Enhance your natural glow: how regenerative treatments are changing aesthetic care

Regenerative medicine is used to combat the effects of time and weathering to amplify natural beauty. In this article, Dr Margaret Grabicka, an expert in aesthetic medicine, explains the types of regenerative treatments, and how they work.

 

 

How do regenerative treatments work?

The core philosophy behind regenerative treatments, as suggested by the name, is to utilise the resources already within the body to ‘undo’ damage – whether caused by ageing, sun exposure, or scarring – by promoting cell regrowth using techniques such as stem cell therapy, tissue engineering, and genetics. This can have the impact of rejuvenating the skin and restoring a healthy, plump, and youthful glow to the face and skin.

Whereas other anti-ageing and cosmetic treatments like Botox and dermal fillers are only capable of temporarily addressing symptoms like hollowness and wrinkles but using foreign substances, regenerative treatments work on a cellular level to treat the root of the symptoms with substances that pre-exist in the skin. These substances stimulate the body’s healing processes by binding with structures and cells and amplifying their impact.

 

What is the purpose of regenerative treatments?

As we age, the years start to take their toll on the skin. At around the mid-30s, skin begins to lose its structural integrity and sheen due to the slowing down of collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid production, the shifting of subcutaneous fat, and bone density loss. This is why the muscles start to pull and twist, the skin loosens, and hollows within the skull become more pronounced.

Regenerative medicine can be used to:

• Rejuvenate skin and improve the appearance of youthfulness
• Restore hair growth directly at the follicles
• Enhance collagen and volume underneath the skin
• Restore tissue and improve the appearance of scars or wounds

 

What are the types of regenerative treatments?

There are several kinds of regenerative treatments, using biological materials derived from the body, such as:

• Platelet-rich plasmas (PRP) injections, which use the patient’s own blood to rejuvenate skin and promote healing and hair growth. They work by initially harvesting some blood from the patient and isolating platelets. Then, the concentrated plasma and growth factors are injected into the patient’s skin and stimulate collagen production and follicle growth.
• Stem cell treatments, which are harvested from fatty tissues and processed in a laboratory to isolate particular cells, and then reintroduced via injection, again working to stimulate collage production and skin regeneration to firm the skin.
• Growth factor treatments, which use naturally derived proteins for targeted cell regrowth. They can be injected (much like in PRP) or infused into topical serums and creams.
• Exosome therapy, which is a new innovation in the field of regenerative medicine that uses exosomes, peptides and polynucleotides which are small particles harvested from natural sources such as plants or animals that contain proteins, fats, and parts of DNA or RNA, to coordinate cells into stimulating healing and regenerative processes to reduce wrinkles, improve skin texture, and address hyperpigmentation. They can be applied topically or via microneedling.

 

What happens after a regenerative treatment?

Regenerative treatments may be preferable to alternative treatments because the results are natural, conforming to the body’s own processes, making it difficult to ‘overdo’ the treatment, such as with the uncanny-looking errors that can happen with fillers or Botox.

The improvements develop gradually as the body adjusts to the treatment, making the treatment subtle and undefinable – a certain, gorgeous, ‘je ne sais quoi’ that no one will be able to easily tell was the result of an aesthetic treatment. Though it can range between specific treatments, generally, regenerative treatments last longer in between sessions, although touch-ups a few times a year are still expected. Because these treatments augment cell and tissue growth and integrity, the results can be more durable.

The overall recovery time is also relatively short due to the biologically-derived substances – however, depending on the technique, there can be some redness, itchiness, and swelling in the first few days post-treatment, but that is normal with injection or microneedling techniques. A further advantage of the use of biological substances is the risk of a bad reaction, rejection, or allergy is significantly reduced.