Abstract
Aging of the skin is a multifactorial phenomenon in which ongoing intrinsic changes combine the cumulative effects of chronic exposure to the elements, primarily UV radiation, in a synergistic fashion, causing the skin to lose its thickness and elasticity and develop wrinkles. There is now an increased interest in a wide range of non-ablative treatments for skin aging, which are used to rejuvenate skin with minimal downtime and complications. As the demand for minimally invasive rejuvenation is increasing, different modalities have been designed to produce favorable alterations in the dermis with no epidermal damage via photomodulation, selective photothermolysis, fractional photothermolysis, radio waves, electro-optical synergy, injectable fillers, neurotoxins, skin needling and biorejuvenation to stimulate collagen synthesis and rejuvenate the aged skin while preserving the integrity of the epidermis.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Key issues
• Aging of the skin is likely caused by both intrinsic (biologic) ‘intrinsic aging’, and extrinsic (environmental) factors ‘extrinsic or photoaging’.
• Recently, the possibility of complications, prolonged recovery time and avoidance of sun exposure essential to maintain optimal results were reasons to decrease the attractiveness of ablative skin resurfacing.
• Many different approaches or procedures are designed to produce favorable alterations in the dermis with no or minimal epidermal damage; that are termed minimally invasive modalities.
• These modalities stimulate the repair process, and reverse the clinical, as well as the histological, signs of aging, with the advantage of relatively risk-free procedure and avoiding significant downtime.