Facial rejuvenation

Over time, skin loses its youthful appearance. This natural ageing process is often accelerated by:

• Hereditary factors
• Sun exposure
• Cigarette smoking
• Chicken pox and acne

The visible results are superficial blemishes – broken capillaries, freckles (lentigos), and keratoses (dry spots), scars, fine wrinkles and deep furrows.

Rejuvenation of facial skin can be achieved in a number of different ways.

Filler substances (implantations): for crows' feet, whistle lines and some scars.

• Collagen: a natural bovine extract. Tests for allergy are essential.
• Hyaluronic acid: non-collagen material suitable for deeper lines and lip augmentation: allergy testing is not necessary.
• Fat injections: extracted from patients own surplus fat
• Synthetic fillers containing polytetrafluoroethylene.

Resurfacing – treatment suitable for the whole face to improve fine lines, dryness, and blotchiness.

• Glycolic acid lotion: apply at night to soften the skin
• Kinerase® (furfurinyl acid), an anti-ageing preparation applied twice daily
• Vitamin-C solutions: antioxidant to mop up free radicals
• Topical retinoid: prescription cream to reverse photoageing
• Glycolic acid peels; a series of ‘lunch hour’ freshening peels
• TCA chemical peel: medium depth, so a week or so off work is necessary
• Dermabrasion: mechanical smoothing of the skin
• Laser resurfacing: remarkable results are possible.
• Nonablative resurfacing: fractional laser treatment, intense pulsed light, radiothermoplasty and other devices are used to burn or tighten the collagen without removing the surface skin – the skin texture improves with repeated treatment but there is no ‘downtime;’.

Surgery – for sagging and loose skin.

• Full face lift includes muscle/facial tightening for jowls
• Neck lift for loose skin and muscles of the neck
• Temporal lift or endoscopic forehead lift for sagging of the forehead and eyebrow
• Blepharoplasty to remove baggy eyelids.

Botulinum toxin: to paralyse overactive muscles of facial expression especially in the central forehead.

Vascular laser: almost painless treatment of facial capillaries and brown spots on the hands.