Spotlight on the Latest Anti-Aging and Aesthetic Beauty Treatments

This past year, the start of a new decade has brought a change in ways that no one could have predicted. On the positive side, people are finding new ways to pass the time at home and get caught up on all the self-care items that have long been pushed down their to-do lists. For many women, quarantine has brought new aesthetic changes from at-home haircuts, to box hair dyes and DIY-ing their way through wardrobe changes and ambidextrous manicures. Not only has this past year ushered in a new way of living, but it has also given us time to slow down to invest in and get to know ourselves and our bodies again.

The body positivity movement is alive and thriving as social media influencers, artists, and other inspiring women spread messages of self-love and acceptance. Although many women still want to make changes to augment how they look and feel, they’re skewing more towards enhancements rather than full-blown anti-aging transformations; the latest aesthetic beauty treatments are no longer being called “treatments” at all, rather they’re natural-looking “tweakments.” While quarantine might be slowing down the number of procedures and “tweakments” that can happen outside of the home, these are the trends in aesthetic beauty treatments that we see coming as quarantine releases its reigns throughout the rest of the year.

Ultherapy

Ultherapy is a non-invasive skin tightening and lifting procedure for the face and body. Ultherapy uses ultrasound frequencies to stimulate more collagen production within the deepest layers of your skin with no down time. Ultherapy has been performed over a million times already and we expect that number to keep growing throughout 2020. It’s a great alternative to needle-based injections to lift and firm the face, like Botox, that needs to be readministered multiple times to see lasting anti-aging results. Instead, Ultherapy does the opposite; results from your first appointment last for as long as your skin continues to produce collagen! 

Profhilo

Profhilo is considered a natural “bio remodeling injectable” that returns elasticity, volume, and hydration to the skin, causing anti-aging effects. Profhilo is made from 100% hyaluronic acid, an acid that is found naturally in the human body. This injectable aesthetic treatment works to slowly release hyaluronic acid to hydrate skin and promote collagen production from the inside out and lasts for up to 6 months. This mimics your skin’s natural process of lifting, firming, tightening, and hydrating itself, all without any noticeable side effects or downtime. It’s almost like taking a vitamin supplement to replenish what your body already makes for you!

Gentle Fractional Laser Treatments

Laser treatments aren’t going anywhere. In fact, they have improved in recent years to repair sun damage, skin pigmentation, scarring, and filling facial lines and wrinkles. Laser treatments work by removing certain wavelengths of light from a laser to concentrate the remaining wavelengths to be absorbed by different cells in the skin and target specific skin results. These treatments can be great for anti-aging by improving overall texture and restoring skin to its original state after damage has been done.

EMsculpting

EMsculpting is a device that uses electromagnetic therapy to sculpt the body through enlarging and growing muscles. EMsculpting is commonly used to tone and shape the abdominals, buttocks, arms, calves and thighs. In this totally non-invasive procedure, electromagnetic pulses are sent into the muscles, causing them to contract in what they call “super maximal contractions”. In one 30 minute procedure, EMsculpting causes the muscles to contract 20,000 times, comparable to doing 20,000 crunches in one sitting. Not only does this help to build muscle, it also burns fat stores in the target areas. After four Emsculpt sessions over a two week period, you’ll leave with minor soreness but almost immediate results that last several weeks. If you have an active lifestyle and begin working out the targeted areas, you can extend the results for even longer.

At Home Devices

COVID-19 has slowed down nearly every service industry you can imagine, including aesthetics. Now that many women are taking their beauty routines into their own hands, aesthetic device companies are catching up with hand-held DIY devices. Laser hair removal is a fairly common treatment but it requires multiple appointments in order for it to be successful. Now, at-home devices like the CosBeauty Hair Removal System and OXYjet GO are making aesthetic treatments like laser hair removal and skin cell rejuvenation as simple as pushing a button. While a lower price tag and greater flexibility might attract customers eager to further their anti-aging and aesthetic skin care routines, it’s best to talk to a dermatologist or plastic surgeon first about getting the treatment administered by a professional.

Choosing a Plastic Surgeon vs Cosmetic Surgeon

Before you start scheduling your next appointment, let’s first address the differences in the types of surgeons who can and should perform them for you. Many people think that plastic and cosmetic surgeons are interchangeable, but really, their titles can make a world of a difference in the quality you receive both in your treatment and in the exploration of your treatment options.

Despite misleading names, both cosmetic and plastic surgery can include surgical, non-surgical, and minimally invasive procedures. While a plastic surgeon has to go through 6 to 8 years of training in order to be board-certified, usually under the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), cosmetic surgeons only have to be certified in one cosmetic procedure in order to earn their title. As long as you have a valid medical license, you can become a “cosmetic surgeon”. This means that the cosmetic surgeon may pigeon-hole you into getting that one particular procedure that they may or may not have been trained in rather than exploring your full potential of procedures and choosing the one that is right for you. For your own health, safety, and the best results of your treatment, it’s extremely important that you look for a board certified plastic surgeon, not just any old “cosmetic” surgeon.

For as much research as you may put into the treatment you want to have done, make sure that you also devote time to learning about what surgeons are available. A fail-proof way of testing an advertised “board-certified plastic surgeon” is to ask which board they are certified with. If it’s not the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, you might want to raise an eyebrow. You can also check out ASPS’s website or the BeautyBrokerOfficial to get recommendations for a reputable certified plastic surgeon in your area!

Listen to Your Body

A pillar to living your best life is loving the body you’re in. The body you have is yours to listen to, grow with, and change as much or as little as you want. The key is to approach anti-aging beauty treatments in a way that feels fulfilling and authentic to who you are, your goals, and your limits. Practice self love whenever you can by taking care of your body, learning its limits, accepting what cannot be changed, and loving your body just as it loves and takes care of you.