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Tue Nov 11, 2014 2:32 pm  |
I am almost 53 and have thin, pale skin. I have been battling marionette lines and facial sagging for quite a few years now. I've tried various cosmetics, vitamin c serum, rose hip oil, etc., plus a home ultrasound device and facial exercise and massage without any noticeable improvements.
At this point, I am almost post-menopausal which is probably not helping. Plus I've shed 16 pounds (necessary for medical reasons) over the past 9 months, which I thought was slow enough to allow my skin to bounce back. But now my face is even droopier than before and my neck is wrinkling and I look absolutely horrible. Easily in my 60's, instead of 53.
My self esteem is basically in the crapper, I am turning into a recluse because I hate the way I look and don't want to be seen by anyone. Since shedding most of my excess weight, I feel great physically and my body does look much improved, but that makes my facial aging all the more noticeable. My husband looks considerably younger than his age even though he is older than I, and someone actually asked if I was his mother! A face lift is not possible at this time, but I assume that is the only option that would work in my case? Has anyone had fillers for sagging issues and if so, did they work? Thanks for any advice, I feel shallow for being so upset about this when there are people with real problems, but it is very difficult to feel positive when you hate the way you look. |
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Tue Nov 11, 2014 5:37 pm |
| I PM'd you |
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Tue Nov 11, 2014 7:04 pm |
If I were you, I would definitely consider the following:
Chemical peels - glycolic acid peels, then TCA peels; both are proven to grow new collagen that will reduce sagging.
Retin-A: Same as above.
And of course, always use sunscreen, as sun is the major cause of sagging. (It sounds like you lost weight slowly enough not to cause sagging.)
Other, less traditional ways:
Copper peptides - I use skinbiology. But it's key to start very slowly with these.
Dermarolling - Research everything and make sure you know what you're doing. Really optional.
There are also published studies that show using a progesterone cream can help firm skin - up to 25 percent. I use it because of estrogen-dominance, and it's helped a lot. And of course, there's estrogen to firm skin. The safest course is to first go to your doctor and have your levels for both tested - since both can begin declining at age 30.
There really is A LOT you can do - but you must research. Personally, I really feel that glycolic peels (working up to 70%) and TCA peels (low percentage) have done the most for me. Very minimal pain if any and cheap. It won't be overnight - the collagen is stimulated and then must regenerate - but it will happen.
Hope this helps. |
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Tue Nov 11, 2014 7:40 pm |
Moongoddess and Photopro, thank you so much for the suggestions.
Yes, I've been really negligent at using sunscreen and I wish I could go back to my younger years and use it regularly.
I have done some at-home lactic acid peels, but it sounds like the other ones you mentioned are more effective?
Because of health reasons, I cannot take hormones, though I wish I could. People who take them seem to stay younger looking a lot longer.
I have a friend who purchased derma rolling equipment, but hasn't quite talked herself into using it yet. She says the idea of poking holes in your skin is quite intimidating.  She has no sagging though, just a lot of wrinkles. And I really think sagging is a lot more aging than wrinkles.
Copper Peptides, I read up on those several years ago and apparently some people have the opposite result in that their skin ages even more and that scares me. But I will definitely look into the peels. 70% sounds quite high, did you do them at home, or at the derm's office? |
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Tue Nov 11, 2014 7:40 pm |
I'm in a similar situation, about the same age with sagging and a thin face.
I was on a tour with my husband and son about two months ago and another woman in the tour thought my husband was my son. argh! 
Topicals will not do much. Retin A will help with skin texture and discoloration if you have it. Vitamin C serum is also good for texture and skin tone.
I've tried it all. Glycolic and TCA peels, microcurrent, facial exercise, ultrasound, NuFace, lasers, fillers, copper peptides, estrogen cream and dermarolling. Whew!
The only thing that added volume and helped with sagging for me was fillers in the cheeks and along the side of my face. Some people have good results with facial exercise, for me it made me look more gaunt.
One last comment...while we all want to look our best, we are not just our looks. Try not to be hard on yourself. Have fun, enjoy life and that will also make you seem younger. |
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Tue Nov 11, 2014 8:35 pm |
Tompet, I'm sorry to hear you are feeling down on yourself. I probably can't contribute too much more than the other members except to put in a word about diet and supplements. I am not sure what your diet is like at present but "cosmetic nutrition" is in my opinion very important. Things like getting the right fats and antioxidents and protein are so important. Also and opinions vary on this but soy can really help because of the isoflavones and their action on collagen and the emzynes that break it down. I prefer to get my soy from miso soup because fermented soy seems less problematic but it is also in chickpeas and mung beans.
There are threads here on supplements and green smoothies which are well worth reading
http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=45447
http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=35013
I did recently read the Dr Dennis Gross book Your Future Face which you can get for pennies on amazon and it had a lot of useful information and for diet Perricone is a good starting point and you can find a lot of information about that online.
