Mastering Age with Grace

Grace Rivera, NP, discusses aging gracefully, cultural differences in beauty standards, and the stigma of aesthetic treatment. Learn more at @ConfidenceByGrace_NP

I've been working in the medical field for years. I've seen others - and myself - age and change over time. But I can't say that I ever fully understood it until I started working in aesthetic medicine.

Now I truly know and understand the aging process and how it affects every layer from the skin down to the bone. How skin laxity increases with age, how collagen levels decrease, and what that means for faces. I'm especially interested in how those changes are different for western faces versus eastern faces.

When I began my aesthetic journey, I didn't know what I needed. I just knew that I felt and looked tired. Popular explanations of aging left me with more questions than answers. I didn't see myself represented in many of those explanations. Once I began my aesthetic training, I came to understand how western and eastern faces age differently. Western faces age laterally meaning that the collagen loss is obvious on the sides of the face (think hollow temples and preauricular). Eastern faces age medially meaning that forward projection lessens over time (think flatter-looking cheekbones). This is something I'd noticed myself but couldn't name.

At the time I couldn't see what treatments would get me where I wanted to be, but by treating others who have trusted me, I've developed those skills. Now when I assess a face I can see beneath the skin and understand what to support based on the patient's unique face and unique goals. As a provider, I'm very attuned to those different needs. I've developed an aesthetic eye to truly see the shadows and light reflection on my patients' faces and how the flow of light lets you see what's happening beneath the skin. Knowing which valleys to pinpoint, but also which don't need overcorrection.

I'm also attuned to the conflicting beauty standards that influence our self-confidence and self-expression. Being in the same process of aging as my patients, I want you to know I see you. I can feel the weight of the expectations that we all feel on a daily basis and I want you to know that I'm here to support you.

There's a stigma around aesthetic treatments for many of us either culturally of from our families. I'm proud to share my treatment journey because I hope that it will lessen the hesitation that others feel around treatments. Aging means different things to different people and you can absolutely age gracefully and naturally while also feeling confident in your skin.

The first priority is always to address the skin. Medical grade skincare has been one of the most impactful changes that I've made in my aesthetic journey and I can't recommend it enough to my patients. After that foundation, we have tox to address the little lines we all gain over time. And then there's the biggest sign of aging: volume loss. I want to just tell you to trust me about filler. It's gotten a bad rap because everyone sees the extreme versions of overfilled faces. But filler can be done subtly to alleviate that medial or lateral aging just enough. It's one of the tools we have access to and there is a time it's the best tool for the job.

The last thing I want to share is my gratitude to my patients. For allowing me to participate in their aesthetic journeys and for allowing many of those journeys to be shared. I'm so grateful to share your results. If it can show just one other person how good they can feel in their skin, it is all worth it.