Dr Marie-Brigitte Chouquet
“Feeling good in your own skin” is probably the idea that best sums up how much our skin’s appearance affects our beauty, our psyche and other peoples’ opinion of us.
Healthy skin radiates good health! The WHO defines health as “a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing”. Before envisaging any aesthetic procedures, it is vital that you adopt a good daily skincare routine and see a specialist doctor where necessary. The skin’s appearance is determined by several factors, namely lifestyle, food supplements, and the choice of cosmetic products. It is important to explain to patients that they have a vital role to play!
The global market for cosmetic products is extensive and varied:
A great many active ingredients are used and combined, and each one has its own action on the skin. Topical exosomes have recently been seen as promising. Similarly peptides, which have a structural and biomimetic action on the skin, are interesting. This is the case for RELIFE’s innovation from the Menarini laboratory: the Definisse [KP1] ® range with biopeptide [KP1], the first peptide that protects collagen from breaking down, helping to increase the skin’s collagen levels.
“BEAUTIFUL SKIN” CAN BE DEFINED BY FOUR CRITERIA: • A luminous, radiant complexion • Even skin tone • Soft and smooth skin texture • Good skin tone and elasticity
We can improve all these criteria with aesthetic treatments. But it can be difficult for patients to know what treatments they need, given the increasing number of new skin techniques available! I have therefore drawn up a (non-exhaustive) list that summarises the main skincare treatments indicated according to the four criteria for beautiful skin.
1. A luminous, radiant complexion: The aim is to boost the skin’s hydration, which means its hyaluronic acid levels.
• Mesolift: A mesotherapy technique that involves injecting a cocktail of active ingredients such as vitamins, antioxidants, trace elements, nucleotides and hyaluronic acid.
• Microneedling: This involves applying the same kind of bioactive cocktail after making multiple micro-holes in the skin.
• Skinboosters: Injecting small deposits of non-cross-linked but more concentrated hyaluronic acid with a strong hydrophilic action.
2. Even skin tone: The aim is to reduce pigmentation marks and redness.
• Pigmentation marks can be reduced using two different techniques:
Acidic chemical agents, called peels. There are a number of formulations available, containing glycolic, kojic, salicylic, lactic acid, etc. Techniques that use photons, intense pulsed light (IPL) or lasers, each with its own specific features.
• Vascular redness can be reduced with electrocoagulation, but most often using lasers and pulsed light, depending on the doctor’s choice and according to the patient’s phototype and the characteristics of the vascular lesions.
3. Soft and smooth texture: This involves reducing roughness, smoothing the skin’s surface, tightening pores, and erasing fine lines or micro-scars.
• Skinboosters: Act upon the fibroblasts that synthesise collagen, thus reducing fine lines.
• Peels: Act upon the skin texture by exfoliating it to eliminate any dead skin cells and stimulate cell renewal.
• Pulsed light and lasers: Their action smooths the skin texture.
4. Good skin tone and elasticity: To limit skin sagging and deep wrinkles and increase the skin density.
• Injectable collagen inducers: containing calcium hydroxyapatite or polymer gels, these are powerful fibroblast biostimulators, bringing about collagen and elastin synthesis with a densifying effect.
• Skinboosters: a trophic effect on the dermis, increasing density and tonicity.
• Radiofrequency: the warm energy emitted by the electric current stimulates the fibroblasts (which synthesise collagen) and causes the elastin fibres to retract.
• Other techniques can be offered, such as certain “tightening” lasers used simply to heat up the skin or focused ultrasounds.
For every “good skin” criterion, there is a treatment! Many of these techniques act simultaneously on the skin radiance, texture and tonicity. It is therefore by combining several skin treatments, adopting a healthy lifestyle and following a good daily skincare routine that we can beautify the skin and fight the signs of aging. Before suggesting surgery, we must raise our patients’ awareness about the importance of this holistic care, so that their skin stays beautiful and healthy, and they feel good in their own skin!
Dr Marie-Brigitte Chouquet: Graduated from Paris Medical Faculty. Aesthetics doctor for 20 years, established in Paris 16. University degree in injection techniques for dermatology and plastic surgery (Paris). Interuniversity diploma in aesthetic dermatology (Versailles). Member of the SFME.
More informations: la-medecine-esthetique.net
