What’s The Difference Between Light Treatments, Radiofrequency Microneedling, And Injectables?
How IPL, Morpheus8, and injectables can all contribute to your overall skincare strategy
As much as we like to dream about it, we haven’t yet found a natural way to keep the youthful, clear, volume-full skin of our youth. You’ll be the first to know if we do! Luckily, there are treatments that support the changes you may be noticing when checking yourself out in the mirror.
Facial aging can be broken into three key areas:
Changes to the skin, like differences in tone, texture, and sometimes breakouts
Volume loss, which happens naturally to us all over time
Facial laxity, like sagging jowls and neck, etc.
While there’s no single way to control all of the fun that comes with aging, modern medicine offers a number of resources to help with skin changes you may be experiencing. Lasers, intense pulsed light (IPL), radiofrequency (RF) microneedling, and injectables are popular non-surgical cosmetic procedures to help with the signs of aging, though each with a different approach. Understanding the difference between the options can help you narrow down what’s best for what you’re workin’ with. Don’t worry about trying to figure it out on your own– we’ve made you a crash course on how Park treatments address facial aging. You may even want a combo of treatments – for example, sometimes before trying under-eye filler, it might be enough to just tighten up the skin with Morpheus8 rather than adding filler volume.
It’s important to remember that although these treatments feel like the secret sauce, they work best as a compliment to sun safety, good skincare, and overall skin health habits. We’ve included some of our best tips on that too!
How Intense Pulsed Light IPL) can help even out skin tone
Mainly addresses: age spots (red/brown), blotchiness, sun damage
Light-based treatments like IPL target visible skin discolouration, and can diminish or erase age spots (red or brown pigmentation). IPL can also be used to target conspicuous redness (rosacea), unwanted freckles, and spider veins on the face.
How RF treatments can help with skin laxity and scarring
Mainly addresses: skin laxity, acne scars, fine lines
RF treatments, like Morpheus8, use radiofrequency energy to heat up specific skin layers, stimulating the regenerative process, and building new collagen. With Morpheus8, RF is delivered deep (up to 4mm) into the skin using many microneedles for even more impactful results than surface RF treatments: firmer, smoother, more youthful skin. Plus, if skin concerns go beyond your face, you can also find these treatments effective for larger areas of the body like the stomach, back and legs. Consider Morpheus8 your skin BFF if you have goals like reducing cystic acne breakouts, clearing up scars or hyperpigmentation, tightening loose skin, or improving tone and texture.
How injectable treatments help with signs of aging skin
Mainly addresses: Wrinkles and volume loss
Although often listed together, there are two very distinct groups of injectables, each supporting different aging concerns. Knowing the difference in solutions can help you decide what will work for your personal concerns – plus we’re here for any questions you may have when trying to narrow it down!
Neurotoxins aka Botox and Dysport
If you’re focused on prevention and/or minimizing the magnitude of existing lines, neurotoxin treatments will be where you want to focus your energy. These treatments decrease the impact and strength of the muscles in your face, making them the perfect way to prevent deep wrinkles from forming.
Neurotoxin is typically focused on treating areas in the upper face region – between the brows, forehead, and crow’s feet. By reducing how effectively facial muscles contract, we can reduce how strongly they pull on the skin, which reduces and prevents lines and wrinkles.
Fillers
Let’s face it, volume loss is a natural part of the aging process. Fillers are ideally used to replace some of that lost volume. They’re commonly used in areas like the lips, temples, upper nasolabial folds, and around the mouth.
The change in volume can make some augmentation to your face shape, if that’s what you’re looking for, but they can’t be used to lift the face. They’re best used as a mild way to treat volume that has been lost.
Making the most of your Park treatments
Regardless of your choice, Park treatments can do a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to helping you feel confident as you age. However, they aren’t silver bullets so for best results you’ll want to make sure you’re giving your skin love on a day-to-day basis. To make your treatments last and help your skin stay in peak form, make sure to:
Protect your skin from the sun. This means always using broad-spectrum sunscreen (let us know if you need a recommendation!) and wearing a hat and shades.
Use active anti-aging skincare ingredients. Look for skincare that stimulates collagen, decreases pigmentation, moisturizes skin, and manages oil production. Some go-to skincare ingredients to include in your regular routine are retinol, vitamin C, and niacinamide. If you feel like your skincare routine can use a revamp, we can help you find a match for your skin!
Start taking care of your skin early and stay consistent. No one’s ever said, “I wish I started later” when it comes to their skincare. Set yourself up for success through the years by focusing on taking care of your skin as soon as you can – and remember, we’re here to help!
Want to age with beauty and grace?
