Skincare can’t achieve everything, no matter what clever marketing may tell you. Whilst a good quality skincare regime is crucial for healthy skin and will help prevent sun damage and keep it in good shape as you age (prevention is key), there are a few things that skincare alone just cannot do. In this blog post, I share some areas of skincare that simply aren’t worth your attention – so you can focus your time and money on the solutions that really drive the needle in terms of results.

Skincare won’t tighten your skin

The right products (that have a good formulation and ingredients and have been clinically tested), can firm, smooth and brighten the skin. But no product can tighten sagging skin, which is due to degradation and damage to the skin’s collagen and elastin supply.

Instead focus on: Treatments like Sofwave and Profound RF work to stimulate new elastin, collagen and hyaluronic acid – the critical building blocks that keep the skin smooth and elastic – in a way that no skincare product possibly can. They’re perfect for those with loose skin on the neck, jawline or under the chin or lines, wrinkles and crepiness on the cheeks or around the mouth. While these aren’t a substitute for a facelift, both treatments appeal to patients who wish to achieve smoother, tighter, and firmer skin without surgery.

Skincare won’t shrink your pores

In fact, nothing will. Pores are essentially a function of genetics, and much of their size is determined by your sebaceous glands and their oil production output. Nothing will ‘shrink’ them as such, but you can minimise their appearance by keeping them clear of dead skin cells and debris, which tend to make them look bigger.

Focus on: Salicylic acid and retinoids are your hero ingredients for improving the appearance of pores. As you age, your skin will become more lax, and your pores may appear more prominent as they indent further into the skin. Furthermore as the collagen matrix weakens, the pores dilate and look significantly more noticeable. Skin peels and microneedling can be helpful here. Resurfacing skin peels help to remove dead skin and clear sebum whilst increasing the production of collagen and firming up the skin for a smoother, rejuvenated appearance. Microneedling is another excellent option, as it helps kickstart collagen production to tighten and rejuvenate the skin.

Skincare can’t add volume to the face

When it comes to volumising the skin, we want to replenish the fat compartments of the face to restore its youthful contours, which we can only do non-surgically with fillers. We lose a lot of facial fat as we age, which can lead to the appearance of jowls, nasolabial folds, and hollowing around the eyes. Of course, no product can restore this, so please don’t waste your money on brands that claim they do.

Instead focus on: Strategically placed fillers, which can do a lot for the face, from rebuilding lost volume and correcting asymmetry to softening nose-to-mouth lines, lifting jowls ever-so-slightly and redefining the curve of the cheek.

Skincare can’t get rid of cellulite

There are a lot of products that claim to get rid of cellulite, but the reality is, cellulite creams still lack the long-term results to prove they’re worth the investment.

Instead focus on: Profound RF, which has demonstrated a 94% improvement in cellulite severity after just a single treatment. The Body Ballancer is another effective solution. It stimulates the lymphatic system, accelerating lymphatic drainage, removing excess fluids, and destroying waste, debris, dead blood cells, pathogens and other toxins.

This is very beneficial in improving the appearance of cellulite and skin tone and reducing areas of swelling. A course of treatments can help to boost circulation, bringing healthy oxygenated blood to the areas being treated that, when combined with the massage action, will help improve cellulite effectively.

If you’d like to find out more about the treatment options, click here to book a consultation or to enquire.