Perfect Skin Youth Maintenance

My best advice on anti-aging skincare products

For those who wish to preserve their skin, prevent sun damage, or invest in procedures (botulinum injections, fillers, lasers, peels), it’s essential to use the right products to preserve and enhance your results. Although not an instant improvement (most see a change in about 90 days), a smart line-up of products is important for anyone interested in maintaining or improving the health and appearance of their skin. Almost anyone over the age of 20 can benefit from education and direction towards clinically proven and effective skin products.

Skincare formulations have kept my interest since residency, and I have continued to scrutinize the science behind these formulations. It’s true that the right skin care products can make a significant difference in your appearance. I’m here to help you navigate which products will help you to look your very best.

In the world of skin lotions, potions, and supplements, there are three main classes:

• Prescriptions – a health care provider’s written authorization for a patient to purchase a prescription drug from a pharmacist or other authorized dispensing agent.
• Cosmetics – products used to cleanse and beautify the skin (what you can buy over the counter at Walgreens or Nordstrom).
• Cosmeceuticals – cosmetics with “drug-like” effects. This third category is not formally recognized by the FDA, however. Many of these products require supervision under the guidance of a medically licensed practitioner, as they are much more potent (effective) than what you can buy over the counter. These are typically found in physician’s offices and some Medispas.

The perfect skin essential youth maintenance program

1. Sunscreen: If you do only one thing for your skin, it should be to protect it by using sunscreen daily. All these recommendations include sunscreens that also protect you from infra-red (IR), which prevents discoloration of skin. 

Our picks:

Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Brush-on Shield 50 SPF ($65): a mineral powder sunscreen that works well for those who are active and perspiring (doesn’t run into eyes, as it’s not a lotion), or acne-prone (doesn’t clog pores). Protection also includes infrared (IR) heat. Comes with a slight tint, so it doesn’t look paste-y on your skin (and three additional darker tints). This product has a built-in retractable brush and is great to keep in your purse or golf bag for touch-ups. Use it with Hydrating Setting Mist ($39).

Colorescience Total Protection Face Shield (Body Shield) 50 SPF: a broad-spectrum sunscreen including infrared (heat) protection. Recent studies show that melasma and other abnormal pigment production can be triggered by, not only UVA and UVB rays but also by infrared waves. This is your safest bet if you are pigment-prone. Also available in bronze seasonally (Face: $39; Body $45).

Colorescience Even-up:  Even-up is Colorescience’s greatest answer to broad-spectrum sunscreen (including infra-red protection), mineral fusion (improves skin texture), color coverage (subtle), and gentle lighteners to give you the most flawless finish. This is the answer for those individuals who want a fresh, not overdone appearance, and for those over 50, where too much makeup starts to make us look older than we are. At $125, it is not cheap, but you are getting a lot of components combined into one. This is our absolute, best-selling product ($125).

Alastin Hydratint Pro Mineral Broad-Spectrum Sunscreen SPF36: A lightweight, mineral-based, universal-tint sunscreen with IR protectants and rich antioxidants ($55).

Sunbetter Tone Smart SPF 68 Sunscreen Compact (with IR protectants): a convenient compact with light, tinted coverage giving you a finished look ($55).

2. Antioxidants: offer an added degree of sun protection, repair DNA breakage that can lead to skin cancer, increase collagen production, and lighten skin discoloration caused by the sun. Your skin color looks more even, less inflamed, and with fewer fine wrinkles. This product is also a “must” as preventative care for at-risk individuals.

Our Picks:

Skinbetter Alto Defense Serum: a potent vitamin C formulation with superior skin penetration and 20% vitamin C. Combines Vitamin C and E + 17 additional antioxidant ingredients designed to provide a new level of comprehensive and dynamic defense against free radicals. Improves the appearance of uneven skin tone and redness ($145).

Revision C+ Correcting Complex 30%: contains the highest concentration of stable vitamin C available. This is a powerhouse product that defends and corrects skin-damaging effects from environmental free radicals (urban dust, blue light, IR). This is the next generation of vitamin C. 87% of users saw visibly brighter skin, 94% reported improvement in evenness of skin tone, 84% saw visibly firmer skin, and 90% of users saw an overall improvement in their skin appearance after twelve weeks of twice daily usage ($160).

3. Collagen/Elastin Boosters: these include growth factors (cellular components that are in abundance in early youth and slowly diminish over time), and peptide formulations. These products direct the cell to act “younger”, causing collagen production, resiliency, and better healing. The results are fewer wrinkles and more luminous skin. Our Picks:

Alastin: contains TriHex Technology, which is a proprietary blend of peptides and key ingredients that clear damaged components in the skin and support the production of new elastin and collagen, reduce inflammation, and facilitate skin recovery and maintenance. We carry many of these products and can speak to you about which one might be right for you.

The root of Skin Facial Serum: Patented, proprietary SourceCode Technology™ accelerates skin’s innate regeneration and empowers skin to renew itself as it does in its youngest, healthiest stage. This is an exclusive blend of pure proteins and peptides that boosts skin’s cell turnover process revealing smoother, more radiant, even toned skin. Your skin’s natural ability to build new collagen and elastin is increased, smoothing out fine lines and wrinkles and restoring volume for firmer, suppler skin ($180).

4. Retinoids/ols: Increase collagen production, normalize skin keratinization (maturation) reduce abnormal pigment. An important component of an anti-aging and anti-skin cancer regimen. Clinically proven to normalize skin and to reverse the signs of aging by building collagen. Retinoids are only available by prescription with the exception of Skinbetter Alpha-Ret listed below. Retinols cause less irritation than and, over time, produce similar effects to more-potent retinoids.

Our picks:

Retinoids: Skinbetter Intensive Alpha-Ret Cream. A unique combination of an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) and a retinoid that provides visible skin rejuvenation with little to irritation. This formulation is more emollient, and thereby less drying, than the typical Tretinoin (Retin-A) used for acne-prone skin ($120).

Restorsea Pro 10x: Contains a proprietary ingredient, Aquabeautine XL®, which is completely natural and derived from salmon eggs in Norway. It was discovered when the founder/CEO was touring a salmon hatchery in Norway. She noticed how young the worker’s hands were (submerged in the hatching tanks all day) as compared to their faces. Wonderful for sensitive skin as it is less irritating than prescription Retinoids. Contains parabens, PEDs, phthalates, sulfates, silicone, or mineral oil ($195).

Our office is knowledgeable and available to answer your questions and help you navigate. Call us, email us, and visit our website store. 

Share this Article