How I got rid of my wrinkles without Botox, fillers, surgery

Sabina Breece wasn’t ready to go back to school.

After two years of pandemic isolation, the well-coifed 42-year-old was anxious about the prospect of dropping her kids off at their tony Connecticut school and having to socialize with other moms. She was afraid her appearance wasn’t up to snuff.

“The rules changed and we are interacting again,” Breece, who previously lived on the Upper East Side, told The Post. “I had barely looked in the mirror for a couple of years. And this may not be Manhattan, but it’s country chic and believe me, they pay attention.”

She needed more than a trip to the hair salon, but she feared that Botox or fillers might make her look frozen and unnatural. Her cosmetic dermatologist, Paul Jarrod Frank, suggested Emface, a just-launched treatment that uses high-intensity electricity and radio frequency to exercise facial muscles and tighten the skin. It takes four relatively painless sessions, one week apart, and the package costs between $4,000 and $4,500. Breece underwent the procedure and has been quite pleased with the results.

“I didn’t notice anything after the first session, but after the second I saw more cheekbone definition and a big difference in my jawline,” she said. “Injectables are freaky, so I liked the idea that this was working my own muscles, and I could feel them tightening.”

For two decades, Botox — which works by injecting a tiny amount of toxin into the targeted area, causing muscles to relax and reducing wrinkles — and fillers have been an integral part of cosmetic dermatologists’ anti-aging artillery. But now, both patients and doctors are shifting tactics in favor of alternatives that can be at once more effective and yield more natural results.

“There is a lot of overuse [with Botox], and there are patients who have seen less of a result over time, which is natural to the aging process,” Frank told The Post. “It can be counterintuitive — to paralyze muscles that weaken with age, and to inflate the face with injectables that can decrease elasticity or distort the face. The No. 1 request I have now is for something that won’t make patients look frozen or full in the face.’’

Emface is being heralded as an exciting new option.

“We haven’t had a way to address volume loss without filler before this came out,’’ Upper East Side dermatologist Arash Akhavan told The Post. He recently performed the Emface procedure on model Irina Shayk. “Because you are building your own muscle, you are assured of natural results. You can then sparingly use Botox and filler to complement the effects.”

Emface isn’t the only new anti-aging weapon. Frank also recommends Ellacor, a more aggressive treatment for people with skin looseness, that actually removes small bits of skin without surgery. It’s pricey — three treatments are suggested, with each costing $6,000 — and requires five days of downtime, but an exciting advance in cosmetic science. As the skin heals, it contracts and produces more collagen.

“It’s the first device that removes skin without scarring,” Frank said.

The fillers Sculptra and Radiesse are now being hyper diluted and injected not to inflate the face but to encourage collagen production.

“They definitely can help with hollows,” said Radha Mikkilineni, a dermatologist and founder of the tele-dermatology platform Skinsage. “It takes a few sessions, but lasts years.”

She still uses Botox, but sparingly. “It used to be about freezing and filling, but I use very small amounts and never paralyze the muscle,” Mikkilineni told The Post.

Another option is Morpheus8, a machine that uses microneedling with radio frequency to tighten skin and soften wrinkles, at a cost of $2,400 to $2,900 per session. Two sessions are recommended to begin with.

Ad executive Monique deBoer, 53, of Rye, New York, recently turned to the procedure to freshen up her look after a divorce.

“I was in a better place and wanted to look as good as I felt,” said deBoer, who worried fillers would just make her look puffy. She’s had two sessions, administered by Dr. Anetta Reszko, with a month between them, and loves the results.

“My skin just keeps getting better,” she said. “I want to look great as I get older, but I want to do it gracefully.”