Dr. Karyn Grossman is an internationally renowned, board-certified cosmetic dermatologist with a well-known celebrity following. Trained at Harvard Medical School, she’s considered a key opinion leader in all fields of esthetics and often works on its frontlines to help develop new technologies, fillers, and devices. Haute Beauty chats with Dr. Karyn Grossman on how crepiness is caused and treatment options to reduce wrinkles and improve skin texture.

Photo Credit: ShutterstockHB: What is crepiness?

Crepiness is a wrinkly texture change that is often seen on the neck, chest, elbows, knees, and stomach. It is the result of decreased collagen & hyaluronic acid, in combination with prolonged sun exposure, lifestyle factors, genetics, and gravity.

HB: How does hyperdilute Radiesse and Sculptra help crepey necks, chests, and hands?

When injected, hyperdilute Sculptra or Radiesse has an impressive biostimilatory effect. Essentially they are jumpstarting your body to build its own collagen. Collagen plumps up the skin and provides the structure that the skin needs to make it look more youthful. We often combine it with other treatments like IPL (intensive pulsed light) which improves the tone of the skin, fractionated lasers, and/or microneedling which work together to give provide dramatic improvement.

HB: How long is the treatment?

It depends on the area being treated and the extent of the repair needed to the skin. The actual injection part does not take very long if we include the time it takes to numb. I would say the average patient who is getting their neck and chest treated takes about an hour.

HB: What is Sculptra?

Sculptra is quite different than dermal fillers, such as Juvederm and other commonly known fillers. Sculptra is actually a powder mixed with saline creating a solution that can be injected. Once injected into the body, Sculptra slowly dissolves stimulating and replacing the body’s own collagen.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Dr. Karyn GrossmanHB: When do you start seeing crepiness in the necks and hands?

This is a difficult question to answer because everyone is different. Genetics, lifestyle, and sun exposure play a significant role in determining when someone begins to show these signs of aging. One person may begin to see it in their late twenties or early thirties while someone else might not experience texture change until well into their fifties.

HB: Is sun exposure the only cause of crepiness?

Some of it is genetics, smoking, but certainly UV exposure. Whether it be the sun or tanning beds, UV exposure is the most significant cause of premature aging. Smoking is probably the second biggest and then there is a whole variety of other things like pollution and eating too much sugar. However, those changes are much smaller compared to what happens with UV exposure and smoking.

HB: What do the recovery and aftercare look like?

There is some swelling and bruising that typically lasts 3 to 17 days. Definitely stay out of the sun while healing and continue wearing sunblock during and after your procedures.