Ages 40-49

Skin Care in Your 40’s

People in this age group are generally healthier, more vital, active and youthful than past generations. Practicing sun safety by limiting exposure, not using tanning beds and always wearing a good sunscreen are proven to limit skin damage.

Lines, wrinkles and bags

As relatively minor facial changes begin to pile up, the result can be a tired face hiding a vigorous personality. The changes that began at 30 become more dramatic due to muscle-pull remaining when the muscles relax; sagging due to gravity pull and increased loss of skin elasticity; dark age spots that become more prominent; and generally slower skin recovery from abuses like stress and fatigue. Among the approaches dermatologic surgeons use to reverse the signs of the aging face at this stage of life are:

  • Laser resurfacing and energy-based devices to eliminate wrinkles and treat other facial blemishes such as birthmarks and pigmented lesions, broken capillaries and irregular pigmentation.
  • Soft-tissue fillers, such as hyaluronic acid gels and biostimulatory agents, to fill in and contour the "peaks and valleys."
  • Neuromodulator (botulinum toxin) injections to improve lines and wrinkles associated with facial expression.
  • Blepharoplasty to remove excess skin and fat tissue from the eyelids.
  • Brow lifts to raise the eyebrows and keep them from sagging over the eyes as well as help reduce lines on the forehead
  • Chemical peels to rejuvenate skin with marked wrinkling, sun damage and discoloration.
middle aged woman with eye wrinkles
male checking his neck for jowls

Neck and jowl treatments

Separately or in combination, a growing number of facial rejuvenation procedures are being used to successfully treat cosmetic problems in the neck and jowls. Depending on the severity of the condition, treatment options may include chemical peels, laser resurfacing, neuromodulator (botulinum toxin) therapy, liposuction and neck lifting.

Liposuction

Stubborn fat build-up is almost inevitable as men and women pass the age of 40. The availability of safe and effective liposuction can largely be attributed to a dermatologic surgeon who invented the tumescent technique of local anesthesia.

With tumescent liposuction, deposits of fat resistant to diet and exercise are removed from virtually anywhere on the body: hips, thighs, stomach, arms, legs, and back. The procedure allows dermatologic surgeons to precisely sculpt the body and create a more natural and shapely body contour with few side effects and minimum recovery time.

When performed by a dermatologic surgeon in an outpatient setting using local anesthesia, tumescent liposuction is one of the safest surgical procedures performed in America.

Person pinching love handles with marker arrows and dashed lines drawn on body
man pointing to mole on right side of neck

Moles, warts and skin tags

Several simple but effective procedures can remove unwanted skin growths – like moles, warts and skin tags (small bits of excess skin that seem to sprout up almost anywhere for no obvious reason) – safely and quickly, with no interruption of normal routines.