AGEING HAS NEVER BEEN easier on the body or on the mind than it is now. It’s far easier for us in the 21st century to win the race against time than it was for our mothers and grandmothers. But at the same time, the amount of skincare products out there can be daunting, and confusion about what’s good for you and what isn’t is rampant. It’s important to properly understand your skin and what it needs before embarking on any kind of cosmetology adventure. Luckily enough, maintaining your youth and beauty does not necessarily equal to painful procedures and treatments. The perfect contour of the chin, plump lips, high cheekbones and a slim jaw line are literally a painless prick away.

If you have considered going under the knife, you can now breathe a sigh of relief and reconsider the myriad options you have to choose from, each of which is extremely effective and safe. Popularly referred to as ‘liquid facelifts’, dermal fillers are by far the best and quickest way to restore lost volume to the face or to even rectify problems such as a drooping forehead, a disproportionate chin or ageing hands. The main premise of ageing is that the skin loses volume and begins to droop and sag making you look tired and older.

Dermal fillers are effective in smoothing the texture of your skin and removing lines as well as adding shape and contour to sunken areas of the face. Safe and efficient, these fillers consist of hyaluronic acid (HA), which is found naturally in the skin. HA possesses the ability to retain and hold the moisture in your skin, and this is essentially the secret to youthful looking skin. Ageing robs us of this innate ability to hold in moisture. As we get older our bodies produce less and less HA. The drop in HA starts around the age of 18-20 years. After the age of 40 the effects become apparent. The skin starts to lose its elasticity and lines and wrinkles appear. HA also supports the formation and maintenance of collagen, an important connective tissue. Collagen degradation is believed to cause a decrease in skin tone and elasticity. Healthy, youthful skin comes from the inside, but by replacing the components that naturally deplete with age, we can reverse the signs associated with ageing. HA supplementation puts in what is naturally lost to restore radiance and youth. Fillers are made of a fully degradable complex sugar molecule and have been used around the world for several years now with an outstanding safety record. The effect of new generation fillers like Juvéderm last for more than 6 months making this is a cost effective treatment.

The two foremost things to bear in mind before undergoing any anti-ageing treatment is that the results should look as natural as possible and that the harmony of your facial features remains preserved. An overdone look can have the opposite effect of what you actually set out to achieve. Starting with the top of the face and working our way downwards, here’s how dermal fillers can make a world of a difference to your appearance by filling in, revolumising or plumping up the area as deemed necessary by your cosmetologist.

With the right combination of fillers for revolumising, Botox to wipe away wrinkles, a skin resurfacing laser to tighten the skin and peels for pigmentation problems, you will find a marked improvement in your appearance. Coupled with lifestyle changes like getting enough sleep, following a healthy diet and exercise plan and supplementing your diet with the right nutraceuticals, there isn’t any reason to keep you from looking and feeling better than you have in years.

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