community spotlgight
Beneath the Surface of Anti-Aging: Q&A with Dr. Anna Baker has also been named Sarasota’s favorite anti-aging practitioner, and it was an honor to speak with her for this month’s “Community Spotlight.”
by Mary-Elizabeth Schurrer
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s another year draws to a close, we are once again confronted with the passage of time and its effect on our bodies. The grooves, furrows, lines, droops and wrinkles in our faces are reminders that age is inevitable—and none of us are exempt. However, while we cannot rewind the clock, we can restore the same fresh, radiant, youthful appearance that once greeted us in the mirror. I’m not talking about those “quick fix” potions in the cosmetic aisle filled with artificial, chemical additives we can barely pronounce. These claim to transform us back into our younger selves, but their results are short-lived, and their ingredient lists can be toxic. On the contrary, I’m referring to a natural and sustainable alternative that not only reclaims the vibrance of youth, but probes beneath the surface to rejuvenate skin cells, retighten facial muscles and create long-term results. So how is all of this possible? Enter: Dr. Anna Baker, an inventor, engineer, Doctor of Oriental Medicine and the founder of two anti-aging modalities—Faces by Dr. Anna and Pearl Cream by Dr. Anna. She 14
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Natural Awakenings: What occurs in the skin’s aging process, both on the surface and at the cellular depth, and why are most mainstream skincare products or services unable to achieve sustainable anti-aging results? Dr. Anna: The cosmetic industry refers to “skin aging” as a person grows older, but it is more a function of muscles beneath the skin losing their tone. Those who do resistance training on the body will understand that muscles are held at both ends on the skeletal bones, so that exercise can tighten them which makes the toned muscles smaller. However, facial muscles cannot be exercised because they are held at just one end on the skull. The other end is held by the skin which is elastic and, therefore, impossible to use for resistance. The first indicators of muscle aging start in a person’s mid-twenties. These changes are difficult to see because, as the muscles begin to lose their tone, they expand and puff out which causes the face to grow fuller. This continues in the thirties until enough tone has diminished that, as the forties approach, the face starts to become longer and flatter. Then as a person reaches their fifties, the changes are noticeable as the face widens and flattens even more. By this time, the cheeks will lose fullness and droop into the jawline, and the jowls will start to appear. The muscles continue losing their tone in the sixties, seventies and beyond which causes a progression of more lines, folds and wrinkles in face. This process is like when a balloon deflates. When a person is young, they have a small, tight, inflated balloon. However, as they age and lose muscle “air,” their balloon becomes longer, flatter and rippled from the deflation.
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The reason that mainstream antiaging products do not yield sustainable results is because they use chemicals which micro-burn the skin. The body then sends collagen and other repair products to heal this burn damage which puffs the area out temporarily, making the user think their fine lines and wrinkles are gone. But when the body heals, the repair chemicals are removed, and those lines or wrinkles return—sometimes deeper than before the treatment. Some of these products are applied daily, so the micro-damage never has a chance to heal, leading to the potential of skin cancer after long-term use. Doctors warn against sunburns due to the cancer risk, but too often, they will damage the skin with a host of treatments like chemical peels, laser surfacing, microdermabrasion, intense pulse light (IPL), micro-needling and the list continues. All of these treatments work temporarily just until the damage is healed. NA: Will you describe how your acupuncture facelift technique works, the results it can deliver and what differentiates it from other anti-aging procedures? Dr. Anna: Faces by Dr. Anna is an acupuncture facelift technique that I invented which retightens the muscles back from their natural progression of aging over a series of treatments. The muscles are retightened by 12 small, hair-thin needles placed on the scalp and neck in muscle attachment groups. I then use a special quantum-level manipulation which causes the muscles to retighten in small additive steps through the course of each treatment. Patients can choose how far back they want to reverse the aging, so to help with that decision, I show them photographed results that accurately depict the beforeand-after process of this technique. When a patient reaches a level they want to maintain, the aging does not stop; however, only one treatment is required every 18 months to maintain the lift. This result is unique among all the other non-surgical techniques. The method of acupuncture facelift done by other practitioners just inserts needles on the cheeks to puff them out with micro-damage, and this has to be performed monthly. That form of treatment cannot be used on any other areas of the face and neck, but my procedure retightens
