Doctor’s orders! It might seem like a mix of magic and makeup, but there’s actually a lot that goes into making the Real Housewives look like they’re aging in reverse.
Because whether you’re totally boggled by the fact that Ramona Singer’s legs don’t have a spider vein in sight or can’t help but obsess over Bethenny Frankel’s filter-free complexion, the Bravo ladies look unbelievable — no ifs, ands or buts about it.
Lucky for Us, their dermatologist, Dr. Howard Sobel, is spilling the anti-aging secrets and skincare tips he serves up to a handful of the New York City stars.
His number one message, contrary to popular belief, is that less is more when it comes to botox and filler. Because going overboard on the injections can result in looking like a “cabbage patch doll” that can leave patients looking a lot more fake than they do rejuvenated.
“Everyone thinks that more is better. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said no,” Dr. Sobel, who founded his own skincare line Sobel SkinRx, told Us.
That said, the right amount of filler — in the right places — and with a skilled hand can totally make someone look 10 years younger. “In your 50s you lose that volume in your skin, you lose that hydration. You want to fill in the skin, fill in the hollowness and make the skin fuller,” he said.
But go too gung-ho too quickly and Dr. Sobel says you’re not going to look like a younger version of yourself, but rather a more “distorted” version. “We all know those people that put so much filler in their face that they close up their eyes and their eyes look like slits,” Dr. Sobel told Stylish.
And the same message goes for Botox. While it can be is a great tool for “opening someone’s face” and “decreasing the amount of skin that creases,” he insists that “more Botox is not always better.”
Case in point? “You put more Botox in and then all of the sudden someone can’t life up their lid. Or when they put their makeup on, they have to lift the eyebrow because they can’t open up their eyes,” he said.
Aside from Botox and filler in the face, Dr. Sobel also said that in-office treatments, which run the gamut from resurfacing treatments like Fraxel or micro needling to body contouring treatments like in-office liposuction, are something to look into if you want to create an overall more youthful appearance.
Singer, 64, for example, works with Dr. Sobel to address any spider veins in her legs thanks to an injection called Sclerotherapy. “It takes a month or two for those blood vessels to disappear, so we did that probably a couple of months in advance [of filming]. That way, when she wears stockings or a short skirt across the legs, you won’t see any of those blood vessels,” he added.
While gadgets and gizmos can undoubtably make the skin glow and look tighter and toned, a solid anti-aging approach starts with stellar skincare.
Of course, sunscreen, hyaluronic acid and a good retinol reign supreme, but Dr. Sobel says not to understatement the power of a solid vitamin C serum, such as his 35% Vitamin C Fusion Serum.
Not only will it help decrease any pigmentation (read: sun spots), but it’ll also help brighten the skin. “As we get older, we get skin that becomes dull, it becomes yellow looking. The vitamin C helps increase blood flow to the skin, so it give you that glow that you had when you were younger,” Dr. Sobel said.
Another secret weapon he makes sure women over 50 have in their routine? An exfoliator, which works to retexturize and brighten the skin. “As we get a build up in the 50s of dead skin cells, we want to slough them off, but we don’t want anything that’s too harsh,” he explained.
As such, he recommends that his patients use the Sobel Skin Rx Glycolic Acid Peel Concentrate, which has a wash-off formula that’s great for even the most sensitive skin.
To shop products for Dr. Sobel’s skincare line (we’re obsessed with the Bio Hyaluronic!) head over to drsobelskinrx.com.
