The reversal of aging is impossible, but I wanted my face to look less tired — especially after my recent trans-Pacific trip to Japan. My job is sometimes grueling, and the years of sunshine, jet lag and lost sleep had begun to show. In the decades since I turned 50, my skin had become dry and lost its elasticity, allowing lines to engrave themselves on my face and gravity to reshape familiar features. I didn’t want to change my face with surgery. I just wanted to look fresher and maybe even a bit younger. As baby boomers have aged and new technology has made its entry into the skin-care business, I knew the choices for treatments had expanded. I would ultimately choose to have two procedures done — dermaplaning and microneedling — but I wasn’t going to reach such a decision without a good bit of research first.
So I made an appointment with Dr. Jorge Garcia’s Apex Dermatology in Concord Township to learn about noninvasive options for my skin. , it’s expanded to five offices from Parma, south to Hudson, Solon, Landerbrook and the office at Lake Health in Concord Township.
After asking me about my concerns, aesthetician Andrea Fenda seated me in a comfortable reclining chair with a cushy pillow and examined my skin. These consultations are free and given as an educational tool to help folks like me make decisions.
I told her I hate the small vertical lines around my lips — maybe karma for the many years I was a smoker. They make lipstick bleed and my lip line ragged. I really dislike the sagging skin around my mouth, earned, probably, from making ”fish faces” to amuse countless babies.
She examined my skin carefully under a bright light.