The minute you’re born, you begin to age. While we typically refer to it as “growing up” until you reach a certain age, it’s all just semantics. If you’re not aging, you’re not living.
The signs we usually point to when we refer to “aging” (besides new aches & pains and the inability to escape a hangover) mostly include visible signs on the skin, like dullness, dark spots, fine lines, wrinkles, crepey texture, and certain areas not looking as full or perky as they used to.
At Citrine Medspa in Lincoln, we’ve found that the most common request from our patients involves addressing the signs of aging in the skin. But with so many treatments that can accomplish similar goals, it can be difficult to know exactly which anti-aging treatment or product is right for you.
We thought we’d help you out by presenting our best anti-aging treatment (and a few others) in Lincoln!
But first, why does skin age?
Aging is just a fact of life. But why does this process cause so many changes in the skin?
As you might guess, this is an incredibly complex process we could go on for days about—but we’ll do our best to keep it brief.
Until your mid-20s or so, your skin is resilient, voluminous, and full of life. Unless you suffer from severe adolescent acne or another skin condition (e.g. dermatitis, psoriasis, etc.), most of us enter our 20s with bright eyes, full cheeks, and no wrinkles to speak of.
According to researchers at Dartmouth, after the age of 20, your skin produces one percent less collagen each year (collagen and a similar fiber, elastin, create the structural framework for your skin). Your existing collagen and elastin becomes thicker, clumpy, and loose—setting the stage for inelastic, brittle skin that eventually wrinkles and sags. Additionally, your skin cells start turning over much slower by your late 20s, causing dead cells to accumulate and dull the complexion. The transfer of moisture between skin layers slows in your 30s, shrinking the fat cells that once gave you full, lifted cheeks, creating a deflating effect. By your 40s, your skin is much thinner and can’t produce collagen anymore, so more wrinkles, lines, and sagging appear. Finally, in your 50s, your skin is parched and easily bruised, damaged, or broken. This trend continues with the skin becoming drier, thinner, and more sensitive.
Before you freak out, the above process we described, called intrinsic aging, does not take external influences into account. Extrinsic aging refers to the process and causes of aging that occur outside of the body. These can be influences that actually speed up the process of intrinsic skin aging, like:
- Smoking tobacco (secondhand smoke counts!)
- Unprotected or prolonged UV exposure
- Poor diet and skin care habits
- Pollution
On the other hand, some external factors can slow or even reverse skin aging, like:
- Consistent healthy skin care habits
- Healthy diet & regular exercise
- Protecting skin from UV exposure
- Visiting a medical aesthetics practice for collagen-inducing and other anti-aging treatments
The king of all anti-aging treatments, BBL
BBL™ is an advanced light therapy treatment that uses broadband light (hence, BBL) to reverse the visible signs of aging. Some people use BBL and laser technology synonymously, but they aren’t quite the same thing. BBL uses light energy to heat the skin to resurface and promote collagen production. However, Lasers can be placed into two different categories:
Ablative: Targets the top layer of skin (epidermis) to shed damaged and dead cells and promote faster cellular turnover.
Non-ablative: Targets the bottom layer of skin to jumpstart collagen production and revive the skin.
Most lasers are either ablative or non-ablative with the exception of the Halo laser (yep, it’s both!). However, BBL anti-aging treatments are always non-ablative because it is actually just light energy, making it a great option to fight many of the causes of intrinsic skin aging at the source with minimal discomfort and zero downtime. When we can kick your body’s collagen and elastin production into overdrive, you will notice your skin looks and feels softer, tighter, and more youthful.
What do BBL treatments address?
Our state-of-the-art Sciton Joule X platform has both laser and BBL with HERO which allows us to perform a range of BBL treatments to address specific issues and body areas.
- BBL Corrective: This treatment uses higher energy levels of IPL (intense pulsed light) energy to permeate into the top layers of skin and treat surface-level imperfections like hyperpigmentation, freckles, red spots, rosacea, visible facial blood vessels, and more. This treatment is often the foundational BBL treatment to correct your skin concerns..
- Forever Young BBL: This treatment uses lower energy (but many more pulses) to send BBL light deep into the skin with decreased risk of negative side effects like striping or burns. This addresses deep hyperpigmentation and sun damage, and stimulates the production of collagen and elastin to make your skin appear and function like that of a much younger you.
- Forever Clear BBL: If you struggle with acne and the inflammation, hyperpigmentation, and the scars it causes, the Forever Clear BBL treatment can help you! Using this protocol, we kill acne-causing bacteria, address inflammation, and jumpstart the healing process to help you get the clear skin you deserve.
- BBL HERO: A high-energy treatment that can treat large areas of the body in no time! Address vascular lesions, scars, sun damage, and other pigmentation issues on virtually any area of your skin.
- SkinTyte II: This treatment uses infrared energy to smooth and tighten skin.
One reason we rave so much about BBL treatments is because they improve a wide variety of conditions that can age your skin. BBL addresses slow collagen production and cell turnover, and can even alter your skin cells’ genetic expression—meaning that at a DNA level, your skin can actually age in reverse—with regular Forever Young BBL facials 3 to 4 times a year.
BBL treatments are great for almost all skin types. And before you even ask, yes: men can benefit from BBL treatments, too!
