Updated June 2023
Radiant, refreshed, and plump skin signifies youth and vitality. It can be upsetting to recall how youthful and vibrant your skin was when you realise how your complexion continues to become dull, dry, and tired as you age.
If you’re wondering how to address dull skin and regain your youthful glow, there are various aesthetic procedures and skin-plumping treatments you might consider. Keep reading for our best skin-plumping advice on rejuvenating tired and ageing skin.
Plump skin appears youthful and refreshed because it contains the nutrients and moisture needed to maintain elasticity. Your skin needs collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid to stay plump and hydrated, which work together to keep your skin supple and smooth. Plump skin can contribute to a youthful appearance, especially on the face. Plus, you will appear bright and awake as if you’ve just woken from a long and restful sleep — even if you haven’t.
Skin stays naturally plump until you reach your early 20s, when collagen production declines by about 1% to 1.5% annually. This is not generally noticeable during your 20s, but by the time you reach your 30s, it may begin to cause a difference in your skin tone and texture, and fine lines and wrinkles may start to appear.
When this happens, your body will generally start working in a collagen deficit, meaning you’re using more collagen than you produce. As you age, you begin to lose collagen and elastin fibres in the deeper layer of skin (dermis). This results in your skin’s connective tissue becoming less strong and flexible. Subsequently, without the support of the connective tissue, skin sagging and wrinkles appear and accelerate facial ageing.
No adult wants to look like a chubby-cheeked toddler, but achieving a more youthful appearance will help you look refreshed and revitalised. Typically you start to lose the appearance of high cheekbones, which can contribute to an older face and looking tired.
Because of the loss of facial volume, as collagen and elastin fibres decrease, your face becomes sunken and starts to look bottom-heavy. Plump skin helps restore the look of lost facial volume and is a key component of young-looking skin, contributing to a more youthful and fresh appearance.
Even if you have had cosmetic surgery such as a brow lift or facelift, you must maintain skin tone, texture and plumpness to retain a naturally young face. Whatever your age and regardless of any cosmetic surgery procedures you may have had, it’s vital to combat dull, dry and tired skin if you want a more youthful look.
At Harley Street MD, we believe in aesthetic treatments that elevate your self-esteem. We offer several non-surgical aesthetic procedures that can help boost skin hydration for radiant, smoother and plumper skin. These skin-plumping treatments are beneficial for women and men at any age, and in addition to maintaining younger skin, they provide visible results almost instantly.
One of the most effective ways to instantly reverse the appearance of lax skin and wrinkles is with dermal fillers and Botox. They are both considered safe, injectable treatments with low rates of complications that can plump skin and help to reverse the signs of ageing. With the careful and precise use of small needles, injecting specific areas of the face, dermal fillers and Botox can work together to lift and plump skin and reduce wrinkles and deep lines.
By combining these injectable treatments, you can create either a subtle or dramatic difference. Regardless of any surgical procedures you may or may not have had, injectable aesthetic treatments are the most popular way to create younger-looking skin with no downtime required.
Pharmaceutical-grade hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal fillers are used in skin hydration therapy at our London aesthetic clinic. This key component of one of the most preferred and effective dermal fillers on the market. With a molecular structure of sugar found naturally in the dermis, HA dermal fillers aid in facilitating water to bond with collagen, increasing skin elasticity and producing hydrated, youthful, plump skin.
Specific placement of Botox, which restricts muscle movement, can be used to further enhance the look of skin, smoothing targeted areas to reduce or eliminate wrinkles and lines. Results usually last between four and nine months, with repeat treatments producing longer-lasting results.
A chemical peel is a facial treatment in which a chemical acid solution is applied to the skin. Although you can purchase chemical peels to use at home, these are very mild and will do little to reduce wrinkles, lines, irregular skin pigmentation or acne scars.
Moderate chemical peels performed at Harley Street MD in London are a minimally invasive treatment that produces clear results for a younger look. Because this peel removes the outer layer of skin and penetrates the middle layers of the dermis while stimulating the formation of new collagen and elastin, it is a popular procedure for skin rejuvenation.
A chemical peel also promotes the skin’s healing, which repairs the extracellular matrix and minimises uneven pigmentation brought on by UV exposure. The look of fine lines, deep wrinkles, and sunspots can be significantly improved by a medium chemical peel, restoring healthy, smooth and plump skin.
At our aesthetic clinic in London, a medium chemical peel can effectively reduce wrinkles, areas of uneven pigmentation, acne scarring and sun damage. Generally, you will only need a two-week recovery time following this procedure. Compared to a deep chemical peel or dermabrasion, which may require up to three months before your skin completely heals, a medium peel is a lower-risk option with far less downtime.
You might require several treatments to achieve your desired results, depending on the severity of the sun damage to your skin and how deep your wrinkles are. The effects remain for around a year following the completion of several medium peels.
Platelet-rich plasma therapy is a popular skin-plumping treatment and provides an alternative to Botox or dermal fillers. Also known as a vampire facial, it works by using a concentrated amount of your own platelets to promote the healing process. One to several tubes of your blood is used to prepare PRP injections, which is done by centrifuging the blood to concentrate the platelets.
Direct injections of these activated platelets are administered with fine needles into your tissue which promotes and boosts your body’s ability to generate new cells. Following PRP therapy, you may experience some discomfort, bruising, and swelling. Typically this will subside after two or three days. Over a period of three to six weeks, complete outcomes start to show.
