Seven secrets to look younger for longer by Dr Rekha Tailor
Reaching the half-century milestone causes lots of changes – emotional and physical. Dr Rekha Tailor, a leading doctor in medical aesthetics, believes that the changes to the face are often the most significant. She believes that surgery is not the only way to restore the looks and reveals alternative ways to reverse the signs of ageing
‘When women hit 50 the menopause has usually caused changes to their skin because of the fact that their body stops making as much collagen,’ explains Dr Rekha Tailor. ‘The fat under your skin decreases as does the skin’s elasticity, especially around the neck, jaw and cheeks. This not only causes saggy skin but also lines and wrinkles.’
Whilst some people believe that surgery is the only way to restore their face to how it was before and look younger than what they are, Dr Rekha Tailor, medical director and founder of www.healthandaesthetics.co.uk is keen to assert that it is possible to reverse the signs of ageing without going under the knife.
These include:
Drink more:
One of the fastest and easiest ways to make your face look younger is hydration. Whether that’s plain old water you’re drinking, or by taking a Skinade drink once a day. This product, used by the likes of Victoria Beckham stimulates the body to produce more collagen.
Heat up:
‘Ultherapy is a nonsurgical skin-tightening treatment that uses micro-focussed, ultrasound energy to gently heat the tissue and stimulate the body’s natural production of collagen and elastin, tightening and lifting the skin. It’s FDA-cleared for the neck, chin, brow, and chest areas, and can postpone the need for surgery for many years,’ explains Dr Rekha Tailor. ‘This can improve the neck and jawline, and produce extremely effective results.’
Exercise:
Studies have shown that exercise may actually turn off the aging process in your chromosomes. Similarly it can create chemicals in your body that help slow ageing in the skin. So instead of driving to work, try walking, or even just go for a brisk walk three times a week.
Use your own blood:
‘That’s right! PRP, or platelet rich plasma therapy is a treatment that separates your blood so that you can inject the platelets back into the skin which then release growth factors and healing agents which will assist in more collagen growth. It helps improve the volume of the skin, reduce the appearance of fine lines, and improve skin texture, tone, pore size and luminosity. What's more, this is a completely natural treatment using your own blood so risks really are minimal.’
Wear a moisturiser with sunscreen:
It’s estimated that 90% of skin ageing is due to the effects of the sun. So by wearing a moisturiser on your face you won’t only be helping to hydrate your skin which will reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, by making sure it has a sunscreen in it too (ideally factor 30 and above) you’ll be preventing further ageing caused by the sun from happening.
Take vitamins:
‘Mesotherapy is also a good option for improving the volume of the skin,’ says Dr Rekha Tailor. ‘This is a treatment which employs multiple injections of hyaluronic acid, vitamins, amino acids and growth factors. The procedure can treat a variety of issues including the fine wrinkles and lines on the neck area and can even rejuvenate the scalp for those suffering with thinning hair. It can also rejuvenate, rehydrate and tighten ageing skin.
The treatment takes around half an hour and involves small quantities of the individually tailored Hyaluronic Acid blends being injected into the desired area.’
Cool off:
‘Great for targeting areas such as double chins and creating a more defined jawline, CoolSculpting is a world-leading non-invasive fat-reduction treatment. It contours the body by freezing unwanted fat and involves no surgery and minimal downtime,’ explains Dr Rekha Tailor. ‘The procedure delivers cooling to target the fat cells underneath the skin. Treated fat cells are frozen and destroyed creating a more sculpted looking appearance without the need for needles.’