If there’s one thing we know for sure, we’ll be older with every day that passes. But fortunately, today, we have far more control over how our faces age. Of course, how much you do is up to you; some may be happy doing nothing. But if you want to invest in anti-ageing, the trick is knowing what to do — and when — with your precious dollars.
We caugth up with Doctor Sam Aravinth to give us a brief education on the ageing process and gain some valuable tips on the best treatments to plan for over each decade.
First up, Dr Sam explained why we actually start to look older. He says two things cause ageing:
- Time passing (resulting in oxidative stress and internal changes in your body)
- UV damage
Put simply, UV damage is a massive part of the ageing equation—and it’s something we have control over—so we must commit to protecting our skin with SPF 50. Sunscreen is a nonnegotiable. And we must look after ourselves — stay healthy, have early nights, avoid drinking and smoking, eat nutritious food — all the usual players. But if we really want to hold back the hands of time, we should also make a few wise investments in anti-ageing treatments.
Here’s what Doctor Sam recommends for each decade.
TEENS
Key issues: While you still have healthy levels of collagen and elastin, your teens are all about prevention.
Even teens must think about ageing, mainly to prevent sun damage. Every teenager (and child) should apply SPF 50 at least once daily to protect their skin.
TEENS TREATMENT SUMMARY
- SPF 50: 1-2 x daily
- Vitamin C serum – If desired, vitamin C serum can be applied daily as an antioxidant.
TWENTIES
Key issues: As with teens, prevention is critical. The first visible signs of ageing, such as fine lines and wrinkles, will appear now.
Let’s be clear: you’re still a spring chicken in your twenties, and worrying about ageing shouldn’t be a priority. However, Dr Sam stresses that your twenties are a good time to consider mild treatment courses once a year to keep those skin cells turning over as fast as they did in your younger years.
Laser is the gold standard for improving skin quality, and treatment can start with mild, non-ablative laser to encourage collagen stimulation, improving skin texture and tone.
At home, think about introducing Vitamin A (Retinol) into your skin care regimen. Vitamin A is arguably the most important topical product to have in your bathroom cupboard; a strong performer, it promotes cellular turnover, helping to prevent the formation of fine lines and wrinkles. Start cautiously, carefully starting with once a week and build up to maximum 2-3 times a week.
20’s TREATMENT SUMMARY
- Pico laser – A non-ablative laser that can be used for gentle skin rejuvenation.
- Fraxel laser – A non-ablative fractional laser used to treat ageing and damaged skin.
- REJURAN – A highly rejuvenating injectable skin treatment that promotes skin regeneration, improves elasticity and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
- PRP Treatment – An effective skin rejuvenation treatment using your body’s own blood platelets
- Vitamin A (Retinol) – at home use to increase cellular turnover
THIRTIES
Key issues: Lowered collagen and hyaluronic acid levels may show early signs of volume loss, particularly in the midface and chin areas. Slight skin sagging becomes noticeable. Upper eyelids could become hooded, and wrinkles may appear around your eyes.
By your thirties, Dr Sam explained that your skin needs more boosting to keep your collagen and elastin reproduction firing. If you can start now, you’ll thank yourself in the coming decades.
More advanced laser treatments, such as the CO2 laser, are suitable for thirtysomethings. Considered the gold standard of all lasers, the CO2 laser uses carbon dioxide gas to omit laser light that causes microscopic areas of thermal damage, penetrating the top layer of the skin. This stimulates collagen production, replacing the damaged areas with new cells.
According to Dr Sam, your thirties are also an excellent time to start taking antiwrinkle injections. Regular injections will help smooth the skin and prevent deep lines from forming.
Collagen stimulating injections are a PBS-listed product Doctor Sam highly recommends if you want to avoid a deep plane facelift. He explains that these collagen stimulating injections
Address the underlying cause of facial ageing — collagen loss. And the way it works is quite unique. Unlike volumising gels, collagen stimulating injections helps stimulate your own natural collagen production to smooth facial wrinkles and improve skin tightness. So ideally, you should introduce this product in your thirties and continue your treatments through the decades.
If you notice now that your cheeks have lost volume or that nasolabial folds are becoming slightly noticeable, then a sprinkle of volumising or augmenting filler may be all you need to rebalance and enhance.