Most people require two to three sessions of PRP therapy for significantly plumper skin and reduction of wrinkles. HA dermal fillers can also be combined with PRP therapy for a more dramatic and instant change in the look of your skin. When filler is injected into smile lines and cheeks, this will create smoother skin and enhanced volume for an instant youthful appearance.
Another collagen-stimulating treatment for plump skin is micro-needling treatment. Our London aesthetic clinic performs this procedure with an advanced electrical micro-needling Dermapen device. This has dozens of tiny, fine needles, creating extremely tiny punctures into the skin’s surface.
By causing superficial skin damage and utilising the skin’s innate ability to heal, microneedling can help reverse UV damage, smooth out wrinkles, and improve overall skin tone and texture for a brighter complexion. Although the “injuries” can not be seen with the naked eye, they set off your body’s natural healing process, causing your skin to develop new collagen and elastin fibres. Additionally, micro-needling triggers the regeneration of new, youthful cells to replenish volume in the dermis for skin plumping and a younger look.
A non-surgical liquid facelift or an 8-point facelift, which focuses on the eight areas of the face most prone to lose volume and start to sag as you age, maybe a good option if your face needs a boost all over. This customised skin-plumping procedure employs several techniques to give you a younger-looking appearance.
Botox, dermal fillers, and polydioxanone (PDO) threading are combined to smooth wrinkles, improve facial contours, and restore volume. You may suffer some swelling or bruising at the injection sites, but these side effects should subside within a few days. Results typically last for 12 to 18 months.
You’ll have to put in a little more effort to keep your skin plump and fight volume loss as you age. Skin plumping techniques are a wonderful place to start if you want a younger look or to enhance skin plumping and a younger look following cosmetic surgery or non-surgical aesthetic treatments.
1. Enhance your skin care routine — Hyaluronic acid is a key ingredient for plump skin. This gel-like substance exists naturally within the body but becomes less abundant as we age. Replenishing lost hyaluronic acid with quality skin care products through your skincare routine can assist the skin to retain moisture and remain smoother and more youthful.
At Harley Street MD, we recommend the Obagi skin care system. Widely used by dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and aesthetic doctors due to its unmatched formulation of powerful ingredients. This skincare regime can aid the appearance of your skin in various ways.
Obagi skin care solutions aim to reduce visible signs of sun damage, hyperpigmentation, rosacea, superficial lines and wrinkles by enhancing the absorption of potent ingredients. Clinical studies have shown that pharmaceuticals such as these promote the renewal of cells, making the skin appear fresher and more youthful. To enhance penetration to all skin layers, Obagi uses a special blend of active ingredients, including Hydroquinone.
Retinol is another commonly used skincare product known for its anti-ageing properties. Loved for plump skin and an improved complexion, retinol is a form of vitamin A, an ingredient that promotes skin renewal, reduces the appearance of wrinkles and — you guessed it — enhances collagen production.
2. Get a good night’s sleep — Beauty sleep isn’t a myth — getting enough sleep really does help your skin stay young. Your skin makes new collagen when you sleep, which prevents sagging and helps to stave off fine lines and wrinkles. If you’re wondering how to get plump skin, a good sleep routine is the first step, so make sure you’re getting at least seven to eight hours every night.
3. Do regular exercise — Exercise is good for overall health and well-being, but it also benefits your skin. When you exercise and get your heart pumping, you boost the blood flow around the body, which nourishes your skin cells with oxygen and other essential nutrients. Exercise even reverses the mitochondrial changes within muscle, which may also help the skin to appear more youthful.
4. Massage your face — By gently massaging your face, you can stimulate muscle tissue, improve your skin’s volume and boost skin-plumping. Make gentle upward motions for plumper skin and improved contours using a gua sha stone or your fingers to encourage blood and oxygen circulation.
5. Add skin-plumping foods to your diet — Adjusting your diet to make it more skin-friendly is another easy way to boost skin. Foods containing hyaluronic acid, healthy fats, vitamins, and collagen can help to make your skin softer, smoother and plumper, hydrating and rejuvenating skin from the inside out.
To improve your diet, pack it with a healthy balance of nutritious superfoods like eggs, avocado and leafy greens, or try a collagen-boosting juice. You could also stock up on ingredients rich in omega 3s and omega 6s, such as salmon, sardines and olive oil.
6. Face masks — If you’re looking for a skin-plumping technique that’s quick and simple, try a sheet mask rich in hydrating ingredients. Sheet masks are an effective way to provide your skin with instant moisture. Watch out for ingredients like hyaluronic acid, pure collagen, vitamin C and natural ingredients for the best results. You can also make a DIY skin-plumping natural face mask using collagen-rich ingredients like egg whites or avocado.
7. Remember to exfoliate — Skin can appear dryer and duller due to a buildup of dead skin cells. For more radiant, plump skin, make sure you exfoliate at least once a week, enabling your skincare products to penetrate your skin deeper and produce better results.
8. Wear Sunscreen — As well as being the result of a loss of collagen and hyaluronic acid over time, skin ageing can also be caused by sun damage. Remember to apply sunscreen with at least a factor 30 daily (even if it’s cloudy or raining) to protect your skin against harmful UV rays and prevent premature ageing.
Our skincare and aesthetic experts at our aesthetic clinic in London can provide advice if you want to achieve beautiful, plump skin quickly and with little to no downtime. Book a free, no-obligation consultation, and we’ll help you find the treatment option that’s right for you.
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