In a society fixated on eternal youth, women have never before been under as much pressure to look their best as they age. One of the most common things that my patients say when they come to see me is ‘I feel like I’ve suddenly aged ten years overnight’. When your face starts losing its youthful volume, it’s such a slow and stealthy process that we tend not to notice it at first until one day we have a ‘horror moment’ realisation of how much has changed. But whilst we can’t control the ageing process, one thing we can control is how we manage our own ageing experience.

A plethora of mature celebrities have recently spoken out about having undergone various tweakments and procedures in a bid to rewind the years, including tennis coach Judy Murray, who last year decided to explore RF microneedling to tighten the skin on her face and neck. Her beautiful transformation shocked and inspired many. Over the last couple of years, demand for aesthetic procedures has drastically surged – but can a non-surgical approach really help you look ten years younger?

Why do I suddenly look so old?

Even if you don’t naturally have a particularly plump face, we all have around twenty fat pads in our cheeks, under our eyes, around our temples and down to our chin. When these fat pads start receding, as they do in our forties, our face starts to look a little sunken and droopy. We usually notice this first around our eyes, then the cheeks begin to look less full, which is when you may start seeing the change.

To make matters worse, some of these fat pads collect in the lower face, leading to a jowly jaw.

Collagen and elastin, the proteins that keep the skin firm and springy, break down as we age, contributing to sagging and wrinkling. This gets much worse for women when we hit the menopause, and thanks to a reduction in oestrogen, collagen production more or less stops altogether.

So, what can we do to prevent and correct these changes and restore the skin’s youthful vitality?

Skin tightening

Skin tightening procedures are possibly the most highly requested treatments in my clinic – and I have two devices in my treatment toolkit that deliver highly impressive results.

The first is a treatment known as ‘Sofwave’ – a device that utilises Synchronous Ultrasound Parallel Beam Technology, which heats the tissue at the correct depth and temperature to rejuvenate and stimulate collagen and elastin fibres to improve the skin’s overall appearance. This process will tighten and lift the skin whilst smoothing lines and wrinkles. When performed as a full-face treatment, this will give you a smoother, more youthful, tighter complexion and enhance the skin’s overall appearance.

The second is the Profound RF which kickstarts collagen production from deep within. Profound RF delivers radiofrequency into the deeper layers of the skin to awaken your body’s natural healing process by stimulating the production of three skin elements – collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid, resulting in a tighter, smoother, more lifted appearance.

The best thing about Profound is that it increases elastin production by about five-fold, doubling collagen levels in the skin and dramatically increasing hyaluronic acid levels. In clinical trials, Profound RF was found to deliver 1/3 of the result of a surgical facelift in just a single treatment and had a 100% response rate for reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles. So, yes, it really can take years off your skin.

Brighter eyes

With age, we may notice heavier eyelids and drooping brows. Something that affects the eye enormously is the temple. Re-volumising sunken temples gives the lateral brow and upper eyelid support, leading to more refreshed, less heavy eyes. Sofwave can also correct a drooping brow, stimulating collagen and elastin replenishment to lift hooded eyelids and reveal a fresher, youthful appearance.

A fresher face

If you’re hoping to restore some fullness or definition, fillers are generally the best option. Facial fillers enable us to create a very natural, well-rested appearance, more like how you looked before the ageing process hit. We aim to restore harmony and balance to the face so that you come away looking healthy and rejuvenated – and without any apparent signs of treatment.

When it comes to rebuilding volume, we’ll use filler to make minor adjustments, for example, raising the tip of the nose, strengthening a receding chin, or adding definition to the jawline.

But there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution. You will have your own carefully tailored treatment plan that considers your age, skin condition and personal objectives, as well as your facial structure.

Optimised hormones

For anyone in midlife concerned about skin changes, mood, sleep, or hair loss, hormone optimisation is well worth exploring. Good levels of oestrogen and progesterone in women can positively impact their skin and enable collagen production, which maintains firm, plump skin in the long run.

Radiant, hydrated skin

Many of us suffer from a less-than-glowy complexion thanks to a decrease in hyaluronic acid in the skin as we get older. But skin boosters like Profhilo promise brighter, bouncier, and more even-textured skin – a supercharged approach that works its magic from the inside out, boosting moisture and luminosity. Profhilo works by injecting tiny amounts of hyaluronic acid superficially into your skin to help with skin tone and dramatically increase moisture. It also has the added benefit of helping to firm and tighten the skin, reducing crepiness. The result is younger, plumper, more radiant skin.

Keeping your expectations realistic 

So, can these treatments take ten years off your face? Possibly. It all depends on how well you’ve looked after your skin over the years and how aged your skin is when you start. But the right aesthetic treatments can certainly help. They don’t all involve needles, they don’t have to be painful and, if you choose the right practitioners, you won’t end up looking ‘fake’ or ‘different’, you’ll simply look fresher and more restored. When done right, tweakments can take years off your face. They provide options to help us manage how we look as we age, which can positively impact our confidence, keeping us looking and feeling great for a lot longer.

If you’d like to find out more about injectables and how it can help you, click here to book a consultation.