Anti-aging: It can be overwhelming most certainly, but you can do it the smart and most affordable way. Let me tell you how.
Anti-aging is a very big word and encompasses a whole lot. Because of this, it can become extremely overwhelming and frustrating. I understand this. I was recently walking around a Macy’s Department Store and a Target Store and ventured into the skin care aisles. My mind was blown because as a normal consumer, I would have no idea what to purchase or even where to begin to understand what my skin needs; let alone my skin condition(s). From Vitamin E to Vit C to Vit K to Copper to Peptides to Stem Cells to Skin Lighteners/Brighteners to Retinol/Retinoids (I mean what is the difference between retinols?) I felt compelled to help our clientele and the normal consumer of said products and pertaining services that may apply.
Because this is a medical spa, I will stick to non-invasive services and pertaining products to assist. Of course, anti-aging absolutely consists of surgeries too but that would require a consultation with a surgical practice rather than our medical spa.
How do you get started and how can you do it the most affordable and truly the smartest way?
This is actually way more simple than most would think. Find a good and reputable medical spa or aesthetic clinic. Just by searching online and looking over reviews will tell you a whole lot about a place prior to scheduling an appointment. Once you decide on where to go, make an appointment. We offer free consultations on all of our services and I would imagine that most places will do this for you too. This will be a 30 min conversation with someone with the expertise that you do not have and can guide your accordingly.
If you come here for a consultation, we will start you out simple and guide you with options. Because we offer so many services, I will always ask the client to tell me what made them make the appointment today. This puts the focus directly onto “what bothers you most when you look in the mirror”. And this is exactly where you begin. If you look in the mirror and all that you see is large pores, then this is where we begin. This is a simple facial and a check to see what type of products that you are currently using. This will help us to get your skin back to a place that you are happy with and we will guide you with products. Truly products are a whole different article to write because of the FDA in the United States. More about that later, but with your first appointment, we will just ensure that the products that you are currently using aren’t creating the problem or going to make it worse. You never want to take two steps forward and one step back.
What if you scheduled a consultation because you have brown or red pigments that you dislike when you look in the mirror. Again, another simple problem. This will typically require a couple of IPL treatments to reduce red pigments and lift brown pigments. Again, products will be discussed and again for the same reasons; to ensure that what you are currently using isn’t creating the problem or making it worse.
These are simple and affordable first steps. Once you get the issues of concern that brought you in the door resolved you can move on from there. Maybe next you start noticing wrinkling of your skin or maybe acne scarring or maybe drooping of your jowls or cheeks, then we have other options for you of course. But right off the bat, you should never be inundated with coming in for a simple solution and be told that what you really need will cost you $4k or $7k or whatever. Sadly, we hear this often and it just makes me shake my head because it’s all too much and not what you were seeking. Now if you come in and state all of those issues, then sure we will discuss options, but you always start with what bothers you most. And to be perfectly honest, places that do that kind of “upsell” give us all a bad name because it’s overkill and not necessary and I truly believe that it’s wrong. And sadly, it keeps people from wanting to even bother anti-aging. It’s confusing and expensive and does not need to be this way.
I will, of course, always encourage our clientele to read through our website and other information and get educated a bit before venturing in just so that you are armed with a bit of information which is always a good thing. We love educated clientele because it makes our job easier to be honest. But for you, don’t stand for bullying of your wallet and instead stand your ground and leave an establishment if it doesn’t feel comfortable to you.
Onto products
I mentioned the United States has an FDA. We are actually the only country in the world with an administration that overlooks skin care. This can be a good thing, don’t get me wrong because as we all know there are crazy products “out there”, but it can also create more confusion and frankly is secretive. The FDA actually classifies skin care products in the U.S. as either cosmetics or drugs. Any product that you purchase retail from Estee Lauder to Oil of Olay or any other retail skin care lines is classified as a cosmetic; any products that you purchase via doctor or aesthetician is classified as “drugs” and are called cosmeceuticals. You can clearly see in just the name cosmeceutical that the last portion is symbolic to the word “pharmaceutical”.
Just what is the difference in cosmetic skin care and cosmeceutical skin care?
Well, I will tell you that they can all have the same ingredients and it’s always about the molecular size of the product as to whether it can penetrate or not. Cosmetics are meant to sit on top of the skin; drugs or cosmeceuticals are meant to penetrate and this is the entire difference. If you can get your product to penetrate the layers of your skin, it’s going to actually work for you and will not feel as if it’s sitting on the top of your skin as makeup or cosmetics do. The difference that you will feel in one use is dramatic and I have heard it so many times. Clients will return and say “oh my goodness, you were correct and I noticed the difference the very first time that I used it”. Bingo! This is exactly what you want. And because skin care lines that are doctor or aesthetics approved do not have middlemen or overhead as store locations do and because the products ship directly from the manufacturer to us, often times this means pricing is very similar or you may pay a little more for a cosmeceutical but you will use much less of it and therefore pricing is the same or less.
So, in the end I would tell you to look at a clinic’s reviews (or our clinic), schedule a free consultation with us and let us help you to start the anti-aging process intelligently and cost effectively. We are delighted to meet you and you have an extremely skilled and down to earth team here at Advanced Skin Therapy of Smokey Point that should help to make the entire process a positive experience for you.
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