Dear Dr. Seckel, Hi, I am 36 years old of Spanish decent. I have olive skin. I have fine lines, wrinkles under my eyes, facial aging some uneven skin tone and slight enlarged pores. There are so many lasers and techniques out there and I am confused as to what minimally invasive or non-surgical facial rejuvenation procedure I can use to correct my problems. In addition to trying to correct those problems is there anything else you recommend (IPL, photo facial) to then help in keeping fine lines at a minimum and keeping my skin looking pretty. Thanks so much doc!! Xica, NY, NY.
Dear Xica,
I believe my 6-step facial rejuvenation program is best for you. I would start your skin rejuvenation program with a skin cream called Epiquin® which has a retinol to help fine lines and Hydroquinone 4% to bleach out any uneven pigmentation. If you have dry skin I would use a cream called Glyquin®. The creams will take several months to see a result but they will help and will add to any other procedures that you have.
IPL also called Photo Facial Rejuvenation is a very good skin rejuvenation treatment for pigment-brown spots and any red spots or sun damage. IPL or photo facial can be used on olive colored or Hispanic skin BUT it should be done in a doctors office who is board certified and has a lot of laser and IPL experience, because IPL lightens pigment and you don’t want to have any areas lightened too much. I always do a test spot behind the ear to see how your skin is going to respond especially on Hispanic skin.
If you have crow’s feet in addition to your fine eyelid wrinkles then Botox® can remove them and help the rejuvenate the skin and remove wrinkles on the outer portion of the lower eyelid, but not the wrinkles in the middle of the eyelid.
Because I am very experienced with lasers I would also do a very light laser skin rejuvenation Microlaserpeel® on the lower eyelids to remove the fine wrinkles that are left after the Botox®. Again, you need to find a very experienced board certified doctor who knows how to use the laser, because with Hispanic or olive skin, if the doctor peels too deep then the eyelid skin may be lightened too much.
If you have puffy eyelids and dark circles then an eyelid operation called a laser blepharoplasty will be necessary.
I really recommend you read my book Save Your Face which you can buy on this website. It really explains all of the various facial skin rejuvenation techniques.
For more information on non-surgical facial rejuvenation and Hispanic or olive skin read Save Your Face or contact me.
Boston, Massachusetts