With the new year, thoughts of self-improvement dance through our heads. After all, why not make 2025 your best year yet?
If skincare is on your agenda, it may help to know which in-office treatments board-certified dermatologists turn to themselves – from the tried and true to the latest innovations – to keep their own skin fresh, firm, and glowing. Allure recently interviewed several dermatologists across the country on this topic. While their responses are revealing, the article is on the longish side. To save you some time, we’ve compiled the highlights below.
Botox
Four of the eight dermatologists featured – all of whom are women – said that Botox is a key component of their skincare regimen.
“My very favorite treatment that I do consistently is ’tox to my masseter [chewing] muscles,” said Laurel Naversen Geraghty, MD, 49. “I’m a grinder and a clencher and I hold my stress in my jawline – I have broken multiple night guards. I inject Botox to my masseter muscles and I get incredible relief of jaw tension and pain for six months at a time.”
Dr. Geraghty added: “To me, skin treatments are maintenance through time to keep things tuned up – just like with a car. It’s calculated maintenance to keep things humming.”
“I’ve been doing Botox for four years, mostly my glabella [between the brows] and a little bit on the forehead,” said Saranya P. Wyles, MD, PhD. (Dr. Wyles did not disclose her age.) “I also have it done on my platysmal bands [the vertical muscle cords on either side of the neck] – it’s super awesome for tech neck. We’re always on our phones, and I’m the worst, constantly writing emails and looking down. This creates a subtle tightness, too, as a reminder to hey, don’t be looking down. The neck is definitely an area that is underrepresented in our toolkit of aesthetics.”
Ultherapy
Ultherapy, which is short for ultrasound therapy, is a noninvasive and nonsurgical treatment that uses micro-focused energy to stimulate collagen production in the very deep layer of the facial muscle. It’s approved by the FDA to lift skin on the neck, on the eyebrow, and under the chin, as well as to improve lines and wrinkles on the décolletage.
“As a physician, I can’t take a lot of downtime,” said Melissa K. Levin, MD, 41. “With anything that’s collagen building, you see some results at four to six weeks, but it takes three to four months to see the full results, and I like that slow gratification. I’m not the type of person who needs instant gratification. I had Ultherapy done this past year, and before that it was 18 months prior.”
Shereene Idriss, MD, 40, said, “Ultherapy is one of the most underrated treatments out there, but one of the most impactful. In 2014, at 30, I noticed heaviness beginning in my upper eyelids and my jawline. Every two years since, I’ve done Ultherapy.”
Vbeam
The pulsed light emitted by the Vbeam Perfecta laser precisely targets the red pigment in blood and blood vessels without harming the surrounding skin, making the Vbeam an effective treatment for visible spider veins, stretch marks, and the redness caused by rosacea, among other concerns (it’s approved by the FDA as a treatment for more than 20 conditions).
“I use it for tiny capillaries around my nose and redness on my cheeks and chin, and have also used it for cherry angiomas [small red bumps] on my trunk and spider veins on my thighs,” said Rebecca Marcus, MD, FAAD, 45. “I have used it on an ‘as needed’ basis for the past 10 or so years, whenever I see visible capillaries pop up. I have sensitive and combination skin and although I wouldn’t go so far as to say I have rosacea, I do tend to have visible capillaries around my nose and a few scattered across my cheeks. Treating vessels on the face, especially around the nose and cheeks, can make a big difference in evening skin tone.”
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