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August 2020

Pro-Aging Playbook In Practice

Applying Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank's Principles For Great Skin And Wellness From The Inside Out


 I have an appreciation for Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank's holistic approach, his aesthetic technique, and his no-nonsense filter. Weeks before its release, I sat down with the influential cosmetic dermatologist to talk about his book, The Pro-Aging Playbook. In preparation for our interview, I read it cover to cover. I used a highlighter to mark up what I believed to be key talking points, and placed sticky notes on pages to point out. And what I found was that long after our sit-down aired on Instagram Live, I continued to leaf through the Playbook's pages in a practice of reminding myself of its "recipe" and all the ingredients needed in my life for the best skin, and to achieve optimal health along the way. Because as the Playbook goes, "with a pro-aging attitude, you can't just do one thing. You have to do a little bit of everything". And so I decided to drill down my plan for how I would place the Playbook principles into my own daily routine. Here's what I'm doing. -Tamara Rappa

No more scattered skincare. Because of what I do, I'm lucky to have access to all sorts of skincare products and I'm able to try many things. Many of the items that come across my path are amongst the very best the market has to offer. Rather than using a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, my new plan is to use the same top-notch products every day for an extended period of time, and in doing so I'll be actively improving their efficacy. For me, that's weekly Vintners Daughter Active Treatment Essence layered under Vintners Daughter Active Botanical Serum, along with twice weekly applications of Joanna Vargas' Twilight or Euphoria sheet masks using her Magic Glow Wand, in the way that she taught me to work with both. PLAYBOOK POINT: Give your products a chance to work, and that means one at a time. Active ingredients always take a few weeks to become really effective. If you add more than one new product to your regimen, you won't know what works, or what could be causing problems.

Continuing to embrace combination treatments. I like to do combo treatments like microdermabrasion + laser + chemical peel... and others, about three times a year. PLAYBOOK POINT: Combination treatments always lead to several subtle but overall significant results. The greatest way to get the best and most natural-appearing results is to combine several small things rather than to do a lot of one thing.

Eating more greens daily. I've long been used to looking at ingredients on labels, and under a microscope. I know about the importance of clean eating, am well-versed on exactly what that entails, and I eat pretty clean most of the time. But the one thing I can do is up my daily intake of leafy green vegetables. PLAYBOOK POINT: Vegetables contain the vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber necessary to slow skin aging by minimizing degenerative effects of free radicals and oxidative stress. High-fiber foods also help flush out toxins.

Twice daily workouts. I recently walked from Queens to Manhattan. The trip took over two hours, and during the long haul I became acutely aware that almost half the people I passed along the way were not wearing masks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I'm reminded to put my beloved Peloton bike to good use by getting on it not once, but twice a day: for both a spin class, and a leisurely ride. I'll curb my craving for extended hours outdoors, but maintain that all-day movement the pandemic has pumped the brakes on. PLAYBOOK POINT: The number-one thing you can do for pro-aging, longevity, and beauty is to get moving. Period. Not just because it tones you, but it makes your skin brighter and it decreases wrinkles. It improves sleep and cognitive function, your immune system, and the functioning of every organ of your body---including your skin.

8am meditation online with The Well. Meditation is one I'm working on. I have a membership with the wellness club, an incredible health resource that's  recently gone digital, and this class that's offered is one I plan to take advantage of. Even if I'm not strictly following the meditation, I know that tuning in and making space for this practice every morning will surely have an effect. PLAYBOOK POINT: Study after study confirms meditation practices clearly affect brain functions, from its metabolism, hormone production, neurologic pathway plasticity, and neural wave form--all of which help mediate its regulatory functions.

Ramping up the quality of my sleep. I've been recording my sleep patterns and quality of my sleep using the Sleep Cycle sleep app nightly, for the last few years. Your sleep's quality is ranked according to a number of factors and is calculated into a percentage. I now aim to make sure it reads ninety percent or higher. PLAYBOOK POINT: The function of sleep is a regulatory mechanism for recovery and repair for all the functions of your body, both physical and mental. 

Shop The Pro-Aging Playbook by Dr. Paul Jarrod Frank