It sounds like a trick question, and many people don’t know the answer when asked to name the largest organ in the body. When they think of an organ, they automatically guess the lungs, liver, or even heart. And while skin IS the largest organ in the body, it is also one of the most ignored. Even with twenty-two square feet on the average adult, it’s easy to take it for granted. When thinking about visiting a dermatologist, most patients have lots of questions because many have never seen a specialist for their skin before.
Some common issues that compel people to see a dermatologist are wrinkles, dryness, brown spots caused by sun damage, and other signs their skin is aging. As people age, their skin loses collagen, which causes a corresponding loss in elasticity that leads to wrinkles. Not to mention the effects of gravity, a well-known fact of nature. It is fortunate to be able to live in a time with continuing advances in medical and cosmetic treatments to counteract the natural aging process. When people look back at photographs of their grandparents at age forty, fifty, and sixty, they don’t look anything like today’s average patient. Sunscreens and other protection have come into common use and have started protecting later generations from a lot of the sun damage that can occur, even from an early age.
Current Anti-Aging Procedures
There is truly no comparison to the juggernaut of injectable treatments. It’s hard to even imagine that Botox was only first discovered for cosmetic purposes in 1987. A married couple of Canadian doctors discovered that, after talking their receptionist into being their first guinea pig, her forehead wrinkles magically disappeared a few days after they injected her with botulinum toxin. Patients looking to get rid of wrinkles spend four billion dollars in the U.S. alone each year.
What makes injectables so popular? For starters, they work. They’re minimally-invasive, fast acting, and require little to no downtime. In the 1990’s the first fillers based on hyaluronic acid were developed and were approved by the FDA in the 2000’s. Non-permanent, temporary fillers continue to rise in popularity, and are closing in fast on Botox, with millions of dollars spent each year.
Patients who have regularly maintained their treatments over the years are always delighted to share with their dermatologists that even their closest friends have no idea that they get injectables. One woman in her sixties reported getting compliments that she looked like she had lost weight, when she had actually gotten some filler in her thinning lips. In fact, many baby boomer men and women are finding they can get minimal and realistic filler in their lips by an experienced injector to replace lost volume, and will not end up with an obvious “duck lips” look.
Top-Rated Dermatology Practices Often Feature Facial Treatments Customized to Their Patients’ Needs
Effective skin care doesn’t need to be too complicated, as long as it is used consistently. Products that provide protection from sun damage and drying soap products, and provide a moisturizing barrier, can noticeably improve the texture of most skin. For the face, specialty products are generally recommended due to the thinner layer of skin on the face, especially around the eye area.
Healthy skin begins with clean, clear skin. Regular facials can provide patients with the literal foundation for other more specialized treatments. Facials can be designed to focus on brightening, hydrating, exfoliating or purifying. Extraction treatments can be added on to remove whiteheads and blackheads professionally and completely.
A wide array of facial treatments may be available at highly-regarded dermatologists in Sterling Heights, including chemical peels, microdermabrasion, dermal infusion, and even Omnilux phototherapy. Chemical peels have been shown to be a tried and true method for exfoliating the skin to removed damaged skin cells, revealing smooth, clear layers underneath. Different formulas are used depending on the depth of peel desired.
Microdermabrasion is similar to a chemical peel in that it removes damaged skin cells, but it does it mechanically rather than with chemicals. It combines gently firing pressurized microscopic crystals into the skin, with a suction device that takes away the debris.
Dermal infusion takes treatments to the next level with exfoliation and the added step of infusing intensive condition-specific serums with hydration and nutrients. Omnilux phototherapy is a specialized LED light used to treat acne, support skin rejuvenation and provide a more even skin tone. These are all excellent noninvasive treatments that require minimal downtime.
Skin Care (Not) For the Masses
Google “best skin care products” and you’ll get 2,850,000,000 results in less than two seconds. In the anti-aging category alone, advertisers in the U.S. spent nearly six million dollars each week to promote their brands. You cannot open a browser, a magazine, or watch a television show without seeing the skin care industry’s ads guaranteed to make you look like a movie star. Many of these products are purchased by excited customers once, then discarded when they don’t provide even minimal results.
Top dermatologists unanimously recommend medical grade skin care products for a reason. They are proven to be effective and are they are the very best way to maintain results from any cosmetic procedures dermatologists administer. Because they are developed and manufactured to the highest standards, they are scientifically proven and clinically tested to actually provide the results they promise. There is no such thing as a product or miracle cream that will provide immediate and lasting results, however. They key is consistency, matched with the proper minimally invasive procedures, to achieve results that will leave patients smiling when they look in the mirror.
More Selfies, Less Filters in the Future
One advantage of the plethora of filter apps on phones is that women and men alike can see what a few “blurs” can do to erase wrinkles. And as the younger generation already knows, most people don’t look that great in real life without the help of a dermatologist and their staff. By visiting them regularly, patients can keep their skin healthy while looking their very best, no matter their age.