Whatever else you decide to do building your diet around what is good for your skin is going to help.
Take care and good luck! |
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Tue Nov 11, 2014 9:20 pm |
Shasta, I am sorry you also have to deal with this issue, it is demoralizing. And I still have 9 pounds to lose, at that point my face might be down to my waist. So facial fillers worked for you, that is good to know. But they don't last very long, do they? I know a facelift would probably be most effective, when I pull my face up, I look about 30. Totally agree about us not just being our looks, but there is such an emphasis on looking young that looking old feels like a curse. I really wish we did not live in a such a youth-oriented society.
Pandora, I completely agree about the importance of nutrition, but it does not seem to have done anything lookswise. We revamped our diet several years ago (Vitamix!) and consume daily green smoothies plus lots of veggies and fruit. Also no red meat and lots of omega 3 fish, plus some chicken or turkey. And daily exercise as well. Both hub and I feel much better and healthier physically, but it has not done much of anything aesthetically. I agree fermented soy seems to be safer and I love miso soup but rarely have it because of the sodium content. Might have to look into making it myself. Also gave natto a try, oh my. Words fail me.
I've always made sure to drink enough water and I rarely drink alcohol. 1 cup of coffee per day and green tea several times a week. I have to assume the sagging is mostly genetic and related to having such fair skin and not being good about using sunscreen when younger. |
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Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:25 am |
| Oh Shasta and Tompet....I wish I could reach out and hug you both. I'm almost 62 and hate looking in mirrors...wrinkles, sagging, etc. I won't let anyone take my picture since what I look like in the picture doesn't match what I look like in my mind. I have the Tria laser...have had it for over 2 years and though it's helped....I'm slowly realizing "it is what it is". I once heard a woman say to stop looking in the mirror...'cause you are never going to find what you want". I can't afford fillers, and stuff and to be honest, don't want to go that route. So now, I'm working on "mind over matter". So, I try to smile more as that just naturally makes you look better. And I do a lot of volunteering and you know, when the people who are the recipients of my volunteering are grabbing my hand and thanking me....well....I know they're not looking at my face...they're looking at my heart. And, I'm also trying to do "the talk" with myself several times a day....there are thousands of people who would gladly trade places with me...wrinkles, sags and all. They may have cancer or they may have "passed"...but they'd trade it all to be healthy and wrinkly like me. And as an aside, I'm 5'5" but only 113 lbs so wrinkles and sag are worse on lower body weight people....I think. We must try not to be so hard on ourselves...because we really are beautiful! |
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Fri Nov 21, 2014 3:29 pm |
Beautifully said, Shamus, we have to keep it all in perspective. As for looking in mirrors, make sure you have good lighting...bad lighting can make even the most beautiful look blah.
For those who don't have all cash, go with the sunscreen, cheap and easy, and new research shows it can even help reverse damage. I would also not be without my cheap low-percentage TCA peels and copper peptides.
But none of this can make up for an ugly heart, and no amount of years can fade a beautiful one. |
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Fri Nov 21, 2014 9:36 pm |
Yes, it's important to find other ways to feel good about ourselves besides our looks. Lowering expectations about the way we look and being okay with it is part of that. But I still think there are things out there that can make a difference to our appearance -- they're just a bit hard to find. Other than what's already been suggested, I have a couple of other ideas that have shown some consistency of results.
First, I just wrote a huge post on another thread about LED therapy which I can't link to, but suffice it to say that I've been amazed at what a difference it made on my skin. Even the cheapie Illumask that I bought impulsively at Target for $30, which only works for 30 sessions, and which I used by simply sleeping in bed for an extra 15 minutes in the morning with it on my face, worked by about the third week. When I say "worked," I don't mean wrinkles disappeared, though I believe over 6 months or more, wrinkles can soften. What I mean is that my skin looked glowy and healthy, as if I had just put on good foundation. In our quest to look unlined, we often forget that the first requirement of youthful-looking skin is glow. Many people who are able to stick with an LED regimen see the same result, so I don't think it's a fluke.
Other idea - if fillers are out, what about the Squoom or a knock-off? The marketing claim for the Squoom is that it can replace fillers. It's a galvanic-ultrasonic device which drives a proprietary hyaluronic acid serum into the deeper layers of the skin, filling it up like you fill up your car with gas, thus plumping up your skin. I think the device is about $800 and the serums are $200-300, pricey but comparable to fillers and the device should last longer than a year. Supposedly, you use less serum over time because, well, your tank is filled up.
