Anti-ageing: time for a shift in focus?

From serums that promise to iron out all the creases and lines criss-crossing our face to lotions that give it an instant lift, we direct our anti-ageing efforts to our face in an effort to hold back the years. But in our attempts to turn back the clock we almost always overlook other tell-tale signs of age that can give the game away.

‘Ageing is no longer measured by crow’s feet and saggy jowls but by the wrinkling of forgotten body zones like the hands, lower neck and knees,’ says Dr Burcu Hurbas, head of the Dermatology and Anti-Ageing Department, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery Hospital, Dubai. ‘These areas have less fatty tissue, which is key to supporting and uplifting surrounding skin.’

How many of us have considered slathering on collagen serums to deal with wrinkles on our hands or opt for Botox for saggy knees? According to Dr Hurbas, it’s time we did. ‘A growing number of women in the UAE, especially over the age of 40, are prone to wrinkly hands, saggy knees and thinning brows, which make them look older.’

It’s time to open our eyes to the wonders of alternative age-defying treatments.

Best for gnarly hands

Madonna is a prime example – no matter how well maintained your face and body may be, your hands are a big giveaway to your age.

As we age the skin on our hands gets thin and the veins become more prominent, giving them a gnarly appearance. Our hands are exposed to the sun on a daily basis, which makes them prone to pigmentation and sunspots that contribute to accelerated ageing. But we often forget to protect them with sunscreen. You can improve the appearance of your hands with autologous fat transfer (using your own fat), and there are a number of treatments that can help with unsightly veins and pigmentation.

London Centre for Aesthetic Surgery Gulf, Dubai. Call 04 375 2393

Best for droopy earlobes

It might sound peculiar, but there is such a thing as an earlobe lift. For those of us who fully embraced the chandelier earring trend and now have stretched or even torn lobes to show for it, this wear and tear can be repaired to give you a new, more youthful ear on which to show off your latest ear candy.

A fast and simple procedure, the scar tissue from the ripped piercing is removed, the slits are stitched up and part of the old scar tissue is used to create a new hole.

Collagen is injected to plump up the lobe and there you have it – new lobes in under an hour. Healing time is about a week, after which the stitches are removed and the new lobes inspected.

Within two weeks studs can be worn and within a month the lobes should be strong enough to cope with dangly earrings.

London Centre for Aesthetic Surgery Gulf, 04 375 2393

Best for thin eyebrows

Eyebrows play an important part in keeping you looking youthful, and thanks to Cara Delevingne’s full arches, thick brows are definitely in – they contribute to facial symmetry and frame your eyes. Where previously good genes were all you could hope for, followed by a great brow pencil, now thanks to the wonders of modern surgery you can restore your absent brows by borrowing follicles from your scalp.

Follicular unite extraction (FUE) is becoming increasingly popular. Typically performed under local anaesthetic, it involves removing a section of hair from the back of the scalp and grafting it into the eyebrow. Around 400 individual single hair follicular grafts are used and the procedure can take up to four hours. The new hair grows just like the hair on the head. It’s available for eyelashes too.

Dr Asim Shahmalak, Crown Clinic in London and Manchester, UK, www.crownclinic.co.uk

Best for a wrinkly décolletage

Nothing gives your age away more than a wrinkly décolletage. Pigmentation and wrinkles on the chest area can make you self-conscious but there are now numerous ways to give your chest area a lift without needing to go under the knife. Recently approved for use on the décolletage, Ultherapy lifts, tones and tightens loose skin with no incisions and no downtime. It uses ultrasound imagery to scope out specific problem areas, and ultrasound energy to stimulate the production of new collagen under the skin, which in turn lifts and tones.

Results are sometimes instant, but the best are seen about three months later as old collagen makes way for the new.

Lucia Aesthetic and Dermatology Center, 04 385 4525

Best for a tired smile

You might think the braces you wore in your youth were all the maintenance you’d ever need to keep your pearly whites in line, but over time teeth are worn down, become stained and even move around in your mouth. This change contributes to how your face looks overall.

Dr Apa, the New York dentist who has made a name for himself as a pioneer of facial aesthetic design, says he can sculpt a brand new smile that can take years off your face not just by correcting facial symmetry but fixing ageing features like a thin upper lip, frown lines and hollow cheeks. His clients have included Victoria’s Secret models, Hollywood stars and business tycoons.

Rosenthal Apa Group, Dubai, www.rosenthalapagrp.com/dubai

Best for weary legs

It doesn’t matter how old you are, flawless, lissom limbs are at the top of every wish list. Whether you have hard-to-banish cellulite or calves marbled with thread veins, there’s a treatment to put right any aesthetic wrongs.

The current favourite for diminishing cellulite is Lipomassage LPG Endermologie, which uses a deep massage technique to increase circulation by 200 per cent, aiding the expulsion of toxins and fluid build up. Dramatic results are achieved after a recommended course of around 10 sessions.

If your issues are with varicose, reticular or spider veins then you’ll be happy to know the treatments for these are minimally invasive. Varicose veins are drained and closed using endovenous laser ablation: laser technology that is completed in 45 minutes. Within two weeks you’ll be back to wearing your favourite dress with confidence.

