In partnership with SA’s top medical aesthetic companies
The first thing to understand is that attaining or preserving healthy skin (if there’s damage, it is possible to reverse a fair amount) is a holistic process. This means that the suggested strategies need to work together for effective results.
Pillar 1
Skin Renewal, Body Renewal and Health Renewal are of the opinion that maintaining a healthy lifestyle should underpin everything we do in life – and this includes skin health. It makes sense that a healthy and balanced body translates to a healthy skin, unless there are underlying issues that need to be addressed.
You know what to do…
- Eat a well-balanced diet that contains mostly raw food; try to choose organic options, if possible; and cut out processed food and sugar – have these as a very occasional treat, if you must.
- Drink enough water – eight glasses a day appears to be the magic number.
- Get enough sleep – that means between seven and nine hours, optimally.
- Nurture your gut health – eat probiotic-rich fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi and live yoghurt. Take probiotic supplements with at least six strains of probiotics.
- Exercise regularly – while we struggle to find the time, fitting in a fitness half-hour three times a week – keeping your heart rate elevated for 30 minutes at a time – goes a long way to keeping body, mind and spirit happy.
- Reduce stress levels – take this seriously for your physical, mental, emotional and skin health. Try meditation and yoga.
- Moderate intake of alcohol – one glass a day at most, and try to make it antioxidant-rich red wine or low-carb whisky.
- Quit smoking. Just-do-it!
- Treat the sun with healthy respect, and follow the sun-safe rules year round.
Pillar 2
Developing a relationship with a trusted skin-care therapist from your twenties on pays dividends in keeping your skin in a good condition throughout your life. At your regular monthly facial, she will monitor your skin and address any issues before they become problematic.
Then there are the bigger, periodic interventions, performed when needed as ageing-preventive, youth-maintenance or skin-repair measures.
These are your introduction to aesthetic non-surgical, non-invasive treatments:
Using injectables such as Dysport helps to smooth lines and wrinkles. Dermal fillers such as Princess allow for subtle contouring of the profile and plumping of areas that have lost volume, and threads such as Princess Lift or Silhouette lift and tighten the skin without cutting.
These procedures require zero to little downtime, you can often resume your day afterwards. Subtlety is the watchword here, and entrusting your face to an experienced, well-trained injector is essential.
Pillar 3
The third pillar is non-surgical treatments for skin conditioning and collagen stimulation, which are your options to address the effects of skin ageing when metabolic processes start slowing down, affecting skin cell repair and rejuvenation. They are also excellent for repairing long-term damage, dramatically improving the appearance and texture of sun- and life-frazzled skin.
Treatments such as the Platelet Rich Plasma (vampire facial), lasers such as the Fraxel DUAL, radiofrequency and light therapy have the ability to reach the deepest layers of the dermis to treat issues from acne scarring to pigmentation and wrinkling.
Pillar 4
Part of the holistic treatment is laying a good foundation with an effective home-care skin routine. Choose cosmeceutical ranges such as Neostrata and Obagi, which contain active ingredients that have a proven beneficial effect on maintaining skin cell youth and health, rather than an over the counter product.
The products you choose should work on the GRASS principle, with optimal quantity and quality of the following: Growth factors, Retinol, Antioxidants, Sunscreen and speciality products. You will find Skin Renewal-approved aesthetic skin-care ranges in their online skin care store. Ask advice from the experienced online advisors for solutions that suit your need, skin condition and budget.