I was in my late 30s when it hit me. Those well-earned laugh lines around my eyes, wrinkles taking up permanent residence on my forehead, and parentheses around my overly expressive mouth weren’t going to magically disappear on their own. I guess you could say my skincare routine at the time was pretty basic - Cetaphil Cleanser (suggested during the one dermatologist appointment I’d ever had in my 20s) and my mother’s tried-and-true Oil of Olay moisturizer.
They say when the student is ready the teacher appears. So it’s no surprise that around this same time I met a woman who, when I asked her what she did for a living, told me she helped women over 40 “redesign their face.” At first, I thought she was a cosmetic surgeon whose clients went under the knife. I wasn’t up for anything that drastic (not yet anyway). When she told me her specialty was injectables, I booked an appointment STAT. One clinic visit later - Botox in my forehead and eye crinkles, filler under my eyes - I was not only impressed with the results. I was thrilled that I still looked like myself, just more rested and wrinkle-free. After all, my obsession with celebrity culture had shown me more than a few cautionary tales about overly filled lips, cheeks, or, worse, a frozen face all together. As a creative, I’ve always loved having a fully expressive face and would never want to alter its ability to show real emotion, joy-filled, anguished, or otherwise.
A year or so into my life with injectables, I started to think about how to keep the results lasting longer at home. Specifically, I invested in a comprehensive clinical skincare routine, complete with cleanser, toner, serum and moisturizer. The at-home results were just as astounding. That sun spot that used to sit just below my left eye? Gone. The visible redness I often saw on my cheeks? Diminished.
A decade later, my passion for skincare has also become my career. As Head of Copy of Kate Somerville, I get to write about, learn about, and experiment with the best skincare I’ve ever used. I also enjoy the employee discount at our Kate Sommerville Skin Health Experts Clinic on Melrose Place in Los Angeles where the most amazing team of estheticians and nurses care for skin every day. I’m a regular customer and have seen incredible results for my now-50-year-old face thanks to Dysport and Botox, wrinkle-relaxing neurotoxins that smooth forehead and eye area crinkles; Hyaluronic Acid Dermal Filler that plumps my under eye area, the place I notice the visible signs of aging most; PDO threads that visibly lifted my sagging jawline; and a little JUVÉDERM® lip plumping as my annual birthday gift to myself. To look at me, you wouldn’t know I’ve done anything to my face. That’s one of the things I appreciate most, our clinician’s conservative approach to medical aesthetics. I just get to look well rested and like I’m aging well.
When I look back, I’m kind of amazed at how that first injectables appointment helped transform not only my skin, but eventually my husband’s skin, as well as my career. Today, I feel more comfortable and confident in my own skin and look forward to owning my age through the years, armed with the help of my very own Skin Health Experts and at-home skincare routine.
