Effective procedures for restoring and maintaining skin tone using facial cosmetics.

After 30 years, the skin tone begins to decrease. These changes become evident after 35-40 years. In another 5-6 years, the skin on the neck will follow the same path. It becomes thin, dry, and saggy. Wrinkles, creases, and 'bags' easily form on aging facial skin.

If you want to combat skin aging, you need to fight for good tone throughout your life, starting at the age of 30-35. Modern cosmetology offers a multitude of effective procedures, cosmetic products, and supplements that slow down aging. They will not only help maintain tone but also improve it if the skin has already lost its initial elasticity. In this publication, we will discuss what facial procedures can be done to improve tone, what skincare products to use, and what supplements to take.

What is Skin Tone

Skin tone refers to its ability to retain and quickly regain its original shape. If you gather the skin into a fold or stretch it, it tends to return back to its place.

When the skin strives to free itself from your fingers and quickly returns to its original position as soon as you release it, there are no problems with tone. If the skin does not resist in your fingers and returns to its previous position slowly, reluctantly, it is an obvious sign of deteriorating tone.

Poor tone is just the beginning of problems. Wrinkles quickly appear on weakened, sagging, thin skin. Dealing with them can be difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to normalize tone in time before wrinkles appear and become too deep.

It is the loss of skin tone that is the main cause of premature aging of facial skin. The one that occurs long before the actual biological aging of the body.

Signs of Decreased Tone

The signs of decreased skin tone include:

• Loss of volume (thin skin);
• Dryness;
• Many fine wrinkles;
• Deep folds on the face (nasolabial fold, marionette lines, and tear troughs);
• Excess upper eyelid skin;
• Drooping eyebrows;
• 'Bags' under the eyes.

You can check your facial tissue tone by trying to gather skin into a fold in the cheek area. If you can take a fold and hold it indefinitely, then there are problems with tone. If the skin 'escapes', tries to straighten out, and cannot be held, then the tone is fine.

Causes and Mechanisms of Decreased Tone

It is necessary to know the causes of decreased skin tone to understand which direction to work in to maintain and improve it. If nothing is done, the decrease in tone will continue.

In the reticular layer of the dermis, there are collagen fibers. They provide the necessary density of the skin. With age, due to the influence of adverse environmental factors or diseases, the process of collagen formation is disrupted. The quantity and quality of fibers deteriorate. Quality suffers due to a decrease in the percentage of type III collagen. As a result, the fibers can no longer fully perform their function, so the skin becomes thin, 'floats,' and folds.

Here's what happens at the tissue and cell levels:

• The reticular layer becomes thinner;
• Many empty spaces appear between collagen fibers;
• The fibers themselves lose an ordered structure;
• They become thicker;
• The boundary between dermis layers becomes blurred.

Thus, the main mechanism of decreased skin tone is the disruption of the collagen formation process. Its production naturally decreases by 1% each year as the body ages, and in women with premature aging, everything happens much faster.

To increase tone, it is necessary to stimulate collagen formation. This will help in the 'long run.' And creams for skin tone will help achieve an immediate effect.

Although for most women, the main reason for disrupted collagen formation is age, in some cases, loss of tone occurs much earlier. The decrease in the quantity and quality of collagen can be due to lifestyle errors: harmful habits, alcohol, stress, lack of sleep, poor nutrition, diseases, as well as the influence of adverse environmental factors on the skin.

Cosmetological Procedures to Improve Skin Tone

We will discuss the procedures available for the face that improve skin tone in the long term. To achieve this goal, collagen formation needs to be enhanced. This can be achieved through the use of biostimulants that intensify metabolic processes or by applying micro-injuries, prompting tissues to recover more intensively.

Non-surgical facelifts refer to procedures that provide a lifting effect. However, not all of them work by directly affecting the skin. For instance, SMAS facelifts work by targeting the musculoaponeurotic system beneath the skin. Therefore, although it's an effective procedure for facial rejuvenation, we won't dwell on it as SMAS facelifts do not affect skin tone. The same can be said for thread lifts.

However, there are many other cosmetological procedures that do affect skin tone, both apparatus-based and injection-based. We invite you to explore the TOP 5 most effective methods of improving skin tone. They allow for a gradual but lasting result. The skin needs time to restore collagen production, so the maximum effect should be expected a few weeks after undergoing a single procedure or a course of procedures.

Collagen Therapy

Collagen injections directly into the skin. The preparation fills the lost volume of the extracellular matrix. As a result of the procedure, the structure of both fibrous and amorphous components of the intercellular substance is restored. Collagen therapy is mainly used after 40 years.

Procedure stages:

1. Topical anesthesia. This is when a cream is applied to the skin, temporarily 'turning off' the sensitivity of the nerves.

2. Dilution of the drug.

3. Removal of residual anesthetic.

4. Intradermal injection of collagen using a very fine needle, row by row, every 0.5 mm. As a result, small papules form.

5. Treatment of the skin with post-procedure spray or cream.

Three procedures are required with three-week intervals. The most common side effect, as with other injection techniques, is bruising. They disappear within one week.

The result of the course of procedures is an increase in skin tone and a decrease in the severity of tissue ptosis in the area of exposure. With ultrasound, thickening of the dermis by 40-50% can be detected.

Mesotherapy

Mesotherapy is an injection technique involving the introduction of medicinal substances into the skin. It differs from collagen therapy and biorevitalization (hyaluronic acid injections) only in the composition of the administered drugs. With mesotherapy, cocktails containing several substances are used.

