Article by Dr Tracy Mountford
Skin you will dare to bare on your wedding day! The big day is looming, hours have been spent planning venues, guest lists and outfits, but how much time have we spent preparing ourselves whether as a bride or a mother? Knowing that we may come under extra scrutiny, or perhaps just wanting a bit of a confidence boost, what can we do to help those areas such as hands and décolletage have a more youthful look and counter those cleavage wrinkles?
We have asked Dr Tracy Mountford to give us her top tips on preparing a mature bride or mother of the bride in her 50’s on the secrets to looking 10 years younger without the need for surgery.
Dr Mountford always takes the ‘Whole Patient Approach’ with patients as there are usually a number of areas that need treating as we age, rather than just one particular problem. Initially we will be covering one of the biggest age giveaways … hands and décolletage.
Every bride-to- be wants a luminous complexion
For those of you with a summer wedding on the horizon there is a host of treatments which will ensure that you will look absolutely radiant and glowing on the day! Every bride-to-be wants to have a beautiful, luminous complexion on her wedding day. You will need to start well in advance of the big day to prepare your skin to get it back to its youthful texture and glow.
Why do we lavish so much attention, money and anti-ageing treatments on our faces and forget the rest? Anyone keen to detect the ravages of time need look no further than the hands because they really do betray a person’s age. Dry crêpey fine lines caused by sun damage and protruding veins are particularly telling. As you age the plumpness in the skin disappears, making hands appear more dehydrated revealing prominent veins”.
Hands can betray your age
Up until recently there have been few effective treatments to counter ageing symptoms of the back of hands and cleavage wrinkles. Whilst indeed you can use moisturising creams to make the hands feel smoother and more nourished, any effects will be very temporary because creams sit on the surface of the skin and cannot penetrate it to any great depth to reach the deeper levels where hydration occurs.
There is however a treatment which can boost the skin’s natural hydration by replenishing the skin’s own hyaluronic acid and delivering help at a level in the dermis where it is needed. We already have hyaluronic acid (HA) in our skin, which is important for hydration and a healthy-looking complexion, but it becomes less efficient as you grow older.
Treatment to replenish hydration for decolletage and hands
Before treatment After treatment
The treatment involves a series of microinjections of pure hyaluronic acid gel, which closely resembles the natural HA in your skin, at the right level in the dermis. This is made possible by using Restylane Vital®, a product which thanks to a clever injector can deliver micro doses of HA very precisely and accurately in the dermis. The treatment is not painful as it follows the application of an anaesthetic cream for at least 30 minutes beforehand.
Before treatment After treatment
To achieve the maximum results the treatment needs to be carried three times 2 to 3 weeks apart. The results start to show immediately but significant improvement occurs up to 6 weeks after the course has finished.
The cost for a course of three treatments of Restylane Vital® starts from around £550 per area treated (hands or décolletage). The benefits last for around six to nine months and you can maintain your glowing skin with a single annual top-up treatment.
