We are now deep into California’s Safer at Home order, and our manicures, hair dyes, and omg—botox and fillers maybe starting to wear off. Here’s the good news—if you have getting these procedures regularly, research shows that your results may last longer than you expect. The bad news? Nothing over the counter really replaces the effects of botox and fillers.

So what can you do to maintain the results as long possible?

• Self-care and trying to control stress (during stressful times) keeps your immune system strong and inflammation down.
• Up your skincare game! Fillers look much better with hydrated skin, and products with crosslinked hyaluronic acids like SkinMedica’s HA5 help the skin maintain plump and hydrated, and is a great adjunct to boost filler treatments.
• Smile. Overuse of frown muscles, or squinting at a computer or phone can make your dynamic wrinkles between the brows and crow’s feet stronger.
• Some small studies have shown zinc supplementation possibly can increase the duration of botox effects. Since zinc also boosts the immune system, this may be the time to incorporate into your supplements.
• Limit sun exposure and wear sunscreen. Even if you are indoors more, UVA rays penetrate windows, and blue light from increased digital exposure all contribute to breakdown of collagen.
• Exercise to keep healthy, but prolonged or extreme exercise and diet does lead to an increased metabolic effect on these products and their benefits can wear off faster.

Most importantly, stay safe and socially distance, because that means we can all reunite and do these treatments all the sooner!