Dr Alastair Clark reveals the foundational and seasonal skin essentials for your anti-ageing goals in 2022.

Each year we see the same skin cycles repeating themselves. There are, of course, numerous factors that dictate an annual skin matrix protocol, including skin tone, skin type, desired outcome, budget and more. Yet one of the fundamental elements that affect us all, is the change of seasons.

As a concept, seasonality can take on two distinctions. The first is the actual seasons: summer, autumn, winter, and spring.

The second is lifestyle seasons, which are made up of summer holidays, Easter break, the year-end celebrations, and lastly, school vacations. It is therefore necessary for both aesthetic doctor and patient to build the lifestyle seasons into the environmental seasons protocol.

Let me provide some high-level examples. Please note these references are not only made for seasons, but with specific monthly considerations as well (a factor that differs from person to person).

Summer

3 summer

Post-December holiday is a summer season where skin protocols would include dermal fillers, botulinum toxin and superficial chemical peels – all of which aim to minimise the hyperpigmentation risk due to elevated UV levels. However, the inclusion of the lifestyle factors in post-December summer protocols should alter the selection of treatments. Remember: anti-ageing is as much about the correction as it is prevention.

Correct: There will be a need to combat skin dehydration following excessive sun exposure, and possibly, to alleviate skin inflammation. This can be done with HA skin boosters or IV skin brightening, as these choices will incorporate skin tone, texture, and trouble areas.
Correct: The skin will require an antioxidant focus that is combined with treatments to promote cellular health. Following an indulgent break, we involuntarily introduce free radicals (which have a detrimental effect on visible age). This needs to be corrected before we can tackle specific areas or pre-rejuvenation techniques.
Prevent: Once the hydration and cellular function has been dealt with, it is important to create a blank canvass for the remainder of the year. This could entail any skin rejuvenation procedure (such as PRP therapy or micro-needling treatment). The key element to understand here is that without the post-December holiday correction, this rejuvenation is simply out of the question. The good news is that there are stepping-stone protocols aimed at visibly combating premature ageing.

Winter

5 winter

The same intricate thinking could be said for winter. Understanding the social or environmental factors, allows us to tweak treatments in such a way, that it’s no longer about simply treating skin issues that are caused by traditional winter factors (including rosacea, winter acne, or pigmentation).

Winter is a superb season to target deep lines and wrinkles. The lower UV index allows for safer removal of outer skin layers using fractional laser, dermabrasion, deep chemical peels and PRP therapy. These treatments can reveal a deeper unblemished skin that is wrinkle-free while delivering a glowing complexion at the same time.
Being that we traditionally hide behind scarves and coats in winter also allows us to target body shaping treatments. Winter is a great season to undergo hair removal or stretch mark procedures, as the post-treatment redness will not impact social activities. Again, we are trying to link the seasonal advantages to lifestyle factors.

Autumn

4 autumn

A season we use to prepare the skin for winter. Treatments need to prevent damage that can be caused by the cold and dry climate in Johannesburg. As a result, it makes sense to begin deeper skin rejuvenation and deeper peels. Now, ordinarily, this would be an ideal time to undergo these procedures, BUT, one must bear in mind that this year’s Easter break falls into autumn, meaning that an aggressive skin rejuvenation could ruin a social experience for the holidays. Hence, planning needs to include preventative treatments to eliminate the potential holiday risk i.e.:

Introduce an antioxidant homecare regime and begin to change the moisturising protocol.
Have weekly superficial chemical peels in the build-up to the holidays, and only opt for medium-depth peels upon return.
Incorporate body shaping and firming treatments that have proven effective results in aiding fat loss, cellulite reduction, improved circulation, and bone density.
There may be a necessity for skin boosters to deliver deep hydration, but IV skin brightening prior to this will still impact cellular hydration (and without affecting the holiday).

Spring

6 spring

Finally, spring – the season of change – is a time to correct the lifestyle choices undertaken in winter. During this sunny, humid stretch, some people may start noticing specific skin issues which they haven’t taken note of before. And so, it’s for this very reason that aesthetic doctors should not only focus on correcting skin damage, but also prepare a protocol for the summer months to treat key skin issues, as this ultimately builds self-confidence in their patients. Remember, skin with a healthy cellular base will present with minimised wrinkles and a clearer complexion – thereby making the targeting of treatments so much easier.

While dermal filler and botulinum toxin are year-round treatments, spring provides an opportunity to get more aggressive. We do this with the mind that the holiday and wedding season is always on the horizon
(thus no last-minute treatments).
Spider vein removal and hair removal come into their own in spring, as patients reveal more of their body as the temperature rises. In most instances, we generally encourage these treatments in the cooler months, yet this may not always be the case.

Final word

Aesthetic doctors like to sit and chat with their patients, where they can plan a yearly skin matrix treatment for them. As for the patient, they need to be honest about both their skin desires and calendar schedule. This will ensure treatments are tailored to one’s skin, anti-ageing goals, the season, as well as the lifestyle element (as this can easily derail all other elements).

Disclaimer: This article is published for information purposes only, nor should it be regarded as a replacement for sound medical advice.

Dr Alastair Clark

Sandton Aesthetic Institute | +27 0(11) 883 3116 | myskin@sandtonaesthetics.co.za | Website

MBBCh . General practitioner with special interest (GPSI) in Aesthetic Medicine.

Dr Alastair Clark is a full-time Medical Aesthetic Practice at his clinic Sandton Aesthetic Institute in Johannesburg, South Africa. He designs and delivers courses in the disciplines of filler volumisation, neuromuscular modulation with botulinum neurotoxin, non-surgical thread lifts, IPL and laser, chemical peels, as well as physical treatments of the skin. Dr Clark has presented and given live demonstrations at numerous international congresses in Europe, Asia and South Africa, including IMCAS Paris and China, World Congress Aesth Med in Monaco, AMCSA and Tehran, Iran.

He has had a career-long commitment to education and training Aesthetic Medicine to develop a competent and safe faculty in South Africa. He is the current president of the Anti-Ageing and Aesthetic Medicine Society of Southern Africa (AAMSSA).