Future-proof Your Face

For younger-looking skin, the secret is simple: Start early.

- Nicole Catanese

When it comes to treating the signs of aging, many women used to take a wait-and see approach. As in, wait until they see a wrinkle or age spot, then do something about it. Not anymore. According to dermatologist Harold Lancer, MD (whose Beverly Hills office is frequented by Kim Kardashian, as well as Margot Robbie and Brie Larson), his twenty- to thirtysomething patients have learned from their mothers and become the what-if generation. As in, “I may not have forehead lines now, but what if I get them when I’m 40?” Here’s how they’re taking steps to slow aging skin.

CONSIDER PREVENTIVE BOTOX AND FILLER

“I have 25-year-old clients who want to reduce lines before there are lines,” Lancer says. “They’ll squint and say, ‘That’s where I’m going to have a wrinkle, so I want two drops.’” And they’re right, he says. “By doing mini treatments more frequently, you prevent facial muscles in those areas from creating deeper lines in the future,” he says. Lancer injects microdoses of muscle inhibiting neuromodulators, such as Botox, Xeomin, or Dysport, at the site of “could be” lines—the 11 (aka frown) lines between the brows; crow’s-feet; and across the forehead. When it comes to hyaluronic acid–based fillers, the placement and amount are “far more specific and subtle,” Lancer notes. For example, to keep eyes looking bright and open, he puts a droplet of Restylane at each brow’s outer tip. “There’s a muscle/fat overgrowth that occurs in the mid twenties that starts to cause a heaviness of the upper brow,” he says. “Microdosing helps you keep that 15-degree upward turn of your eyes.” And because the doses of both injectables are minimal, so is the cost: around $225 to $675 once a year (two times, max).

EXERCISE YOUR FACE