Seven Ages of Beauty
In the August issue of Social & Personal magazine, The Aesthetic Institute’s Consultant Plastic Surgeon Mr Colin Riordan speaks with Beauty Editor Donna Fitzpatrick about the beauty issues which concern women in their teens, twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, sixties and seventies. He suggests appropriate treatments, both surgical and non-surgical, to help women look their best at any age. We’ve selected some highlights below, but be sure to read this great feature in full…
…The passage through the seventy years the average Irish woman spends as an adult is often marred by dermatological cares and concerns. In this skincare special, Donna Fitzpatrick examines the main problem associated with each decade and seeks and expert solution so that, no matter what age you are, you continue to look the best you possibly can for your age...
…30s
THE PROBLEM: EARLY AGING; FIRST FINE LINES & WRINKLES
“From the mid-30s on, most women will begin to see the early signs of aging with a combination of sun damage and fine lines and wrinkles beginning to form,” says Consultant Plastic Surgeon Mr Colin Riordan. “This is the age when many women begin to be concerned about the agin process.”…
…50s
THE PROBLEM: HORMONAL ACCELERATED AGING
With a whole host of hormonal fluctuations and changes, the menopause brings with it a period of accelerated skin aging when many women really notice the skin wrinkling, slackening and lining, as well as a change in texture, tone and condition. If a woman is not on Hormone Replacement Therapy, the whole aging process suddenly seems to speed up at this age.
THE SOLUTION: LASERS
Mr Riordan recommends fraxelated laser. The Fraxel is the next generation of laser technology that can be used to treat fine lines and wrinkles, as well as pigmentation issues and sun spots. Fraxel light energy stimulates collagen, and resurfaces the top skin layer, while the skin’s natural rejuvenation process smoothes wrinkles and scars…
…60s
THE PROBLEM: GRAVITY
By the time many women reach their 60s, many feel they have passed middle age and are into early old age with the appropriate accompaniment of lines and wrinkles. “Nobody really wants to look years younger than they are,” says Mr Riordan. “However, most women want to look good for their age and at this age, women can still look great.”
THE SOLUTION: SURGERY
While fillers, Botox and lasers will all help, even at this age, Mr Riordan believes that some women in their 60s may need to look for more invasive surgical solutions to get a better result. “Brow lifts, blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery), face lifts and neck lifts are all very effective for women in this age group.”
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70s & Beyond
THE PROBLEM: LESIONS & LUMPS
Mr Riordan says that many women of this age are less bothered with cosmetic procedures and are more concerned with medical problems with the skin, such as lesions and even skin cancer. “Age itself is not a precluder to having anti-aging treatments or surgery done, as long as the patient is healthy and physically able for it.”…