Empowering Women to Embrace the Aging Process!
March is International Women’s History Month and the purpose is to celebrate women’s achievements, educate and raise awareness for women’s equality, and to call for positive change in advancing women. When I read that mission statement, I realized women have been neglected by the companies supporting the aesthetic space. Women of all ages do not know how or why their skin is aging. As a result, this takes a huge toll on their mental and physical well-being. As an industry, the aesthetic companies have done a great job of throwing every solution under the sun to combat aging but no one has taken the time to explain the why behind the what. The reason why is because women need to be educated on how their skin is aging and why these solutions may or may not make sense. To take it a step further, I will be the first person to say, the aesthetic companies have been self serving. They have put all their focus on driving sales while neglecting their audience: the patients and practitioners. For example, the next time I see a middle-aged male executive from an Aesthetic support company stand up on stage, ranting to a large group of injectors they need to ‘just sell women’ on the fact that they need more filler or botox, I am going to scream! Don’t get me wrong, I am all about empowering women by providing aesthetic solutions to help build confidence and feel the best versions of themselves, but the aesthetic companies have it all wrong! Unfortunately, these self-serving companies are more concerned with convincing aesthetic practitioners to use their novel products, upsell/convince their patients that these products/procedures are needed (regardless if they have the money or not), and focusing on convincing the practitioner that this will increase their revenue.
These companies are missing the mark! The best way to empower your aesthetic patient is to educate them on how their skin is changing and how it will continue to evolve throughout the years. Then the discussion around which aesthetic procedures they should invest in should take place.
Why is this conversation and education so important? When I present to a large group of women the facts around how their skin is aging, they are generally alarmed and seek more information. 3 out of 4 women agree that their confidence hinges on the appearance of their skin. Women do not understand how dramatically skin changes starting in their mid-20s! There is a strong link between aging and its effects on mental health, confidence, anxiety, and depression in women. We live in a society so concentrated on youth, appearance, and unrealistic expectations on how we should look, especially as we age. Let’s couple society’s expectations with the social media filters, photoshop and this false sense of how women should appear at particular stages in their lives. There is an overwhelming need to reset the expectations by educating patients on the biological effects aging has on every woman! We need to normalize these conversations and allow women to embrace their aging skin.
We see the most dramatic changes occur in their 40’s and 50’s. We also start to notice significant changes to our skin in the mid to late 30’s — fine lines are more pronounced on the forehead, there is less elasticity around the eyes, more broken capillaries, and hyperpigmentation becomes more pronounced. As we head into our 40’s-50’s the aging concerns were faced with in our 30s becomes more magnified. Between the ages of 40–50 we will notice:
- Skin becomes thinner and more translucent- capillaries show.
- Rosacea becomes more prevalent.
- Capillaries increase in number
- Skin is more inflamed due to prior sun damage.
- Women are going through menopause or are still perimenopausal
- Decrease in levels of estrogen
- Decrease in collagen & bone loss
- Face is changing in its appearance
- Fat pockets you had in your face start depleting resulting in your face not looking as plump
- Face looks longer and less round
- Saggy skin starts to show around eyes/jaw
- Wrinkles are more pronounced
- Hyperpigmentation more profound
- Age spot/moles start to surface (sun damage from prior years)
- Skin is not as firm as it once was due to lack of elastin and collagen
- Skin is turning over even slower resulting in a duller complexion
While aging skin is normal and inevitable, women ages 40–50 will also experience unique changes due to hormonal fluctuations as a result of menopause or perimenopause. With only 20% of doctors in the United States trained on how hormones affect women’s health both mentally and physically, most women do not realize that hormones play a critical role in regulating the body’s natural processes and cause premature aging. As outlined above, these hormone fluctuations contribute to less collagen production, thinner skin, wrinkles, sagging skin and hyperpigmentation. Hormones combined with the skin’s reduced ability to repair itself as a result of prior environmental and UV damage, leaves women feeling as if they age the most during their 40's-50's.
When consulting with a woman in their 40’s and 50’s it is so important to discuss their aging concerns. Find out how their skin has changed, what bothers them, and what they are looking to achieve in their anti-aging journey. Once you identify the concerns of your patient, work together to discuss how their skin is changing and will continue to change throughout the years. Providing education will help the patient understand they are not the only one experiencing the aging process. Help them understand which products/procedures are best for them based on their skin goals and how the skin is evolving,
The more educated the consumer is on how/why their skin is changing, the more decisive they are regarding which aesthetic enhancements are the best based on their needs. Women between the ages of 40–50 will benefit from a comprehensive medical grade skincare regimen. It is as important as ever to make sure your patients are receiving the highest quality, potent medical grade skincare to help see transformative results. To help combat how the skin is changing while helping to maintain a healthy, youthful complexion woman between 40–50 will benefit from a skincare regimen consisting of cleansing, correcting, hydrating and protecting:
Step 1: Cleanse
· Active Cleanser — helps to exfoliate & brighten the skin
Step 2: Correct
· Vitamin C E Ferulic Serum — helps boost collagen, brighten and protect the skin
· Hydrating Serum — aids in extra hydration
· Firming Cream — for the eyes & neck
· Retinol — helps turn over dull skin & boost collagen production
· Exfoliator — turns over dead skin cells and helps brighten dull looking skin
Step 3: Hydrate
- Hydrating & firming moisturizers-containing antioxidants & peptides to help with collagen production
Step 4: Protect
- Full Broad -Spectrum UVA/UVB Protection — Protects the skin from photodamage & skin cancer
Women should also eat a balanced diet full of whole foods, drink plenty of water, limit sun exposure and wear sunscreen of at least SPF 30 to help take care of their skin.
Women between the ages of 40–50, who would like to see more enhancements to their skin have the options of neurotoxins, fillers, lasers, microneedling, and chemical peels. The goal is to work with the patients, help educate them on how their skin is changing and letting them know you are there to help them achieve what they are looking to achieve. When you educate your patients, you create a model for success. Education leads to the empowerment of your patients to make the best aesthetic procedural decisions which will lead to better results, retention and an increase of revenue.
Women need to know they are not alone in this aging journey. Education is the key to female empowerment. As women age, we need to help build up their self-esteem and help them reject society’s pressure to look and dress a specific way. Unfortunately, women believe they wake up one day and do not recognize the face looking back at them in the mirror. The more we educate on the aging process, the more we empower women to make informed decisions regarding what anti-aging enhancements they can get and why. Women should feel as if aesthetic enhancements are always an option, not a necessity!