Treatable conditions include:
- Rosacea & broken blood vessels
- Acne & enlarged pores
- Sun damage
- Skin laxity
- Freckles
- Wrinkles and fine lines
- Red spots (cherry angiomas)
- Brown spots
Most people notice dramatic results after their initial series of 3 to 5 sessions, and are surprised just how powerful the results of BBL truly are. Many people will even see a big change after their first BBL treatment!
Anti-aging treatments in Lincoln that complement BBL
So far, you’ve learned that you don’t have to sit idly by while your skin falls into disrepair. It’s never too late to take charge and give your skin the TLC it needs to look as youthful as possible.
By the way, we’re not just talking about vanity here; It’s actually super important to take care of your skin the same way you care for other aspects of your health.
People always say, “Your skin is your biggest organ.” It’s true! But what does that mean, exactly? For starters, if you didn’t have your skin, you’d be all over the place—literally. Besides holding you together, your skin:
- Supports the life of your other body parts and organs
- Prevents harmful germs and bacteria from entering your body
- Regulates your body temperature
- Is responsible for your sense of touch
- Alerts your nervous system when things are off in your environment (pressure, heat, cold, pain)
- Manufactures vitamin D, an essential vitamin for your immune system as well as healthy teeth and bones
It’s easy to see why you should take care of your skin, considering all it does for you!
Besides regular BBL treatments, there are some other great anti-aging treatments you can get at our Lincoln, NE medspa to maintain and enhance your results.
Botox® & Filler Injections
Powerful anti-aging products on their own, adding Botox and filler injections to your skin maintenance routine at Citrine Medspa offers amazing synergistic results.
With Botox (or Dysport®) injections, we can temporarily relax the facial muscles that contract when you make expressions like frowning, laughing, squinting, etc. to hide—and reduce the severity of—the dynamic wrinkles that appear with these everyday facial expressions. With regular treatments you can even prevent wrinkles from forming because you are causing the muscles that form them to atrophy over time.
Dermal fillers are gel-like substances, usually made of hyaluronic acid (HA), that we inject below the surface of the skin to provide volume and support, smoothing out and plumping fine lines and wrinkles that aren’t affected by Botox, and enhancing the face’s natural contours. If you have facial hollows, jowls, and other signs of volume loss thanks to slowed collagen production, it’s a smart idea to come in for BBL treatments to address overall collagen loss or degradation, as well as fillers to provide immediate skin-plumping results while collagen and elastin rebuild.
Sculptra®
Sculptra, a dermal filler made from poly-L-lactic acid, allows us to address the signs of volume loss and collagen breakdown both in the short and long term.
Unlike HA, which the body resorbs, the poly-L-lactic acid in Sculptra acts as a powerful collagen stimulator. Research shows that Sculptra stimulates collagen production in the skin for up to 24 months, meaning you can go quite a while between repeat injections!
Pairing Sculptra injections with BBL treatments ensures you’re doing all you can to maximize collagen production in your skin.
RF Microneedling
We know it sounds counterintuitive, but it turns out that injuring your skin (in a sterile environment, by a trained specialist using robotic precision to avoid skin tears) can have incredible rejuvenation effects! RF microneedling is a skin rejuvenation technique where we use tiny (micro) needles to puncture the top layer of skin and deliver radiofrequency (RF) energy deep into your skin’s layers.
These micro-injuries on your skin’s surface, coupled with the thermal energy from radiofrequency, prompts your skin to produce more collagen and elastin in the area. Consistent RF microneedling treatments at our Lincoln, NE office help address many visible signs of skin aging, like:
- Uneven skin tone
- Rough or crepey texture
- Mild wrinkles
- Fine lines
- Enlarged pores
- Acne scars
- Surgical scars
- Skin laxity
How to make your BBL results last longer
The key to keeping your youthful complexion is taking care of your skin at home. You don’t want to invest in a treatment just to leave your skin to the wayside. We aren’t saying you have to do anything extreme, but here are a few quick tips to help you increase how long the results of your BBL treatments lasts:
- Wear SPF every day (even when it’s cloudy)
- Follow a good day and nighttime skincare regime using medical grade skincare products
- Eat a balanced, plant-based diet
- Drink lots of water
We offer an amazing lineup of medical-grade skincare products right in our office! Your BBL specialist will take your unique concerns and skin type into consideration when recommending the best products for you.
Why visit Citrine Medspa for anti-aging treatments in Lincoln?
When choosing the right place for anti-aging treatments, it is extremely important to select a medical aesthetic venue that has the highest patient safety and clinical training standards.
At Citrine Medspa, we make sure we offer our patients treatment options that will be safe and effective for them, whether it’s Halo, BBL, injectables, or a different kind of cosmetic procedure. Dr. Ashley Fratello, a board-certified physician with extensive experience and training in offering aesthetic treatments also oversees our treatments.
Citrine is proud to be the premier medical spa in Lincoln. Trained specialists with many years of dermatology and aesthetics experience perform our consultations and treatments, so you can rest assured knowing you are in the most skilled and practiced hands in the region.
Schedule your consultation for Halo laser treatments in Lincoln, NE today!
If you have sun damage, melasma, age spots, wrinkles, skin sagging, or other visible signs of aging you would like to address, come to Citrine Medspa today. We can help!
We offer the latest technology in BBL photofacials and we want to help you treat your concerns to achieve beautiful, healthy skin you can feel proud of.
Use our online virtual consultation tool to learn more about all our treatments or request an appointment today.
