Get Insider Dr. Ware’s Tips & Tricks for Skin Care in your 20s, 30s, & 40s

Dr. Michele Ware is the owner and practicing physician at Los Feliz MedSpa in Los Angeles, California. Situated beneath the rolling hills of Griffith Park, Los Feliz MedSpa is a tranquil getaway in the middle of a bustling metropolis. Dr. Ware has been practicing aesthetic medicine for over 10 years, and her patients include Hollywood A-listers and some of Los Angeles’ most elite denizens.

Dr. Ware of Los Feliz Med Spa has trained with some of the top plastic surgeons and dermatologists in the world and is a leader in the art of aesthetic medicine. Her strategy for fighting the ongoing aging process is a preventative one. She sees the aging process as one that affects the body as a whole. With early prevention, her patients enjoy a longer-lasting youthful, natural aesthetic. Dr. Ware’s philosophy is that by starting early, she can perform more conservative treatments over a longer period of time, rather than waiting until more drastic, aggressive treatment becomes necessary. It’s never too late to start, though, and here are Dr. Ware’s recommendations for patients of any age group.

 

Patients in their 20s:
Good to Know: In your 20s, deep collagen is generally still in great shape, but superficial collagen starts to break down. Skin loses a little of its shine and elasticity.
Must Haves- I recommend using medical-grade skin care. The percentage of active ingredients is stronger, and most products have undergone vigorous clinical testing with proven results. I suggest starting with a great medical grade exfoliator (Exfoliating Scrub by BelleDerm), moisturizer (Dermal Repair Cream by SkinMedica), and sunblock (Total Defense & Repair by SkinMedica, or UV Physical by Elta MD).

 

Treatments-
Microdermabrasion: gets rid of dead skin cells allowing skin care to be more effective, leaves skin looking bright and glowing. Great to get your skin glowing with no downtime
Intense Pulse Light (IPL): a light-based treatment that stimulates surface level collagen, destroys free radicals, reduces inflammation
Clear + Brilliant: Perfect to do a series of 3 sessions during the colder months of the year, to erase Summer sun damage, stimulate surface collagen, and improve skin texture. Once a month will have your skin looking red carpet ready.

 

Patients in their 30s:
Good to Know: In your 30s, deep collagen breakdown exceeds new collagen production. Skin starts to lose its bounce-back.
Must Haves- Again, I recommend continuing with a regimen of medical-grade skin care, and by this age you should be using a growth factor or stem cell product to boost collagen. Also consider a skin brightener (like Lytera Skin Brightening Complex by SkinMedica) to even skin tone and to give your skin a nice glow.

 

Treatments- Continue the regimen from your 20s, and add Botox every 6 months to soften wrinkles and prevent deep wrinkles from forming.
Fraxel Dual Laser: Re-texturizes skin’s surface, removes sun damaged cells, brown spots, and boosts deep collagen production. A wonderful treatment to try during the colder months, but plan on about a week of recovery time as your skin is rejuvenated.

 

Patients in their 40s and older:
Good to Know: In your 40s, collagen breakdown and facial fat loss take away the full, bouncy appearance of a youthful face.
Must Haves: As before, I suggest continuing with medical-grade skin care, including growth factors and stem cell products (SkinMedica’s TNS Essential Serum, or Biopelle’s Tensage Stem Cell Cream). I believe patients of this age will most likely need to add dermal fillers to replace volume loss & to counteract the force of gravity. Repeated use of dermal fillers can also stimulate collagen production in the deep layers, which adds more support for the overlying skin- again returning a youthful appearance.

Treatments- Continue treatment regimen from your 20s and 30s. You may need to do treatments more frequently.
Thermage CPT Radiofrequency Therapy: stimulates collagen regeneration, tightens, lifts and contours- giving skin back its youthful bounce and firmness. This is a great treatment to do once a year (at any time) to keep collagen breakdown at bay.