There are good quality Squoom knock-offs. You can get the Merbe or the Rex Kara on ebay for about $250-300. Some people use regular HA serums. Others are on the hunt for a DIY low mw HA serum. Still others are using a knock-off device with the Squoom serums. It seems to work within a month or so, and has had good reviews from quite a few people. I think it works consistently because it's purely mechanical -- you're just filling up a tank. Check out the thread "The Squoom" -- in the later pages of the thread, the discussion veers more toward knock-offs and serum alternatives.
Oh and P.S. - I know you mentioned that you used ultrasound with no effect, but supposedly the combination of galvanic-ultrasound makes the device like 70% more powerful than ultrasound alone. HTH |
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Sat Feb 28, 2015 9:23 am |
I've read through this thread and I really admire the support given to each other. One thing I noticed was the humour that has started to come through - good on you ladies, if you can laugh that is half the battle won! Can I give you something to make you smile??? It is by Donnalou
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4QzHeUE-CM |
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Sun Mar 01, 2015 1:33 am |
| I would say if you really want a little pick me up, without spending a fortune, fillers, do the job, effectively and quickly. I had some filler done the other day, and I was surprised the difference it made, just make me feel younger and prettier, took away that horrible sagging on jawline, pre jowl sulcus. I totally agree its not the wrinkles that are aging, its the sagging. I see young women with wrinkles, but they still look young, but sagging, now thats another story!! |
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Sun Mar 01, 2015 10:23 am |
OMG Lin 1313. Thank you SO much for posting this link to Donnalou's Older Ladies youtube video.
It is the best! Hilarious and inspiring. Totally revamping our cultural'take' on aging ladies.
I am feeling so good about myself right now.
Of course, I have that same orientation as Donnalou has... deep inside of me, but it is so easy to forget it with all the programming that is telling me (us) we are no longer beautiful because of age appropriate physical changes.
For the first time i am able to see what my husband often tells me (unsoliticitated) and which he cannot understand that I have not seen.
That I am a beautiful woman. |
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71 years, primarily raw living food 35 years(vegan 45 years) herbal tea decoctions, homeopathy, TCM, facial massage, facial exercises, vacu-lifting, gua aha, shiatsu/acupressure, intention, home microcurrrent |
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Sun Mar 01, 2015 11:13 am |
If you don't have good bone structure you might look into fat injections or cheek implants. Not sure if they are still doing the implants. Otherwise do Sculptra or Voluma.
You could always use the old fashioned trick the stars used in the days before facelifts: get two stickies attached to a cord. Paste one on either side of your face and pull. Hide the cord in the hairline. Not sure what it is called.
Or do what they call in the UK a Croydon facelift: Tightly scrape back your hair into a French twist, bun or ponytail. |
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Thu Mar 05, 2015 12:19 am |
| I think it was the effect of aging, It is not very easy to get rid of these problem as many are doing great exercise and taking diet, which is very essential to look young or not old. |
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TCM Recipe| Best Home Made Herbal Eczema Cream |
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Thu Mar 05, 2015 11:31 am |
| Bioidentical hormones and possibly even taking 50mg DHEA (from any drugstore) would help restore some skin thickness and oil. See an antiaging specialist, menopause specialist or endocrinologist. |
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Thu Mar 05, 2015 2:23 pm |
| I really gave this a lot of thought before I decided to post. I had a lower face lift a few years ago to deal with severe facial sag. I'm now 65. My lower face has Changed beautifully , but I do work at my skin and sub structure to keep it in shape. In much the same way that you are being given suggestions now. And that helps keep my face in pretty good shape. But I also at the age of about 50-55 got that oh is that you son, about my husbands youthful appearance. It really wrecked havoc on my nerves and self esteem. That's when I made the decision to get the procedure done. It was the best and most selfish decision I ever made. But I was and am so glad I did it. Once your muscle tone is gone you can only get so much back , their are other factors involved. I would save the money you would spend on expensive devices or products, see several doctors. Get their opinions , understand exactly what it is that will make you happy for what you can afford, lower face only, full face, eyes? Then discuss the finance plans that are specific to plastic surgery. It's much like a credit card payment. I hope I wasnt a downer , all of the advice you were given is excellent. Had we gotten this advice in our 40's or 30's and really applied it we may not have needed surgery. Once the surgery is done use the advice as if it was spoken to you from Mt.Sini !! |
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Too numerous to mention! |
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Fri Mar 06, 2015 10:12 pm |
| rmc7 wrote: |
| I had a lower face lift a few years ago to deal with severe facial sag. It was the best and most selfish decision I ever made. But I was and am so glad I did it. Once your muscle tone is gone you can only get so much back. I would save the money you would spend on expensive devices or products, see several doctors. |
I agree. Get the surgery and then the rest of your life you will only have to worry about maintenance with botox, filler, creams.
I don't see why your decision was selfish, RMC7. When you get your hair cut is it "selfish?" It's your body. |
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