When it comes to achieving bright, boundless skin, every layer needs to live in the same decade.
The overarching theme of facial aesthetics right now is ‘traceless intervention’ and for those forging this undetectable era of cosmetic treatments, injectables are no longer cutting it. Widespread reports show that many now feel that simply zapping, burning, injecting and inflating the surface of skin does not achieve a sufficiently natural youthening effect.
“The vast majority of my clients want to look fresher and more youthful, without appearing discernibly different,” says Dr Graeme Glass, globally renowned plastic and craniofacial surgeon and LYMA Aesthetic Director. These monumental glow ups require having such highly skilled work done that it goes virtually undetected, leaving your peers convinced you’ve been sleeping in olive oil all these years.
However, leading practitioners in preventive aging say the real solution to looking infinitely ‘well’ and not in the least ‘done’, lies in addressing every layer of the skin individually. The experts perceive little point in having a plumped up, pulled tight surface if you’re not also building in the structural support underneath. Cancelling aging requires going skin deep, and then even deeper.
“When we look at skin aging, we’re viewing an organ that changes at every single level, the manner in which skin ages is so much more complex than just visual wrinkles and sagging,” explains Dr Glass.
He states that if you want to regain the structure and resilience of skin in your twenties, you have to address the root causes of skin’s multiple aging mechanisms. “The dermis loses collagen, superficial fat expands and creates uneven pockets, facial muscles become looser, the effects of gravity kick in as well as deep fat gradually shrinks and bone structure recedes.
These all require the influence of epigenetic systems to alter their behavior in order to turn around a system that is designed towards aging and bring it back towards youthfulness. For authentically youthful skin, all layers of the skin need to live in the same decade.”
Youthful skin lies in strong scaffolding
The Extracellular Matrix (ECM) makes up part of the dermis, and is arguably the key to that bounce factor we’re all so fiercely coveting. An intricate network of collagen proteins, elastin, fibronectin and connective tissue, the ECM is a hive of activity, constantly changing and being remodeled as cells die off and new ones migrate to the surface. Frankly, the more ECM you have and the better shape it’s in, the younger you look.
“To create the sort of profound structural change that defines and contours skin, you have to go deep; manipulating the facial muscles, the ECM, and fascia (the thin casing of connective tissue that holds everything in place), getting all the way down to bone structure. Muscle and bone is the scaffolding that supports everything else above, and it’s widely unknown that skeletal muscles secrete hormones that significantly rejuvenate skin,” explains expert facialist and trainer, Yvonne Martin.
“You can’t rely solely on epidermis and dermis, even if you smooth out wrinkles and the lines over time, that’s not enough. You need to address everything underneath.”
“Increasing collagen and elastin production from the basal layer feeds the epidermis and gives it its power.”
The laser technology bringing rejuvenation at every level
A groundbreaking scientific study conducted by Genemarkers and Imperial College London, proved that low-level laser therapy is the only zero damage light technology able to regenerate skin in the dermis. Dr. Stefan Truppe of the Department of Physics at Imperial College London demonstrated near-infrared low level laser penetration through a human hand, proving that low level laser therapy is fully capable of penetrating deep beneath the skin’s surface.
Unlike traditional ‘hot’ lasers, LLLT is completely non-thermal, working through a process called Photobiomodulation that doesn’t heat nor damage the skin in any way. Rather than causing damage and destruction to cells, LLLT produces signals to make skin cells more active, naturally switching on production of the same healthy, youthful collagen you had as a teenager. With an increased number of building blocks present in the ECM, skin is able to hold onto water, becoming more hydrated for an improved skin barrier.
Cosmetic skin treatments are highly effective at targeting the surface manifestations of aging but for youthful skin that goes past the superficial, we need to rebuild skin’s scaffolding from the base, up. Intelligent collagen stimulation from low-level laser therapy empowers skin within the most active layers and the underlying architecture of skin is fully restored.
To delve further into the science behind how the skin ages and the transformational power of low-level lasers, visit our dedicated page on the technology used in the LYMA Laser.
