Even the most well-informed and highly skeptical skin-care users (i.e. dermatologists) are buying into these buzzy treatments. Here, we've rounded up the best dermatologist-approved anti-aging tips and tricks to try for your best-looking skin yet.

Sometimes buzz, hype, and a Instagram blitz happens for a reasonbecause said treatments are efficacious, effective, and safe. These are three the pros stand by.

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Double-cleansing. Washing your face twicewith an oil-based cleanser followed by a water-based oneis a trend. But for Whitney Bowe, a dermatologist in New York City, its just part of her anti-aging regimen. Double-cleansing can preserve collagen, she says. Sure, that sounds like a tall order, but Bowe uses a DIY oil cleanser to dissolve makeup easily without the rubbing that can age your skin. She even takes off her mascara with the oil so she doesnt have to tug on her lashestheyve gotten thinner with age, so they fall out more easily. Her recipe: two tablespoons of olive oil stirred into eight ounces of aloe vera water. She follows that with Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser to finish the job.

Vampire facials. OK, doctors actually call them platelet-rich plasma injections, but youre probably more familiar with the Kardashian-popularized term. (In case you missed that episode: The treatment involves injecting extracts from a patients own blood back into her skin using tiny needles.) It seems bonkers/creepy, but injecting plasma-rich platelets, which are full of stem cells, could help build new collagen, says Marie Jhin, a dermatologist in San Francisco. And replacing collagen in your skin as you age is a continuous battle. She does the treatments on herself twice a year; Bowe does the same.

CoolSculpting. This device destroys fat cells with extreme coldin about an hour. The technique is called cryolipolysis, and it works best on small areas of fat, says Karyn Grossman, a dermatologist in Los Angeles. I was happy with my overall weight, but fat had accumulated around my upper back and one hip. Two cycles of CoolSculpting completely changed the way my dress fit for my sons bar mitzvah, she says.

If you remember only one thing from this story, remember this: Sunscreen is nonnegotiable. It helps prevent skin cancer, and people who wear it have 24 percent fewer signs of aging than those who dont, according to a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine . Dermatologists apply it every day, more than once, rain or shine. And they have a few things to say on the matter.

For sheer coverage: Too many sunscreens look obvious on skin of color. They dont blend in, or they make my skin look gray or purple, says Jeanine Downie, a dermatologistand an African-American womanin Montclair, New Jersey. Her solution: SkinMedica Total Defense + Repair Broad Spectrum SPF 34 Sunscreen . I wear it on my face, my neck, my ears, and the back of my hands every day, she says. Its very sheer, and I reapply it. For medium skin tones, Mona Gohara, a dermatologist in Danbury, Connecticut, who is Egyptian, says La Roche-Posay Anthelios SPF 30 soaks in very quickly and doesnt leave a chalky cast.

For lasting protection: Bowe and Gohara carry around the Colorescience Loose Mineral Foundation SPF 20 Powder Brush for touch-ups over makeup. It contains iron oxides, and a recent study showed that sunscreens with iron oxides prevent melasma better than formulas without them, says Gohara. Its really (really) important to know, however, that powders are supplements to, not replacements for, traditional sunscreen lotions and creams. Ellen Marmur, a dermatologist in New York City and a premelanoma survivor, applies a tinted formula with SPF, like Chanel Vitalumire Moisture-Rich Radiance Sunscreen Fluid Makeup Broad Spectrum SPF 15 , each morningand then reapplies it over her makeup before going outside throughout the day. I do a lot of skin-cancer surgeries on the tops of the eyebrows, between the eyes, and around the nostrils, so Im careful to cover those spots, she says.

For the whole package: Every single dermatologist we talked to layers sunscreen over an antioxidant serum or cream. Thats key for neutralizing the free radicals from sunlight, pollution, and even heat that can slip through sunscreen, damage collagen, and set off pigment production in skin, says Bowe, who likes Olay Total Effects 7 in One Anti-Aging Moisturizer with vitamin E and green tea extract for her sensitive skin. I wear it at night, tooif you sleep in moisturizer, you wake up with more hydrated and plump skin. And that means fine lines are less noticeable the next day.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY CLAIRE BRAND

Snoop around a docs bathroom (nosy) and youll find three unlikely standbys.

Hydroquinone. This skin lightener is banned in Europe, and studies have shown it is carcinogenic in rats when ingested. But most American dermatologists are confident about its safety when its used topicallyso confident that they rely on it to fade their own dark spots. It can brighten even the most intractable pigmentation and works faster than anything else (in as little as two months). Jhin applies a prescription Obagi Nu-Derm product twice a day; Alicia Barba, a dermatologist in Miami, uses Melamix Skin Lightener & Blending Crme Hydroquinone USP 4% at night for two to four weeks three times a year to treat her melasma.

Compression socks. Theyre not exactly sexy, but Gohara gets four or five pairs at the drugstore at the beginning of pants season and wears them daily to prevent the varicose veins caused by standing all day.

More dermatologist-approved anti-aging tips:

Even dermatologists skin acts upthe difference is they know how to get it back in shape, pronto. For mild eczema flare-ups, Jessica Wu, a dermatologist in Los Angeles, heads to the health aisle for an Australian bee-pollen extract called propolis. Its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial and has been shown to help skin heal itself, she says. If thats not enough, then Ill use prescription cortisone.

Then there are the smart choices dermatologists make that have nothing to do with creams or lotions or unattractive hosiery.

They don't rub their eyes. The skin there will darken if youre a chronic rubber, says Nada Elbuluk, a dermatologist in New York City, who recommends putting a cool compress on the eyes whenever you feel the urge to rub. Grossman goes as far as sleeping in bendy glasses, called Swissflex glasses. Uncomfortable? Maybe. But they keep her sleeping on her back, which prevents her skin from creasing against her pillow (and eventually wrinkling).

They go to bed. Ive become neurotic about prioritizing sleep over an extra hour of iPad, says Gohara. When you dont sleep, your cortisol levels shoot up, which causes inflammation in the body. That can make skin conditions like acne and rosacea worse and, over time, lead to wrinkles.

They get physical. What I do with my body affects my skin almost as much as what I put on it, says Gohara. To that end, she does 20 to 30 minutes of high-intensity interval training every morning to enhance her circulation, reduce stress, and decrease the inflammation that causes aging.

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Dermatologist-Approved Anti-Aging Tips to Try for Better Skin - Allure Magazine