The composition of the 'cocktail' depends on the goals to be achieved. One of these goals may be to increase skin tone by stimulating collagen production. Mesotherapy can improve the condition of both the entire facial skin and specific anatomical zones where decreased tone is most noticeable and has led to pronounced aesthetic defects.

Microcurrent Therapy

An effective facial procedure involving the application of weak modulated pulse current to the skin. It helps moderately enhance collagen production, improve tissue metabolism, facilitate fluid drainage, and reduce facial swelling. Microcurrents affect the cells themselves, stimulating energy exchange.

Usually, the course consists of 10 procedures lasting half an hour each. This apparatus-based technique does not cause discomfort and does not require anesthesia. The effect of its application is moderate, not very long-lasting, but microcurrents are compatible with other procedures, enhancing their results.

Photorejuvenation

A non-invasive but quite aggressive procedure for facial skin firmness and pigmentation correction. Photorejuvenation is performed using pulsed high-intensity light of various wavelengths, regulated by filters.

The rejuvenating effect is achieved by applying numerous micro-injuries. High-intensity pulsed light is absorbed by the pigment melanin. Areas that are more heavily pigmented heat up and get damaged, but these are only small patches of tissue, so there will be no burns after the procedure. Regenerative processes are initiated in the damaged areas. As a result, fibroblast activity increases, leading to collagen production.

Phototherapy causes facial redness, which can last for several days. After each session, it is necessary to avoid exposure to sunlight on the face, protecting the skin with cream. It is better to do this procedure in cold weather.

RF Lifting

A minimally invasive procedure performed by a cosmetic doctor. Dozens of very fine needles are inserted into the skin. Their tips are heated, causing coagulation of small tissue areas. Everything happens very quickly, and the needles are very thin, so strong pain sensations are not expected. If necessary, the procedure can be performed under local topical anesthesia.

Perhaps this is the most effective procedure for facial skin tone. It provides a lasting result. Skin tightening, increased tone, elasticity, and reduced wrinkles are the main, not secondary, effects of RF lifting. The technique is applicable not only in the facial area but also in any other zones, but special attachments are required, which differ in the size of the treated area and the length of the needles, as the skin on the human body varies in thickness in different areas. In standard cases, RF lifting of the face does not involve treating the area around the eyes, but with the use of a special attachment, rejuvenation of this area becomes possible.

Stimulation of the formation of skin proteins—collagen and elastin—is the main mechanism of action of RF lifting. As a result of the procedure, the micro-relief of the skin is smoothed out, it is renewed and becomes healthier.

At the same time, RF lifting affects the skin itself, not the musculoaponeurotic system ('facial frame'). Therefore, it improves the condition of the skin covers to a greater extent than it corrects the contours of the face as a whole. If the main problem is not thin, wrinkled skin, but a 'slipped' oval, it is better to use ultrasound SMAS lifting to solve such a problem.

Collagen Supplements

Skin loses its tone because it lacks collagen. Replenishing this deficit will increase tone. Taking collagen internally should not be the sole method of rejuvenation, but it is a good supplement that will enhance results. Collagen-based supplements are particularly effective for women with premature aging, but they are less effective if the cause of decreased tone is natural age-related changes in facial skin.

The beneficial effect of collagen on the condition of facial skin is not just assumed, it is proven by clinical studies. For example, this review of 19 studies published in 2021 showed that collagen supplements for 3 months improved skin hydration, elasticity, and reduced wrinkles. The authors recognized this supplement as effective for preventing skin aging. Another review of 26 studies and 1721 patients published in 2023 showed increased skin moisture and elasticity with collagen hydrolysate intake. Women who took supplements for longer periods achieved better results.

If you want to use this simple and inexpensive method of rejuvenation, you can purchase collagen supplements from our store. You need to take them indefinitely. As long as you use these products, your skin ages more slowly. After discontinuing use, the effect persists for some time but then begins to diminish. However, even with constant long-term use, the expenses for collagen supplements are tens of times lower than the expenses for cosmetic procedures for rejuvenation in a salon or clinic.

Swedish Nutra Animal Collagen. Available in liquid form in 0.5 liters. Take 25 ml per day. Beneficial for skin and joints. Has a pleasant taste due to fruit concentrates. Additional benefits: contains vitamins, copper, and sodium hyaluronate.

Collagen Peptides Powder. Contains 360 g in a package. Take 12 g per day. It also contains hyaluronic acid for skin hydration and several vitamins. One package lasts for a month, and six months of intake are cheaper than one facial treatment procedure in a beauty salon.

Beauty Collagen. Powdered collagen. Comes in three different flavors. Just two tablespoons a day will slow down aging and reduce the need for wrinkle cosmetic procedures.

Facial Cosmetics that Increase Skin Tone

Most women regularly use facial skincare products. By adding a few new creams to them, you can support skin tone and even get an instant, though temporary, lifting effect. Using creams is an excellent addition to facial cosmetic procedures and taking collagen supplements.

Lifting Cream 'Coconut and Hyaluron'. Contains coconut oil and hyaluronic acid. Designed for normal to dry facial skin. Provides natural softness and elasticity.

Day Cream Lift & Firm. Tightens the skin, increases its elasticity. Smooths wrinkles, prevents new ones from appearing. Contains hyaluronic acid and antioxidants. Suitable for facial and neck skin.

Toning Cream 'Oblepikha C-Berrica'. Contains organic sea buckthorn oil and vitamin C. Protects against adverse environmental factors that can worsen collagen production.

Now you know why skin tone is lost, and you have many tools to maintain and restore tone. Use facial rejuvenation procedures, use home cosmetics, and take collagen supplements internally to delay aging.