Oh yes, the lure of anti-ageing facial treatments.
A few years back, a company that I worked for did an expose’ to prove you actually can banish ten years from your face with anti-ageing facial treatments referred to as non-surgical or non-invasive facial treatments. Once pitched to a television studio the airing of the story soon followed. The before and after images were impressive. The public response was massive!!
So successful was the story; it catapulted the skincare brand to a whole new level of awareness and success. The phones ran hot!! Everyone wanted what she (the model) was having.
I usually cringe at anything resembling a before and after makeover as they’re so often misleading and I view them with a touch of scepticism.
But this was different.
Appearing on national television during prime time and presented as a ‘somewhat’ unbiased story. A real story, which it was, unlike so many other somewhat misleading current affair stories, pretending to be news.
On the show, the model had a series of non-surgical treatments and procedures. It was an all-out assault: Laser resurfacing, microdermabrasion, sonophoresis, as well as a series of chemical peels, injections to relax her wrinkles caused by frowning and dermal fillers. All added to the overall volume and appearance of her face and, of course, let’s not forget cosmeceutical skincare. Voila’ 10 years banished from her face. She looked great!!
You could call it a quick fix that took three months, but hey, reversing a lifetime of sun damage is never going to be instant. Right?
Interestingly, despite a full disclosure, the one thing that garnered the most attention, bordering on hysteria, was a single product—a tube of vitamin C cream.
You would think those that went crazy over this story would have booked in for the whole enchilada of treatments. But no. This one product got so much attention the company ran dry and, as a small-sized company, it took several weeks to turn around a fresh batch. But like all good things, when you have to wait for it? Well, the excitement and expectation became palpable.
I believe to this day; the company has many loyal devotees due to this exceptional Vitamin c product. Of course now, many years on, the inclusion of topical vitamin c in any skincare regimen is positively mandatory.
We all long for that magic silver bullet.
But why the frenzy over one product? Could it be most of us prefer a quick fix? Do we hope for that one-size-fits-all solution? Of course, we do and with good reason. Everything else seems a bit complicated, or risky or expensive or just what other, braver people do. Right?
I love-me-a-bit of L-ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) on my skin. I write about this love affair in more detail over here. But despite my unrivalled passion? I know it’s only one piece of the ‘beautiful skin’ puzzle. If you think one ingredient or one fabulous cream or the occasional jab from a cosmetic doctor is going to fix your skin? Well then, sorry, but you will always be a little disappointed.
But how about the idea you can banish ten years from your face?
Deciding to go under the knife for the sake of our appearance, while for some, comes without too much hesitation, for me, I’m pretty sure if I were to alter my face to something more youthful, I’d prefer non-surgical treatments, with little downtime or side effects. But that’s just me. Thankfully, these days there are so many options and alternatives. Despite the incredible advances in cosmetic surgery, you may never have to consider going under the knife of a plastic surgeon. You have options.
So where do you start?
All those that rushed out and purchased their first ever tube of L-ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) were making a great start in protecting and having better skin.
I’d be the first to recommend a high performing cosmeceutical brand as the first step to balancing the skin, reduce skin conditions and prepare the skin for other treatment solutions.
Despite the seductive nature of a quick fix jab to soften your frown, it’s not going to rid your skin of discolouration or hyperpigmentation or brown spots or sagging tired skin. Nor will it remove a deeply etched wrinkle.
Other slightly more invasive treatments but non-surgical treatments will all give you a far better result if you’ve started preparing your skin with effective cosmeceutical skincare.
So, start with great skincare, but if you’ve got a feeling there could be more on offer, but you’re unsure the next step to take then venture over to Part 2: Banish ten years from your face—part 2 where I’m sharing five non-surgical facial treatments that really can rewind the years.
And if you’d like to know more about the powers of vitamin C, you should check out this article: Let’s talk about Vitamin C for the skin.
See you next time,
