovative than a completely personalized skin treatment? “These procedures can be adjusted by adding in platelet-rich plasma or other growth factor serums, which have been shown to promote skin regeneration,” Dr. Farber explains. “Tailoring the type of microneedling and choosing [additions] like PRP can really augment anti-aging [benefits], to help reduce pore size, [lessen] scarring, and improve wrinkling.” Talk to your dermatologist or plastic surgeon about how to tailor microneedling treatments to your specific skin concerns.
Microchanneling
Microchanneling may not be as popular as microneedling yet, but soon everyone will be talking about it. Similar to microneedling, microchanneling uses a device that causes microtears in the skin. “Through these micro injuries, the skin is able to stimulate collagen production as it heals,” says Dr. Green.
But whereas microneedling uses a handheld roller to glide along the skin, microchanneling is more precise, relying instead on needles administered precisely into targeted areas of the skin. “Microchanneling treatment goes deeper than microneedling, therefore the treatment is able to facilitate more collagen production and provide longer-lasting results,” Dr. Green explains.
Microchanneling can be customized for your skin’s needs too. Dr. Green especially likes the combination of microchanneling and PRP, which uses the best of two innovative technologies to facilitate cell turnover and reveal younger-looking, rejuvenated skin.
