How to Reverse Skin Aging (2025)

This is a continuation of this thread: How to Reverse Skin Aging (2022 to 2024)

What the evidence says about the consequences of cosmetic tweakments

Laser therapy, microneedling and vampire facials are among the bizarre, non-surgical treatments that have become widely available, but their evidence base is decidedly mixed

In recent decades, a number of laser, radiofrequency, ultrasound and intense pulsed light devices have been introduced that can ostensibly restore that youthful glow. Developed from treatments to promote wound healing and reduce scarring, these technologies all involve waves of energy penetrating the outer layers of the skin to heat it from within.

“If you heat the skin up enough, you basically stimulate a kind of a wounding response,” says Kiely, which then spurs the body to produce collagen and elastin to heal the damage. “So you’re playing with the body’s ability to repair itself.”

Read the full story: What the evidence says about the consequences of cosmetic tweakments (NewScientist)

The only four skincare ingredients that have been proven to work

In the quest for better skin, we are faced with an overwhelming choice of creams and serums to enhance our appearance. Here’s what works – and what doesn’t

Deciphering claims about these ingredients can be tricky. “Every year, there are at least three more ‘miracles’ on the market,” says Fu’s colleague and fellow chemist Gloria Wu. However, in their book, Skincare Decoded , they focus on the “big 4” – ingredients with the strongest evidence to back up marketing claims. These are retinoids, vitamin C, niacinamide and alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs).

Read the full story: The only four skincare ingredients that have been proven to work (New Scientist)

Forget aesthetics, the reason to look after our skin should be health

New research shows that ensuring the skin is in excellent condition should be a priority for anyone who wants to increase their chances of living a long life

There are many other reasons to take care of our complexion besides cosmetic concerns, however. According to new research, its condition can have knock-on effects for the rest of the body. Due to the dense thicket of blood vessels running under the surface, inflammation that starts in the skin can easily spread to the heart and the brain, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and dementia, for instance. Wrinkles aren’t just a projection of our age – they can actually drive the ageing process. And so we should think of skincare in the same way as exercise: the best reason to do it isn’t for looks, but for the undeniable health benefits.

Ensuring our epidermis is in excellent condition should therefore be a priority for anyone who wants to increase the chances of living a long life, which is why we have produced a special report on what we know about the best ways to care for it (see “Why looking after your skin is so crucial to your long-term health”).

Read the full story: Forget aesthetics, the reason to look after our skin should be health

Related:

Their blog: The Blog | Chemist Confessions

This seems like a pretty good science-based skincare podcast (your comments welcome). They are trained chemists, and “former L’Oréal formulators Victoria Fu and Gloria Lu have taken off their lab coats to reveal what the job is about and demystify skincare”.

As two skincare chemists with an equally terrible sense of humor, our friendship began in the cubicles of a big beauty company. Together, we began dreaming of a different approach to skincare - one in which the chemists’ voice no longer fell by the wayside to marketing trends and the customer had the knowledge to navigate the overstated claims and underwhelming results that is the skincare-industry-cyborg -machine. Source: About Us | Chemist Confessions

also available on youtube:

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A reminder for anyone taking rapamycin (you need to wear sunscreen all year):

Ivan Litvinov, a dermatologist at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, agrees that the benefits of using SPF in winter outweigh any potential risks. Sunlight triggers the production of vitamin D in the skin, but the amount produced at higher latitudes at this time of year is negligible, he says – and it can easily be remedied with supplements. Anyone with a family history of melanoma, with very fair skin or who is taking immunosuppressants or medications that make you more sensitive to UV light should always wear sunscreen, he advises.

Read full article: Should you really wear sunscreen all year round, even in winter?

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@LaraPo

If you order from a pharmacy, I suppose you can bypass the RevitaCare Laboratory, which sells only to medical professionals. Or maybe your nursing license is still active? Do they check? How’s your French? How do you order and how do you pay? You’d think that there would be a U.S. equivalent.

Thanks.

You do not need to speak French or have a license. All kinds of fillers are available for sale in Europe or Asia. Everybody speaks English. Just google the product you want to buy. It’s that easy.

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I have found this site in Italy. 230 €, about 230 US$ for 10 vials 5 ml each, at least this is how I construe the info.
Is 5 ml enough for a full facial application and how often should it be applied? I’m trying to figure out what would be the monthly cost of this treatment.

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5 ml is enough for the full face one time application. The price is good, shipping can be expensive though. You do not need to apply it every month. After you apply it for the first time, wait at least 3 weeks and re-apply again. It’ll last for 6 mo at least. Pls provide a link to the site.

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Thanks, LaraPo, this is a site in Repubblica di San Marino, a microstate inside Italy, where I live, and they do domestic shipping at a nominal price of 1 US$ so it seems overall good. My doubt now is what is the optimal means to apply it, in the site they say you can use mesorollers or dermal pen or similar methods. This is an alien subject to me and even my wife does not know the product.

