I have heard that it is important to start treating the
signs of aging early, even going as far as to start using Botox on
would-be problem areas in your twenties. Are there certain
products/less extreme treatments I should be focusing on regularly
now that will be beneficial later?
The most critical time period of skincare for the rest of your life
takes place in your twenties, when your most important job is to
prevent future damage. As you grow older, your job becomes twofold:
Continue to prevent future damage and try to undo already existing
damage. Botox and LED Light Therapy would fall into the “undo
damage” category, so as a woman of your age you do not need to turn
to these treatments quite yet. Now, you should concentrate on
earning your skin future, especially the skin around the eyes, by
taking precautions against the sun 365 days a year, no excuses.
Nearly everything that you will ultimately not like about your face
comes from the sun—crow’s feet, wrinkles, enlarged pores, red
capillaries around the nose and cheeks, dark discolorations,
freckles, age spots, lines, wrinkles, and loss of tone. If you
start using a broad spectrum UVA/UVB day cream around your eyes and
all over the face, every morning of every day of the year—summer,
winter, even if it rains—in your twenties, you can literally delay
the onset of crow’s feet by more than a decade.
The other important goal of skincare at this age is to keep the oil
glands in check to prevent breakouts. To this end, one of the most
important things you can do is exfoliate properly to prevent
sebaceous acid accumulation and clogged pores.
Get more advice for your beauty dilemmas in The Doctor Is In
Adrienne Denese, M.D., Ph.D., is one of the only female scientists in the field of antiaging medicine. She has appeared on myriad TV programs and in countless magazines to discuss issues of antiaging and the latest methods in skin rejuvenation. In 2003, she launched an eponymous line to share her research with her patients.
Photo: Getty Images
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