Taking Charge of Your Skin

Your Future Face: Create a Customized Plan for Beautiful Skin
by Dennis Gross, M.D., Cara Kagan

New York's leading celebrity dermatologist shares his secrets to having today's hottest "new accessory" - beautiful skin.

Women and beauty experts agree that a great complexion is beauty's square one. The good news is that with the latest advances in skin care, we truly can turn back the clock and have a gorgeous, younger-looking face. But the plethora of new treatments makes choosing the right product or procedure more difficult than ever, and we often don't get the results we want. In Your Future Face, Dr. Dennis Gross, one of the country's leading dermatologists, provides the essential guide to radiant skin.

Dr. Gross's unique program begins with the a simple "Skin Lifecycle Quiz," which assesses your skin "level" and pinpoints how and when your skin will age. Based on your score (Levels One-Four), Dr. Gross then outlines a customized antiaging plan targeting your skin's specific vulnerabilities, while offering invaluable advice and information, including: how to predict your aging pattern and select the right modern treatment options, how you can boost your collagen and elastin production naturally, the key ingredients to look for in the products you buy, when and how to use Botox safely, the latest breakthroughs in fillers, when to take action with high-tech resurfacing methods, such as deep peels, lasers, and dermabrasion, what you must consider before having plastic surgery, Dr. Gross's "14 Surefire Lifestyle Habits for Healthier and Younger-Looking Skin," nutritional tips, and much more.

Treasured by celebrities and beauty insiders alike who flock to his high-profile practice and use his renowned M.D. Skincare product line, Dr. Gross's unique methods will help you predict you skin's needs and create the safest and most effective antiaging regimen. With eight pages of compelling photos, Your Future Face will help you protect, repair, and dramatically enhance the beauty of your skin at any age.

• In his thriving New York practice, Dr. Gross has a devoted clientele that includes such celebrities as Bette Midler, Britney Spears, Renee Zellweger, Uma Thurman, Cher, and Dr. Phil.

• Gross is the founder and inventor of MD Skincare, a popular line of products sold at high-end stores like Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Sephora, and destination spas such as The Golden Door and Ritz Carlton spas, and are featured in magazines such as Elle, Glamour, New York magazone, and Lucky.

What skin level are you? Take the test and create the antiaging plan that will work for you:

LEVEL ONE - Learn the basics of "Essential Care and Prevention"

• Boost your daily skin-care routine
• Fight the wrinkles that are waiting to appear

LEVEL TWO - Get your skin in shape with "Active Repair and Protection"

• Postpone the signs of aging with proven active ingredients
• Revitalize your face with light peels and other noninvasive procedures

LEVEL THREE - Discover the latest cutting-edge "Age-Erasing Options"

• Target deeper damage with proven plumpers
• Learn the benefits of deep laser resurfacing

LEVEL FOUR - Know yourself and your options before you decide on "Major Changes . . . or Not"

• Increase the strength of your antioxidant products
• Choose the right surgical procedure to get the results you want

Chapter 1

We are now in what I call the Golden Age of Skin Care. There have never before been so many products and procedures that can literally erase years off our faces. In fact, skin care, plastic surgery, and antiaging techniques are now frequently the topic of newspaper and magazine articles, TV news programs, and reality shows. Everywhere you look, it seems, there are new miracle ingredients and procedures designed to make you look younger than ever no matter what your age.

When it comes to turning back the clock, we are truly fortunate. No prior generation has had such an in-depth knowledge of the aging process as well as the chemistry and biological makeup of the skin. This knowledge has resulted in a dizzying number of amazing technological breakthroughs and a cornucopia of products and procedures that make it easier than ever to get a gorgeous and glowing complexion at any age.

But as media coverage and antiaging options have increased, it has become clear to me that many of my patients are really confused about what they should do for their skin. Often my patients come in with a magazine article or an ad for a product and ask me to explain it and to advise them on whether it is right for them. As modern technology increases and more ingredients and therapies are discovered, the more perplexed my patients become.

I decided that now more than ever it is crucial to clarify what is out there to help stop this confusion so that you can take charge of your skin and make fully educated decisions rather than relying on the recommendations of friends, the media, and product advertisements. I've written this book based on my sixteen years in private practice, the extensive research I've conducted in the antiaging area, and on the published studies of other prominent scientists and physicians. Its purpose is to help you choose the products and procedures that are right for you so you can beat father time at his own game. But more than presenting you with skin-care regimens and high-tech treatments, I want to help you tap into a powerful age-fighting weapon that is innate - your ability to predict how and when you are going to age and which areas are most vulnerable to its visible signs.