Arshamma, Jumeirah Plaza, Dubai, 04 349 8800

Best for a flat butt

Thanks to Kim Kardashian’s ‘belfies’, the derrière is definitely back. After pregnancy or simply as we age, our buttocks lose volume and that pert and perky appearance we associate with being young. If squats aren’t getting results, then perhaps the Brazilian Butt Augmentation is for you.

To pad your butt, fat needs to be donated from other areas of your body such as stomach, hips or thighs, so you get two or more areas of fat reduction in one procedure.

It will take between 90 minutes and four hours depending on how large the desired buttocks. The fat is injected into the muscle and sculpted in to the derrière of your dreams.

Available at American British Surgical and Medical Centre, Dubai, 04 297 5544

Best for bingo wings

An issue for women regardless of age or weight, bingo wings are a destroyer of confidence and the contents of your closet (not everything works with a cardigan).

As we age we lose collagen, so even the slimmest women can find it hard to maintain a toned underarm. RF Ultra is a non-invasive approach to tackling sagging skin using a combination of fat melting and body contouring. High-frequency ultrasound attacks fat cells, releasing their contents, whilst radio-frequency tightens loose skin and stimulates collagen production to improve tone and contour. To achieve the best results six sessions are recommended but this may vary from person to person.

The Private Clinic, 04 395 6400

Snail Slime Facial

What they do Live snails are let loose over your face leaving in their wake a slime trail. This is typically followed by a rejuvenating facial massage using electrical pulse machines and other creams that have snail mucus as an active ingredient.

Promise Slathering the slugs’ gunk will renew sluggish, tired skin and it erases the ravages of UV rays, sunburn, inflammation, ageing and dead cells. The mucus oozed by the molluscs when they’re stressed is claimed to be a powerful concoction of antioxidants, hyaluronic acid, nutrients and proteins – all ingredients essential for the skin to retain moisture and stay firm.

Where The treatment, which found its feet in the Far East first, was introduced by Clinical Salon, Japan as the Celebrity Escargot Course. It’s caught on swiftly with the rest of the world, being offered at Chiang Mai’s Snail Spa, Thailand and Simply Divine Spa, Corby, UK.

Snake Massage

What they do Creepy crawly serpents will drape themselves over and around you during the sessions. Definitely not for those with ophidiophobia!

Promise The gliding movement of the snakes over our bodies has the therapeutic effect of a massage that calms you and alleviates tension and stress – one of the triggers that accelerates cellular ageing.

Where Cebu City Zoo, The Philippines and Bali Heritage Reflexology and Spa, Indonesia.

Uguisu No Fun/ Geisha Facial/ Japanese Nightingale Facial

What they do The uguisu no fun – a Japanese term for nightingale faeces – treatment is a traditional Japanese beauty hack. Powdered nightingale droppings treated with UV light are blended with rice bran and water to make a paste that is then massaged into your skin. Five minutes later, it’s washed off and other firming and hydrating masks, such as a collagen mask, are applied.

Promise The enzyme guanine in the songbird’s excrement cleanses skin leaving it clean, wrinkle-free and smooth. Considered the secret to the eternal youth and glamour of geishas, it also clears blemishes, acne and is tried, tested and trusted by Victoria Beckham. This is an anti-ageing cure not to be poo-pooed.

Where Bioloite Aesthetic Clinic, Dubai.

Hay Baths

What they do A centuries-old spa treatment from Italy’s South Tyrol region, a hay bath will see you wrapped in herb-infused alpine hay (rich in minerals and herbal nutrients) that has been soaked in water and heated to about 500C for at least eight to 10 minutes and you’re left to swelter.

Promise The upshots to a roll in hot wet hay, stack up to improvement in rheumatic and other joint pains, stronger immune system, weight loss and an overall sense of restoration, vigour and energy.

Where Merano Thermal Baths, South Tyrol, Italy; Hotel Heubad Spa, Völs am Schlern, Italy; Thermae Bath Spa, Bath, UK.

Sheep Placenta Facials

What they do After an exfoliation, skin polish and extractions, followed by an oxygen infusion with vitamin water steam to open up pores, the placenta stem-cell mask is applied and exposed to an LED light for better penetration.

Promise The last thing you’d imagine is dunking your face in animal afterbirth for dewy skin but that’s exactly how Harry Styles and Jennifer Lopez look fresh-faced all the time. The hugely popular treatment’s ick factor is directly proportional to its benefits. Protein-rich sheep placenta has stem cells that reflect the structure of human stem cells so our bodies recognise them instantly and absorb them at a cellular level. Since it’s all natural, there are no side effects or chemical reactions and you get a supple, clear, baby-faced visage.

Where Dr Harold Lancer’s clinic in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

Ceramic Crystal Therapy/ Dr Dray’s 10-minute facelift

What they do Ceramic crystals biphasic tricalcium phosphates (BTCPs) are injected into your face to boost collagen production and lift sagging skin. Massage ensures they are distributed evenly.

Promise Get porcelain skin and a facelift without the plastic look that’s common to Botox. Over eight weeks the product creates a matrix beneath the skin on which a fibre-rich biological tissue grows, restructuring and reshaping sagging facial skin.

Where Dr Dray’s clinics in London and Paris.