No matter what we do or how hard we try, the signs of ageing will eventually creep up on us all. While we can’t halt this natural process, there are certain tips, tricks, and treatments that help minimise the prominence of the visible signs and promote your skin’s health in turn. Let’s explore the signs of ageing skin, the processes behind them, and how we can tackle them with bespoke treatment plans.
The signs of ageing skin
Losing facial volume and skin structure happens at a subcutaneous level, meaning that these changes occur beneath the surface of the skin. There are two main components that combine to loss of facial structure and volume, one which is the loss of fatty tissue as we age. Areas like the cheeks, temples, and under-eyes lose fat volume, causing the skin to thin and appear to ‘hug’ the bones in your face more. The fat in our upper face tends to shrink and sag, whole the fat we store in our lower face typically migrates downwards towards the chin and jowls. Because we lose tissue structure, the fat pockets that we do have remaining begin to be pulled downwards by their own weight. The second variable in losing facial volume and skin structure is collagen, or the natural depletion of such. Collagen is a skin fibre that is essential to laxity, volume, and bounce, so its loss drastically affects how youthful our skin appears. We stop producing collagen in our 20s, and by our 30s our current levels begin a slow and unyielding decline. This means our skin is slowly robbed of remaining volume and structure, leading to thinning skin and falling fat tissue.
Photoaging and sun damage occurs when the ultraviolet in the sun’s light damages precious fibres within our skin, predominantly elastin. These fibres are intrinsic to skin elasticity and firmness, so when they are repeatedly broken down our skin sags and grows loose. This leads to unwanted facial folds, because the skin is lacking its much-needed foundational support. Thinning skin becomes ‘crepey’ and because it has lost its strength, it collapses against itself in thin folds. This is why sun protection is so valuable all year round!
Hyperpigmentation also occurs through repeated sun damage, activating a protective reaction from your skin. Hormones flush your skin with melanin in a process that is not 100% understood by dermatologists and scientists in an inflammatory response. After repeated sun exposure, this melanin production remains permanently activated and continues to develop hyperpigmentation. You might like our blog post on the causes of hyperpigmentation if you’re experiencing pigmented sun damage and are seeking ways to treat it.
So, how does Ultherapy improve ageing skin?
Losing skin structure and collagen, whether through natural processes or sun damage, can be rejuvenated using Ultherapy. It’s important to understand the processes happening beneath your skin, because this is what makes Ultherapy such a valuable treatment. In fact, most clients only need one treatment before achieving their optimum results!
Ultherapy uses a handheld device to deliver ultrasound energy to deep levels of the skin. This focussed energy produces the optimal temperature for new collagen production and jump-starts the natural processes of regeneration. This is all that is required – no topical products, no breaking the skin, no injections. It only uses your own natural processes to rejuvenate tired, thinning, and sagging areas. The device is simply moved across your treatment areas slowly to stimulate the natural lifting and tightening effects that will become visible over the next two to three months. Ultherapy improves ageing skin because it directly stimulates the fresh production of the skin fibres that the natural ageing process has depleted. However, it doesn’t just focus on your facial skin. Because the ageing process and sun damage becomes visible on our neck, chest, and collarbone, Ultherapy is also suitable for these areas too. We don’t always consider protecting these areas with sun cream because we forget they’re often exposed even when in day-to-day t-shirts, but the thinning skin here is also treatable with this innovative collagen-inducing therapy.
Ageing skin is a fact of life and constantly on the horizon, because it’s just a part of nature. However, there are treatments that use your natural skin processes to rejuvenate ageing skin to soften the visible appearance of ageing. Enquire online or speak to a member of our booking team on 01463 830149 to find out about Ultherapy in Inverness today!