I know nobody likes the way skin responds to aging. Did you know that skin cells rejuvenate every 27 days during the youthful years? As we age, however, this rejuvenation naturally slows. It’s just part of life.
Eventually everyone experiences fine lines and decreased skin tone or even worse — heavy wrinkles — some by their 30s. How the skin ages is a combination of genetics, sun exposure, and sugar intake. In the past, the only modifying factors were sun exposure and diet.
The dangers of sun exposure and tanning are no secret any more, believed to be responsible for up to 90% of the visible changes attributed to aging. But did you know a diet high in sugar can slow down skin cell turnover? Sugar in the diet causes glycation. This is a scientific term for a process where high sugar intake leads to inhibition of DNA proteins and lipids. This leads to the slowing of the skin cell turnover process. The result? Dull, uneven skin tone.
The BIG news is that skin genetics can now be modified. In the past if your mother and/or father gave you the gift of inheriting heavy wrinkles at an early age, there was no solution other than an early face lift. Sciton’s Forever Young BBL treatment has revolutionized the way skin ages by changing skin genetics. This photofacial has been shown to modify DNA at the cellular level in several medical studies conducted at Stanford University. The studies concluded that BBL treatments promoted the gene expression of younger skin in older women treated with three sessions of BBL. When the DNA of middle aged women treated was sequenced, the DNA matched the sequencing and function of women 5-10 years younger. Finally — a modifiable option for skin genetics.
Maintaining your skin health with proper skin care to ensure skin health and vitality is essential to avoiding visible signs of aging. I personally have watched the rosacea and texture of my own skin improve with BBL treatments and I refuse to be sad about getting older. (Besides, everyone knows the only way to avoid getting older is to die young and I have no intention of doing that.) Instead I will out-smart aging by continuing to have gold standard anti-aging treatments on board.
For more information on BBL treatments and how effective it can be, call OptimalU at (916) 886-0220 or email us through this web site, optimaluclinic.com. I care about YOUR skin — not just how it looks now, but how it can look in the future as well!
~ Dr. Andrea Tse
Tag: skin
An introduction: a new year, a new blog!
Starting this blog is an opportunity to inspire and inform about beauty, about aging well, and about my passion to make a difference in people’s lives. My goal is to provide education and insight gleaned through experience, research, and personal knowledge. My hope, however, is that you will find the blog a source of information to age well and beautifully the same time.
I became a doctor with the goal of fighting disease. Over the past 14 years I have been an anesthesiologist, helping to care for people while a surgical cure to a disease they possessed was taking place. During this time period it became clear that many patients lacked insight into understanding how individual choices were contributing to their disease, all contributing to their aging poorly. After being involved in a few hospital wellness projects for patients, I began to develop a new understanding of just what the word “wellness” meant. I realize now that wellness is made up of a number of elements that contribute to a person’s lifestyle, not the least of which is their appearance. Some of my clients began requesting Botox, citing my gentle touch with needles during procedures. Initially I begrudgingly obliged. To my surprise, however, the patients who received these beauty treatments seemed more motivated to be or stay healthy to match their improved appearance. It was as if seeing a person in the mirror who began looking 5 to 10 years younger provided a higher level of commitment to stay healthy.
Botox has evolved to become a surprisingly simple and safe way to appear younger. So after treating a few clients with it, I was asked about administering other aesthetic options as well. Looking for med spas around the greater Sacramento area to refer these clients to for more services, I noticed that there weren’t any aesthetic clinics with a focus on anti-aging and wellness. Many offered opportunities to grasp at youth, but the aesthetic websites did not emphasize basic well-aging techniques.
When I set up OptimalU, my goal was to be different and to reassure my clients and potential clients that they are in good hands. Instead of focusing on dollar volume, I wanted to offer treatments I knew would stand the test of time. OptimalU employs a multi-modality approach — something I will explain more about in later posts here. Suffice it to say, I believe treatments and injections may not be the best way to go unless both the patient and I can clearly see a long term benefit to them. Client photos are used clinically — kept on file to demonstrate the progress being made. Reviewing these photos showing how an individual’s appearance has improved over time is one of my favorite parts of the entire process.
I hope to post often to this blog, but will consider talking about any topic of interest to you. Please don’t hesitate to ask! I look forward to being your personal beauty/well-aging expert (they go hand in hand!). My biggest reward is the great feeling you have about yourself when you look in the mirror. And to all those who have already referred friends and family after their own experiences at OptimalU, a hearty thank you and Happy 2019!
~Dr. Andrea Tse