Corrective vs. Preventive Treatments: How To Choose Anti-Aging Skin Care

If you’re interested in diminishing the look of wrinkles, acne scars, sun spots or other skin features that develop with age, you may be considering expensive skin care products or treatments. But before you shell out hundreds or even thousands of dollars on cosmetic procedures, it’s important to understand which ones can actually make a corrective impact and which ones can’t.

Certain common beauty treatments, including the use of Botox and topical SPF products, may be most effective when used preventively, before the skin changes. Meanwhile, other remedies, like fillers and chemical peels, are quite effective at reversing the appearance of aging in a corrective manner. To help you better understand the best treatment for your particular skin concern, we consulted five dermatologists and plastic surgeons for their expert advice.

What’s the difference between preventive and corrective skin care?

Most beauty treatments fall into one of two categories — preventive or corrective — and many can be used for both.

“Preventative treatments improve and strengthen the skin to keep the aging process at bay, while corrective treatments reverse aging or damage to the skin,” said Dr. Stacey Tull, a surgeon and cosmetic dermatology specialist in Missouri who is the owner and founder of St. Charles County Dermatologic Surgery .

If your skin is in good health, it’s imperative to use preventive skin care treatments to help keep it that way. Preventive treatments “can actually help maintain our skin’s health and delay the onset signs of aging, such as fine lines and wrinkles,” explained Dr. Kimberly Lee , a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Beverly Hills, California.

Meanwhile, “corrective treatments ameliorate brown