Little and often, start low/go slow and less is more are all expressions that have evolved from an industry trend towards a gentler approach to achieving aesthetic results. The days of taking drastic action to look ‘young’ are long gone and the era of the Micro-Treatment has arrived!
Who doesn’t want to hear, “you look so fresh! something has changed but I can’t put my finger on it”! Roll back a couple of decades and an aesthetic treatment would mean hiding away for a few days or even weeks and coming out to “psssttt….she’s had work done” kind of gossip!
Historically, appearance aware women would realise much too late that a lifetime of following a cleanse, tone and moisturise routine had left them with sagging skin, jowls, and wrinkles. Heavy moisturisers and aggressive cleansers had let them down. The only reliable element of skincare was good genes and that could not be acquired with even the strongest will and the deepest of pockets. The natural progression from pampering skin rituals was to settle into wearing a neck scarf and a new hairdo to cover unsightly face lift scars.
Thankfully, the rapidly growing and forward-thinking aesthetics industry now offers solutions that don’t require mustering the courage to go under the knife. The industry isn’t shy of using the findings and scientific developments all the way from NASA to Medical research for treating serious injuries and disease to develop more easily accessible anti-aging skin treatments. Technology led treatments, sophisticated product ingredients and new injectable formulations are being introduced to the market by the day.
The new trend is to provide ‘Micro treatments.’ A term that is an accurate reflection of the present-day mind set towards aesthetics and beauty – people want to look ‘fresh’ and ‘radiant’ as opposed to looking ‘young’ and they need treatments that are quick enough to fit their busy lifestyles and effective enough to give them good results.
The term ‘micro treatment’ is a reference to any treatment that offers pain free, subtle, and cumulative results. It will almost always be non-invasive because none or very little down-time and an easy complication free recovery is a common expectation. Treatment menus have evolved from one off investment heavy surgeries and aggressive laser treatments to ‘treatment packages’ that offer the chance to rejuvenate cell function and give natural results through treatments that are evenly spaced out and that often progressively increase in strength as the skin’s tolerance increases.
While considering injectable solutions the micro trend is a shift from heavy handed deep wrinkle relaxant injections and large amounts of filler to a more subtle rejuvenated look. Baby Botox and filler formulations that stimulate natural collagen production and focus on skin hydration have become popular.
While the rise of these easily accessible treatments is a tempting proposition to buy into for a quick skin pick me up during a work lunch break; it too comes with some additional do’s that can help achieve superior results and give better value for money.
Firstly, a one-off treatment will only give a temporary result. If you are looking for visible long-term results and effective improvement in skin health the best way to achieve this is by investing in treatment packages. Such as, one micro-needling treatment with me will make your skin feel firmer and tighter for a few weeks and stimulate some collagen production but if you want to see some lines fade, improve vascular health, or maybe even improve acne scarring you will need at least 4 -6 treatments a few weeks apart, this will stimulate collagen production and remodelling for months after the treatments. Similarly chemical skin peels can only help issues like pigmentation and uneven skin texture over a series of treatments that gradually increase in intensity. This holds true for all machine led treatments as well.
Secondly, in order to achieve effective results from micro treatments it is important to support the treatments with the right home care products. Investing in treatments without using correct skincare is akin to working out at the gym while eating an unhealthy diet. The two go hand in hand if you want to see visible returns on your investment ; )
The success of most treatments that instigate the body’s own healing mechanism relies on how well the body copes with the inflammatory phase of wound healing. It is important to nourish the skin with anti-inflammatory ingredients in products and also actives that boost renewal and strengthen the skin.
I absolutely love the new “micro treatment” trend and believe it is the way forward in aesthetics. It requires commitment and consistency but delivers slow and gradual results – so don’t forget to document your before and after photographs – sometimes the results can be so subtle you won’t be able to see the difference in the mirror, but the transformation is visible when pictures are compared from the start of a treatment package and the end.