Your skin is the largest organ of your body and plays a big role in the way others perceive your attractiveness and healthiness, so it deserves your utmost attention! Just as you exercise to keep your body healthy and combat stress in our lives, your skin needs a little help too.

Along with adopting a healthy lifestyle, there are a range of treatment options to target the signs of ageing and sun damage and help give you healthier, plumper and glowing skin.

What happens to your skin as you age?

Naturally your body starts to show the signs of ageing in your 30s, depending on your lifestyle. With age, an increasing number of lines become permanent due to changes in the structure of the skin. Cell division and renewal occurs more slowly, and the skin layers become less integrated and thinner.

As sweat and oil glands produce less lubrication, the moisture content is reduced, depriving skin of water-lipid hydration. Importantly, the substances that give your skin its firmness and elasticity – collagen and elastin – decrease and their function slow down.

This can be made worse by factors such as sun damage or smoking. Even small amounts of ultraviolet radiation can damage collagen fibres. Sun damage causes an uneven formation (matrix) of disorganised collagen fibres called solar scars under the skin’s surface, which eventually results in wrinkles.

In women, the area between the brows and top of the nose (glabella) is shown to decrease as the area under the rim of the eyebrows retreats, resulting in sagging brows and deflated eyelid skin. In men, the glabellar angle also diminishes and the area supporting the cheeks decreases.

How to delay the effects of ageing

You can owe a significant part of ageing to your genetic make-up, as well as your skin type and lifestyle.

The best approach to anti-ageing is by adopting healthy lifestyle factors such as sun protection, a healthy diet and exercise regimen, and management of stress.

For existing skin damage, there are a range of aesthetic options that can help keep your skin looking firm and youthful. Ultraformer III is a breakthrough device that offers a quick, effective and no-downtime approach to combat ageing.

Completely non-invasive, Ultraformer III uses ultrasound technology to heat tissues at specific depths and address specific causes of facial ageing. The ultrasound energy stimulates collagen and creates an immediate tightening effect. At more superficial levels it can also brighten and improve skin texture.

It can be used to address acne scarring, large pores, wrinkles on the forehead and around the eyes and deep wrinkles on the cheeks and neck.

You can typically see some results straightaway and these will continue to improve up to 90 days post treatment and last for several months to a year afterwards. One treatment is usually suffice, but some people may require a follow-up treatment after three months.

Where do I go?

Check out Platinum Dermatology Skin Specialists for a complimentary consultation with trained dermatology nurses and medical assistants. Head to www.platinumdermatology.com.au or call (02) 8014 6500.