Anti-Aging Skin Treatments Aren't Just For Women

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- When you ask men what they do to clean their face, the answer is probably going to be "soap and water."

Anti-aging products are overwhelmingly targeted towards women. And many men don't know that there are things they can do to keep their faces looking younger, according to Dr. Jess Prischmann, a facial plastic surgeon in Edina.

"I think because men are lucky, they have thicker skin, they just don't worry about it," Prischmann said.

Keeping skin healthy starts before using products, or trying procedures, she said. Stay out of the sun, avoid tanning beds, and don't smoke.

"Once you begin a discussion I really think men are interested in knowing what they can do," Prischmann said.

Prischmann started by putting me on an anti-aging routine: in the morning I wash my face with a cleanser, a pro-heal serum, a moisturizer, and sunscreen.

At night I use the cleanser, a toner, an active serum and, again, a moisturizer.

"Usually men will come when there's a problem," Prischmann said. "Women are more focused on the preventative side of things."

I thought using all of this would take forever, but it only took about five minutes more than it took when I was just using soap and water.

According to Prischmann, the Vitamin A and Vitamin C in my morning serum are powerful antioxidants, which make the skin behave younger and fight sun damage. Consumers can look for things like "L ascorbic acid" or "Retinol" on labels.

"Vitamin A and Vitamin C are probably the most researched products for anti-aging, aside from sunscreens, of course," she said.

Alpha hydroxy acids in the active night serum, like glycolic acid, encourage cell turnover and improve texture.

"Moisturizers are among the most neglected products in anti-aging skin care. It is common sense that, if you are actively resurfacing your skin, you should use products that restore the skin barrier," Prischmann said.

Then we got a little more aggressive, undergoing a 20-minute, non-invasive procedure called a microlaser peel.

"There are varying depths of a laser peel, we're going to do the lightest level on you," Prischmann said.

My microlaser peel was 4 microns deep, but some people will go as deep as 80 microns, she explained.

"You can laser away wrinkles, laser away sun damage. You can undo some of that. There's a price you pay, and that price is downtime and discomfort," she said.

I had my 4-micron microlaser peel at 1 p.m. on a Friday afternoon.

"We're resurfacing your skin in an attempt to stimulate good healthy cell turnover. As you get older your cell turnover slows down," she said.

The focused heat of the laser essentially burns off that top layer of skin, forcing a new layer to emerge. There was minor discomfort, a slight burning sensation, and then it was done. Friday night, I had Aquaphor on my face; same deal Saturday morning. My face looked like it had a minor sunburn. Saturday afternoon, I went out with lots of moisturizer cream, and by Sunday my face started to peel.

Monday, I was back at work on TV, with much softer skin.

"It's not that everybody should run out and get laser peels or chemical peels. We have these things that work out," she said.

A typical laser peel can start around $300, and go up depending on the depth of the peel. A chemical peel can have similar results, starting closer to $100, she said.

New fad treatments come and go, but according to Prischmann, the things that work have been around for a while.

"Lasers have come a long way, but this resurfacing is nothing new," she said.

Once again, here are the products DeRusha used and their prices on Amazon:

Cleanser: $24
iS Clinical Pro-Heal Serum (morning): $88
iS Clinical Active Serum (night): $68
Organic Pharmacy Moisturizer: $65
PCA Skin Smoothing Toner: $16