THE TWENTIES– In your 20s, deep collagen is generally still in great shape, but superficial collagen starts to break down. Skin loses a little of its shine and elasticity.

• Microdermabrasion: gets rid of dead skin cells allowing skin care to be more effective, leaves skin looking bright and glowing. Great to get your skin glowing with no downtime.
• Intense Pulse Light (IPL): a light-based treatment that stimulates surface level collagen, destroys free radicals, reduces inflammation.
• Clear + Brilliant: Perfect to do a series of 3 sessions during the colder months of the year, to erase Summer sun damage, stimulate surface collagen, and improve skin texture. Once a month will have your skin looking red carpet ready.
• Fillers: Even in your 20’s adding subtle volume to the lips and cheeks is a great way to maintain a youthful profile and correct balance with facial proportions.
• Botox: Keep those wrinkles at bay with some preventative Botox. Neuromodulators act by inhibiting muscle movement. Before these lines have a chance to become deep wrinkles and furrows, products like Botox are great.

THE THIRTIES – In your 30s, deep collagen breakdown exceeds new collagen production. Skin starts to lose its bounce-back.

• Fraxel Dual Laser: Re-texturizes skin’s surface, removes sun damaged cells, brown spots, and boosts deep collagen production. A wonderful treatment to try during the colder months, but plan on about a week of recovery time as your skin is rejuvenated.
• MicroNeedling: A minimally invasive procedure that works by creating a series of micro-channels on the skin. This stimulates collagen and provides a way to infuse topical skincare like stem cells & growth factors. What you’ll love is smoother, glowing and younger looking skin but without the trauma or downtime you might experience with other treatments. MicroNeedling is also safe for all skin types!
• Must Haves- Again, I recommend continuing with a regimen of medical-grade skin care, and by this age you should be using a growth factor or stem cell product to boost collagen. Also consider a skin brightener (like Lytera Skin Brightening Complex by SkinMedica) to even skin tone and to give your skin a nice glow.
• Treatments- Continue the regimen from your 20s, and add Botox every 6 months to soften wrinkles and prevent deep wrinkles from forming.

THE FORTIES – In your 40s, collagen breakdown and facial fat loss take away the full, bouncy appearance of a youthful face.

• Thermage Radiofrequency Therapy: stimulates collagen regeneration, tightens, lifts and contours- giving skin back its youthful bounce and firmness. This is a great treatment to do once a year (at any time) to keep collagen breakdown at bay.
• Threads: One of the most exciting advances in aesthetic medicine have been in PDO (polydioxanone) threads. Threads are made of an absorbable surgical suture that are specially designed to lift the skin all while stimulating collagen. Treatment results can last 12-18 months and are an excellent alternative to plastic surgery.
• Must Haves- As before, I suggest continuing with medical-grade skin care, including growth factors and stem cell products (Sente’s Dermal Pressed Contour Serum or NeoCutis BioSerum). I believe patients of this age will most likely need to add dermal fillers to replace volume loss & to counteract the force of gravity. Repeated use of dermal fillers can also stimulate collagen production in the deep layers, which adds more support for the overlying skin- again returning a youthful appearance.
• Treatments- Continue treatment regimen from your 20s and 30s. You may need to do treatments more frequently.

THE FIFTIES TO SIXTIES

The strategy in the 50s shifts from Prevention (20s/30s) to Restoration & Structure.

1. Structural Restoration (The “Liquid Lift”)

In your 50s, the skull shrinks slightly and fat pads slide down. You cannot just fill wrinkles; you must rebuild the framework.

Sculptra (Biostimulator):

Why: This is the #1 recommendation for the 50s. Unlike gel fillers that can look “puffy,” Sculptra forces your body to grow its own new collagen. It restores the deep volume lost in temples and cheeks naturally.

Protocol: Usually 3 sessions spaced 6 weeks apart.

Radiesse (Jawline Definition):

Why: A calcium-based filler that is stiffer than hyaluronic acid. It mimics bone, making it perfect for re-defining a jawline that has softened into jowls.

2. Tightening & Lifting (The “Non-Surgical Facelift”)

Loose skin (laxity) becomes the primary complaint. Creams cannot fix this; you need energy-based devices.

Thermage FLX:

Why: These use Ultrasound or Radiofrequency to heat the deep SMAS layer (the same layer a surgeon cuts). It “shrink-wraps” the skin against the muscle.

Best For: Hooded eyelids and “Turkey Neck.”

PDO Threads:

Why: Dissolvable surgical threads placed under the skin to physically lift sagging cheeks and jowls instantly.

Best For: An immediate event-ready lift.

3. Surface Correction (Sun Damage & Texture)

Decades of sun exposure often surface now as “age spots” and dullness.

BBL (BroadBand Light) “Forever Young”:

Why: It pulls pigment (brown spots) and redness (broken capillaries) out of the skin. Studies show regular BBL treatments can actually alter the gene expression of skin to resemble younger skin.

Areas: Essential to treat the Neck, Chest (Décolletage), and Hands—these areas often betray age more than the face

4. Smart Injectables (Softening, Not Freezing)

Over-botoxing in the 50s can make the brows feel heavy and drop.

Nefertiti Lift: Injecting the neck bands (platysma) to stop the neck from looking “ropey.”

Restorative Lip Filler:

Goal: Not big lips. The goal is hydration and border definition to stop lipstick from bleeding into fine lines.

Product: Restylane Kysse or Volbella.

THE SEVENTIES & ABOVE

For patients in their 70s and beyond, the strategy shifts from “Prevention” or “Stimulation” to Restoration and Comfort.

At this stage, the body’s ability to produce massive amounts of new collagen slows down, bone resorption (shrinking of the skull) is more advanced, and the skin becomes thinner and more fragile. Therefore, the best procedures prioritize immediate structure, hydration, and gentle handling.

Here are the top recommendations for the 70+ demographic:

1. The “Liquid Lift” (Instant Volume)

Because facial fat pads and bone have significantly depleted, skin hangs because there is nothing “holding it up.” We need to rebuild the tent poles.

Voluma or Restylane Lyft (Cheeks):

Why: We use thick, robust Hyaluronic Acid fillers to mimic bone on the cheekbones. This lifts the mid-face instantly.

Radiesse (Jawline & Hands):

Why: Radiesse is a calcium-based filler that offers structural support.

2. Eye Restoration (Vision & Aesthetics)

Heavy lids can make you look tired and even obstruct vision.

Upneeq (The Eye Drop):

Why: A prescription eye drop that lifts the upper eyelid muscle (Müller’s muscle) in about 15 minutes. It opens the eyes wide for 6–8 hours—perfect for events.

4. Color Correction (Removing “Barnacles” & Spots)

Cumulative sun damage manifests as Age Spots (Solar Lentigines) and Seborrheic Keratosis (“barnacles”).

BBL (BroadBand Light) / IPL:

Why: The most effective way to “lift” brown pigment out of the skin. It’s excellent for the face, neck, and back of hands.

5. The “Grumpy” Fix (Lower Face Botox)

We use Toxin (Botox/Dysport) very conservatively here. We avoid freezing the forehead (which can drop the heavy brows further). Instead, we focus on the mouth.

What to Avoid in the 70s:

Aggressive RF Microneedling (Morpheus8): If the skin is too thin (like tissue paper), high-heat needles can sometimes cause scarring or lack of healing.

Over-filling: Trying to erase every wrinkle with filler creates an unnatural “pillow face.” The goal should be looking fresh, not looking 30.

Heavy Forehead Botox: As mentioned, this often causes the eyebrows to feel heavy or droop, as patients in their 70s use their forehead muscles to hold their eyes open.