Reflections: Defy Gravity

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With the passing of time, the human body sags. As age advances, we see the drooping of the arms, eyelids, cheeks, jowls and...ahem...other body parts. It’s not something any of us want, but it is inevitable. The cause of sagging like most everything else in the human body is multifactorial. It can be caused by degradation of collagen and elastin from both intrinsic and extrinsic aging. It can also be caused by weakened muscles and loss of fat underneath the tissue. Finally, that lovely thing that keeps our feet on the ground—gravity—can also bring the human body down.

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Apart from moving to the moon, there is nothing we can do about gravity, and addressing fat is out of our esthetic scope. So, to address skin sagging, targeting muscle tone as well as collagen and elastin are the primary objectives. This issue of Skin Inc. tells us exactly how to do that.

Lydia Sarfati discusses the benefits of facial massage, which can include both increased circulation and lymph drainage to improve the production of collagen and elastin to plump the skin while improving skin tone. Sarfati gives four specific facial massage protocols for targeted skin concerns, one of them being an uplifting facial massage.

Facial muscles are addressed by Lisa Stewart, who explains why it is important to target the muscle for more lifted skin. She details what esthetic modalities can be employed for such a purpose and adds that combining modalities will only increase the efficacy.

If modalities are not part of your strategy, Annet King discusses 10 anti-aging ingredients that should be on your radar. While only some of the ingredients help firm and tone the skin, all of the ingredients help support the strategy of healthy aging.

Finally, Lori Caruso describes what she calls a “magic wand facial,” which employs the power of touch for beauty and wellness benefits. Specific to firm skin, the facial uses both lymphatic drainage and shiatsu to improve muscle tone.

As you can see above, there a number of tools in the esthetician’s kit to help improve muscle tone and firm sagging skin. We can’t fight gravity, so we might as well defy it.

Yours in Education,

Katie Anderson

Katie Anderson

Senior Managing Editor

[email protected]

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