"Do I need to step up my anti-aging efforts and routine?"

More often than not, the answer would be yes - unless you're still in your teens!

Having an aging facial skin can affect our appearance and also the health of our skin. And with medical technology and practices today, keeping our skin tight and youthful is as simple as ever.

Last week, Dr Loo shared on how to treat facial sagging skin safely and effectively. You can read more about it here: Patient Mailbox: I'm 29, But My Face is Already Sagging.

We all experience aging signs on our skin at different ages and at different times. There is no set rules on whether you would start showing skin aging at a certain age, or after a certain period of time.

Factors like lifestyle habits, sun exposure damage on skin, genetics, and skin care can affect the speed our skin ages.

So how do you know if it's time to step up your efforts to stop your skin from aging faster than your actual age?

Here are the 5 signs you should look out for if your facial skin is aging:

1. Sagging skin

Sagging skin is caused by the loss of volume, or more specifically, the loss of collagen beneath the skin. This can cause some of the usual saggy skin appearances like "turkey neck", "chicken skin", or loose skin especially around the lower face and the forehead.

Our skin is tight and firm when our body can stumulate collagen synthesis to hold our skin cells together tightly. However, as we age, collagen production slows down, and when the loss of collagen is greater than the simulation of new ones, our skin loses its tightness and becomes saggy.

There are several popular medical treatments to treat sagging skin. One of the safest and most effective treatment is Ultherapy, which uses HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound) for skin lifting without any invasive surgery.

It is, however, important to note that Ulthera, the machine used for Ultherapy, is a highly sophisticated and unique machine, and should only be operated by certified doctors to avoid any treatment misconduct.

*Editor’s note: Ultherapy is one of the safest and most effective treatments for sagging skin on the face, and you can get it at Peter Ch’ng Clinic with our new Ulthera machine, specially dedicated for this treatment. To know more, call us at +6011-22882299, WhatsApp us here, or book an appointment with Dr Loo here!

2. Lines and wrinkles

Fine lines and wrinkles on the face are among the first signs of aging that are the most noticeable on the face.

Common areas where these lines and wrinkles often appear are the corners of our eyes (also known as laugh lines), on the lower cheeks, on the forehead (wrinkles) and between the eye brows.

Deeper lines can also appear between the nose and the mouth, and are especially visible when smiling.

Dry skin are usually more prone to fine lines and wrinkles, and can also be made worse through factors like smoking (which dries up the skin even more),skin damage from excessive sunlight exposure, and stress.

3. Dry skin

As our skin ages, it loses moisture and can lead to dry skin. This also means that our skin become less elastic and loses tightness.

Dry skin is a milder skin issue compared to the others on this list, and can be overcome with proper skin care and lifestyle changes such as keeping our skin moisturized with the right skin care products and maintaining water intake in terms of drinking enough water and eating water-rich fruits and vegetables.

However, if not cared for properly, dry skin can be the foundation of other skin aging problems like wrinkles and fine lines which areespecially apparent on dry skin.

4. Large pores

Our pores are the openings on our skin that acts as an outlet for excess buildup of sebum, dead skin cells and debris in our skin. However, as we age, this process of substance elimination on our skin slows down, leaving excess skin, oil and debris to biuld up and get trapped in the pores, enlarging our pores in the process.

Besides, other than aging, sunlight exposure is also a major factor in causing large pores, along with genetics.

Large pores is a common skin problem and can be experienced at all ages, even though it usually becomes more apparent during the aging process.

Therefore, there are several medical treatments that can help reduce pore size like laser treatments.

If you're interested to know more about large pore treatment, just call us at +6011-22882299, WhatsApp us here, or book an appointment with Dr Loo here and we'll guide you on the next steps!

5. Age spots

Age spots are actually caused mainly by sunlight exposure damage. But they are very common in adults older than 50, which is why it becomes a common telling sign of skin aging effects.

These spots are caused by the over production of melanin (dark pigments) in our skin, also known as hyperpigmentation. They often appear at skin areas that are exposed to the sun like the face, hands, shoulders and arms.

Age spots can be small and discreet, but some can also be clustered together and become an obvious blemish on the face.

To get rid of age spots, there are medical treatments like laser treatments and microdermabrasion, but do make sure that you receive treatments only by certified doctors to avoid any misconducts in the treatment procedure!

Getting rid of age spots shouldn't be a difficult problem to solve. To know more about how to get rid of your age spots, just call us at +6011-22882299, WhatsApp us here, or book an appointment with Dr Loo here!

Even though our aging process is inevitable, our skin aging doesn't have to be. There are safe and effective medical treatments that can help in halting our skin aging process. These include laser treatments, phototherapy treatements, skin lifting, and collagen stimulating procedures.

Dr Loo covered more information about these treatments in her sharing last week on how to treat face sagging, check it out here: Patient Mailbox: I'm 29, But My Face is Already Sagging.

However, do remember that aesthetic and skin treatments should only be done by verified aesthetic or medical doctors to avoid any health risks due to mishandling of procedures!

To know more about these treatments that can help you get rid of your sagging skin, call us at +6011-22882299, WhatsApp us here, or book an appointment with Dr Loo here!

We’ll be back with the Patient Mailbox series with Dr Peter Ch’ng next week, so stay tuned!

---

If you’d like to ask more about your skin condition or have a discussion with Dr Loo, call us at +6011-22882299, Whatsapp us, or book an appointment with Dr Loo here!