The first question we often receive when counseling a client about recommended therapies is, “How long will this last?” This question is always the most difficult, if not impossible, to answer. There are so many factors to consider such as age, sun history, heritage, genetics, nutritional status, history of tobacco use, and gender. Our goal when beginning any change is long term, consistently maintained results. Let me explain further.
If I begin a diet and exercise program, I know it will be a process to lose the weight and keep it off and to gain muscle and maintain it. Once my goals have been achieved, I do not need to be as strict with my diet or as aggressive with my workouts but to keep the results I must invest in maintenance cares. The same is true when seeking changes in our skin’s status. Healthy, vibrant skin is a journey not a race.
When beginning any program geared at making change the visual differences can feel painfully slow to materialize. Those first treatments are often working to correct or improve decades of damage caused by the sun and other factors that contribute to aging. The first treatments are your therapeutic sessions and are recommended every 4-8 weeks for 2-4 sessions. These treatments often are accompanied by more side effects such as swelling, activated brown pigment, bruising, and stinging/burning. The benefits of these treatments are cumulative beginning with textural (fine lines and pore size) and tonal changes (improve in brown or red discolorations) progressing to structural changes (improvements in laxity and deeper folds and wrinkles).
As we see improvements in our skin’s color, texture and laxity it can be tempting to stop treatments. The exciting news is literature shows that treatments and therapies used consistently can slow or halt and even correct the progression of sun damage and aging and go deeper than only the visual. A major study published in August 2010 through Stanford University proved that one of the benefits of Infrared Light therapies is they change the genetic expression of age in our skin; the true Fountain of Youth for our skin! The cumulative effects often exceed expectations. Managing our skin isn’t a single visit but an ongoing process. Two maintenance treatments a year is often all that is required to maintain our results and, in most cases continue to improve.
It is exciting to know we can become our own Benjamin Button and age in reverse!