I checked the site and they ship to Europe including UK, they do not list overseas destinations but of course you can enquire and if you have difficulties let me know, I think it’s easier to talk to assistance from here.

CYTOCARE 532 10 x 5 ml - Pillola Store.

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It is designed to be injected with a small (3-5 ml long) syringe, using a very small needle (30-32G, 2-13mm long). The length of a needle, from 2 mm to 13 mm, depends on the area where you want to inject and the injection angle. For example, if you want to infect in a single spot vertically, use a 2-3 mm needle. If you injecting under a longer wrinkle, use a 13 mm needle for angular I jections. I would recommend that you watch a video on YouTube how to I inject CytoCare.

Here are some common injection techniques used for administering CytoCare 532:

  1. Nappage: This technique involves multiple small injections across the treatment area to evenly distribute the product.
  2. Point-by-Point: Injections are made at specific points to target particular areas of concern.
  3. Retrotracing: The needle is inserted and then withdrawn while injecting the product, creating a linear deposit.
  4. Fan Injection: The product is injected in a fan-like pattern to cover a larger area.
  5. Cross-Hatching: Injections are made in a crisscross pattern to ensure even distribution and coverage¹²³.

These techniques can be performed manually or with a mesogun, typically using 30G needles. The injections are usually administered into the medium or superficial dermis of the face, neck, and back of the hands¹³.

If you have any more questions or need further details, feel free

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@LaraPo,

Do you have any suggestions for undereye circles? Everything I have tried, including hyaluronic acid, makes them worse.

Thanks.

I’ll be curious to hear what she says…

In the meantime, I’ve heard only to allow very highly trained specialists (not just any ol’ derm or plastic surgeon) inject under your eyes because the skin is so thin, that if not done perfectly, you can see the blue filler (if I recall, it’s blue?). This is most likely why it made yours look worse.

I’ve used only topicals under the eye, all of which irritate the skin. I’ve tried retinol, adapalene, peptides, niacinamide, etc. For the reasons you point out, I don’t think injections are the answer.

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LaraPo, thanks for discouraging me!

After your detailed description, I think that there is no way I’ll be able to inject myself like that. At most, as I saw in one video, I would be able to use a mesoroller and then paint the product on the ‘prepared’ skin. Maybe. Not sure. Also, it seems like a lengthy endeavour.

At this point, my strategy will be to start studying this alien subject of skincare beginning with simple things like facial cosmetics. I have no hurry.

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I have never seen a blue filler. May be it exists but for what purpose? Do you have a brand name for a blue filler? I used only either transparent fillers which are HA base, like in Juvederm line, or a white filler, like in Radiesse.

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It is a lengthy endeavor! It takes me about 2 hours for a full face procedure. It’s also more difficult to inject on self than on smb else.

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How do you define an under eye circle? Do you mean your skin is dull and sunken or do you mean your skin looks swollen like in ppl with kidney problems (water retention)?

I’ve never used filler under my eyes, but my friend who does flies to LA to see a special eye plastic surgeon a couple times per year to reduce the risk of blue showing through. I have heard it happens fairly often and many injectors won’t even do it due to the risk.

And I’m glad you asked because I couldn’t remember which product is blue, so I looked it up and was reminded it’s not the filler. It’s a common effect under the eyes when not placed well due to the thin skin… called the Tyndall effect.

Google says:
If filler under your eyes appears blue, it’s most likely due to a phenomenon called the “Tyndall effect,” which means the filler was injected too superficially under the skin, causing light to scatter and produce a bluish hue; this is especially noticeable in the thin skin under the eyes

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I do have CKD but the skin is more sunken than swollen, more reddish than blue. It may be a shadow effect,

If it bothers you, may be consult with a dermatologist. I don’t think you can correct it yourself.

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Nah, it doesn’t bother me that much. Thanks.

While skin health can be improved, ultimately the aging process doesn’t stop.

I’ve mentioned elastin previously and this part of our skin structure cannot be improved in any significant way. Without a way to improve/restore elastin we die. Not because of our skin but because of the importance of elastin in basic bodily functions that degrade along with our ever degrading elastin.

This is a very well understood issue that no one wants to talk about because there is nothing that can be done about it.

Elastin is the #1 life span limiter. It limits human lifespan to 115 - 120 years regardless of any other intervention.

It’s why you have never seen anyone over 60 without saggy skin. Regardless of their “lifestyle” and their efforts to remain young :slight_smile:

Anyone here do the “snap back” test? It’s pretty easy and very revealing. With your hand flat on a table or desk, pinch the skin on the back of your hand for 10 seconds. release the pinch and time how long it takes to flatten out. Try this with various aged people to see who’s got the most elastic skin :slight_smile: and it won’t be anyone over 60 LoL!

This is why I only read the philosophical discussions on “longevity” for entertainment.

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