Sure, aging can seem like an overnight phenomenon. We go to bed one night with smooth, taut, glowing skin and wake up the next day somehow looking older. We may ask ourselves "How did this suddenly happen?" But no matter how much it seems like a sneak attack (and can it ever!), the aging process is actually systematic and predictable. And this is a beautiful thing. We have the power to look into the future and know what we can expect in terms of how we will look as we get older. This knowledge provides us with the most effective way to make our skin look better than ever today and to keep it looking that way well into tomorrow.

The key predictors are:

• Our genetics
• How our face looks when we are expressionless versus when it is expressing an emotion
• How we look when we are tired versus well rested
• How our skin has been affected by the sun. Sun-damaged skin often gets crinkles, which will ultimately turn into wrinkles.

Paying attention to these signals helps us determine how we will look as we get older and what areas of vulnerability we may have that might require a little extra TLC. And here is the best part: Once we know our specific aging patterns, we can take a targeted, results-oriented and, hence, more effective approach to getting beautiful, healthy, and more radiant-looking skin. And if you already have any early signs of time etched into your face, predicting their future impact will help you prevent these imperfections from becoming further entrenched and even erase many of them.

These days, selecting the skin-care regimens and treatments that will work best for us is more complicated than it was back when there were only day versus night creams to choose from. In this new era of walk-in, antiaging clinics, myriad skin-care products and treatments available in doctors' offices, spas, and stores, it is more important than ever to know what will help you get the right results for your face. Further complicating the matter is that it seems like a new wonder ingredient, product, or procedure is being introduced nearly every day. Some are actual miracle workers - proven by bona fide scientific research - to erase and prevent the signs of time. But some haven't yet proven themselves. While this may not necessarily mean they won't some day, I strongly believe in going with the tried and true versus the not yet confirmed. This book will present and explain the scope of therapies currently on the market to help you weed out the ones that will be the most effective for you. By honing in on your specific needs, you can make the best possible decisions about the products and treatments that will give you the best results. The truth is, to get the benefits you are looking for, it is crucial that you use the products and procedures that address your specific patterns of aging at the appropriate phase of your skin's life cycle. Even if it is an ingredient or procedure with positive research behind it, not every antiaging remedy is appropriate for you now, and some may never be.

The next chapter features my "Skin Life Cycle Quiz" that will determine the phase of your skin's development and your specific aging patterns. Then we will discuss the spectrum of treatments that will work best for you and help you develop your most effective regimen. In general, I have found that the vast majority of my patients get better results by starting out with milder but still efficacious products and treatments and gradually working their way up to stronger more aggressive ones if need be. Even if you are looking for a dramatic change, it's important to begin with the basics, such as wearing sunscreen and adhering to a solid daily regimen with proven active ingredients to help your skin get into the best possible condition it can be and then to keep it that way. Invasive procedures like face-lifts may turn back the clock, but they don't stop it from ticking. Time inevitably marches on. And while plastic surgery may tighten sagging skin, it won't improve your overall complexion. Meaning if your skin is blotchy, sun-damaged, and lined before the surgery, it will still be that way afterward.

Think of it this way. If we want to get in shape, going to the gym for the first time in years and hoisting the heaviest weights possible and running as fast as we can on the treadmill for five miles will most likely cause us to become injured - not become more fit. Our bodies respond better if we gradually increase the duration and intensity of our exercise routines. It is the cumulative effects of these consistent workouts that will help us to achieve our goals - not one extreme sweat session. Skin care operates in much the same way. Shocking the skin with an overly aggressive product or procedure can result in an injury that may outweigh any of its potentially positive effects. Over the years, I've treated hundreds of patients who've made enormous gains from nonaggressive products and procedures.

© 2005 Viking, a division of Penguin Putnam, used by permission.

About the Author

Dennis Gross, M.D., is a practicing New York City dermatologist, dermatological surgeon, and skin-care expert with an extensive background in skin research at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Rockefeller University. He is a clinician at New York University Medical Center, where he received his medical degree and dermatological training, and he is the founder of M.D. Skincare, a comprehensive line of skin-care products. Dr. Gross has many high-profile clients, and he has been featured in publications such as Elle, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Vogue.

Cara Kagan, a writer and consultant on beauty and fitness for more than twelve years, has been the beauty and fitness director at several magazines, including Elle.