30’s TREATMENT SUMMARY
- CO2 laser – A fractional laser resurfacing skin treatment
- PRP Treatment – An effective skin rejuvenation treatment using your body’s own blood platelets
- Antiwrinkle injections
- Volumising gels
- Vitamin A (Retinol)
FORTIES
Key issues: Along with lowered levels of collagen and elastin, your skin will produce less oil, becoming drier and more prone to deeper lines and wrinkles. Deep fat pads in the midface and temples become noticeably smaller, and skin won’t bounce back as quickly, causing more drooping and sagging. Vertical lines typically appear around the lips and general wrinkling becomes noticeable throughout the face. (Hormonal changes will amplify the effect.) Upper and lower eyelids may begin to sag, creating a deep set look with more prominent crows feet.
If you haven’t taken action by age 40, it’s time. Typically, your forties are when you should explore more intensive treatments. CO2 laser is (again) considered the gold standard treatment option, and according to Dr Sam, for the best results, you should combine your laser treatment with an injectable collagen-enhancing treatment . He enthuses that this combination gives your skin a one-two punch by stimulating collagen production from both sides—the laser from the top down and collagen stimulator from the bottom up.
Wrinkle-relaxing injections and augmenting fillers are also advisable to prevent the visible signs of ageing.
40’s TREATMENT SUMMARY
FIFTIES
Key issues: You’ll notice more sagging or jowling around the cheeks and jawline, a loss of volume in the temples, and sagging of the brows, causing eyelids to appear hooded and heavier. Vertical lines between the brows appear. The menopause also causes hormonal changes which thin the skin and make it prone to pigmentation.
Dr Sam stresses that your focus in your fifties and sixties should be collagen stimulation and skin tightening. And the best way to achieve this is through a combination of threads Collagen-stimulating injections.
Threads
Threads benefit your face in two ways by giving you:
- A mechanical lift – caused by the cones in the threads themselves. This will be evident immediately after the procedure, providing 10-15% of the final result.
- Longer-term collagen stimulation – by the threads. This appears around 5 weeks after the procedure and continues for 12-15 months afterwards.
The threads then naturally dissolve after 15 months, with the results of the thread lift lasting approximately three years. We now have the third generation of threads available at Samara Aesthetics, these produce much less downtime with less swelling, bruising and puckering while resulting in much superior collagen stimulating action.
Collagen stimulating injections
Collagen stimulating injections are the most potent medication for stimulating collagen and is listed on the PBS. You’ll need to have 2 treatments, approximately 2 to 4 months apart, with results lasting 24 months. Collagen stimulator injections will tighten the tissues, restoring some of the lost elasticity. Dr Sam likens it to putting your favourite baggy trackpants through the dryer and enjoying the newfound tightness when they’re dry.
Along with the above two treatments, laser will also be your best friend (and HRT, if your doctor deems it suitable). Budget permitting, you may want to investigate various injectable options.
50’s TREATMENT SUMMARY
- CO2 laser
- Bio-stimulating injections
- Collagen stimulating injections
- Threads
- Antiwrinkle injections
- Volumising and augmenting gels
- Vitamin A (Retinol)
SIXTIES
Key issues: More advanced signs of ageing appear. Along with the issues outlined in the fifties, thinner skin, age spots and pigmentation become more prominent. A lack of hydration and skin dryness can also become a concern.
For those serious about reversing the signs of ageing, a deep plane facelift is considered the gold standard option (although this procedure can be performed earlier than in your sixties). However, if you feel that surgery is not for you, there are still various anti-ageing procedures that can help.
Maintain your focus on skin tightening and collagen reproduction with a combination of threads and Sculptra (collagen-stimulating injections). Additionally, the CO2 laser is still an excellent option to reverse the effects of ageing.
As a 60-something face has more advanced lines and wrinkles and a loss of fatty tissue, you may wish to use anti-ageing injectables and cosmetic enhancements such as volumising filler and antiwrinkle treatments to restore your facial balance and symmetry.
60’s TREATMENT SUMMARY
It all starts with a consultation
with a medically trained doctor...
At Samara Aesthetics, every client starts with a one-on-one consultation with Dr Sam Avarinth, a medically trained cosmetic doctor. He’ll take the time to assess you, listen to questions, and share his knowledge before suggesting suitable, personalised treatment options. There’s no one-size-fits-all, no pushy sales talk — just caring, considered, evidence-based advice.
