Maintain Youthful Skin Between Injectable Appointments

Injectables and fillers are a proven way to smooth lines and wrinkles—and make the skin more youthful looking instantly. But what you do between appointments at home is just as important as what you have done in office. In fact, it may be more important to maintain youthful skin.

What products you use on the skin, how you apply the products, and how you treat your skin on a daily basis can either extend the benefits of injectables and fillers or negate those effects. Here, how to maintain youthful skin between injectable appointments.

Maintain Youthful Skin Between Injectable Appointments

One of the key things you must do between injectable appointments is wear sunscreen every day. I have patients who tell me they don’t spend any time outdoors in the sun—unless they’re heading to the beach for the weekend. This may be true, in theory, but everyone gets incidental sun exposure. This is the exposure you’re getting on the way to work or to grab a coffee and the exposure you’re getting through windows in your home or office or even in your car. The sun’s ultraviolet A rays make their way through clouds and window glass. And it’s these UVA rays that are the primary cause of premature skin aging.

If you’re having injectables or fillers to make you more youthful looking but are ignoring the daily SPF, you’re just treading water—not making any serious headway in the anti-aging department!

Even if you’re stuck at home during the pandemic, there’s still a chance you’re outside at some point—or sitting near a window—so I recommend that you apply daily sun protection as part of your morning skin routine. And then reapply as necessary throughout the day.

Some of my favorite SPF products are those from Colorescience: the Sunforgettable Total Protection Brush-On Shield SPF 50 (a powder) and the Sunforgettable Total Protection Face Shield Glow SPF 50 (a cream). I also love Kate Somerville’s UncompliKated SPF with SPF 50 (a spray for face, meant to be worn under makeup) and Beauty Counter’s Countersun Mineral Sunscreen Mist SPF 30 (a mineral sunscreen with zinc).

Other Ways to Maintain Youthful Skin Between Injectable Appointments

• Get enough vitamin C. Vitamin C is a critical nutrient for the body and the skin. In fact, vitamin C is necessary for the production of collagen—the skin support protein that makes skin more youthful looking. (Many injectables and fillers help increase the production of collagen in the skin—making skin more youthful looking.) But vitamin C is one of the nutrients that’s most easily depleted from the skin. Exposure to sunlight and even pollution can reduce vitamin C in the skin.

I recommend using a topical vitamin C product every morning, under a sunscreen.

Research shows that layering vitamin C under a sunscreen can further protect your skin from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Some of my favorite serums with vitamin C include my own Collagen Support Hydrating Gel, which is good even for oily skin. (To order, call my office at 212-860-0670.)

Getting enough vitamin C in your diet (through citrus fruits and leafy greens, for example) is also important. Taking a vitamin C supplement daily (like the one from LivOn) can also help you have more youthful skin—and a healthy immune system (vitamin C helps boost the immune system, too).

• Be sure you’re getting enough vitamin D. This fat-soluble vitamin has been linked to healthier bones, but it’s actually critical for healthy youthful-looking skin, too. Healthy levels of vitamin D in the body, and in the skin, can help prevent premature skin aging.

Here’s the problem, though: our body produces vitamin D through exposure to the sun, and too much sun triggers premature aging. This is why I recommend that you get your vitamin D—and specifically your vitamin D3, which is the form of vitamin D the body can use—through supplements, not through sun exposure. One of my favorite vitamin D3 supplements is Designs for Health Emulsi-D3 Synergy (a liquid supplement with vitamins K1 and K2, which help the body deposit calcium in the bones and not into the soft tissue like the arteries and kidneys).

• Give your skin a dose of zinc. We know about zinc being a great immune booster, but this anti-inflammatory essential mineral is also key for skin health. In fact, the top layer of skin has a concentrated dose of zinc that’s up to six times more than what’s found in the lower layers of skin. That’s because this mineral works as an antioxidant helping to protect the skin from damaging free radicals produced by the sun’s ultraviolet light and daily pollution. Zinc also helps to heal the skin and control inflammation.

You can get zinc from a balanced diet (red meat, shellfish, legumes, nuts, and seeds are all good sources) and/or a daily supplement.

• Look for skincare products with elderberry. This plant has been getting a lot of attention for its immune support (why it’s common in lozenges and liquid supplements). The reason: it’s chockfull of protective antioxidants. For this same reason, in skincare products, elderberry can also help protect the skin from environmental damage. One of my favorite products with elderberry is the Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm.

• Keep an eye out for N-acetylcysteine (NAC). This star supplement, derived from an amino acid, has gotten a lot of attention recently because it’s important for lung health. This powerful antioxidant has also been found, however, to be important for skin health and particularly as an anti-inflammatory and helping to heal wounds. It also seems to help prevent ultraviolet-light induced skin cancer. While I have yet to find a topical skin product you can use at home, a good supplement with NAC is this one from Pure Encapsulations.

A healthy diet—and drinking plenty of fluids, including water—is also key to healthy, radiant, youthful-looking skin. Regular exercise, which boosts circulation in the skin, is important, too. Also key: sleeping on your back as much as possible, not with your face in your pillow, a habit that can tug on and wrinkle delicate skin over time. Together with a skin-care regimen that gets results, these lifestyle steps will help maintain youthful skin between injectable appointments.

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