Having good skin versus bad skin really makes all the difference when it comes to feeling and looking beautiful and young, and that is why millions of women are flocking to estheticians and doctors around the world, in search of the right anti aging treatment for their skin.

And the "right" treatment could be dramatically different depending on a number of attributes, including race, gender, ethnic background, environmental exposure such as sun and diet, products used, and a number of other factors that we probably wouldn't even think of.

This is why it is so important to not only find the right treatments to use daily on your face for the best possible results on your skin type, but it is also to find the right aesthetic treament if you are planning on actually going and getting professionally administered anti aging treatments.

Word of mouth is definitely one of the best ways to figure out where to go, but what if you don't really know anyone who can recommend a doctor or skin specialist who they were no less than thrilled about?

Well, you should first make sure that the places you are choosing to go offer free consultations. This way, there is no financial obligation if you choose not to give them your business, or weren't quite thrilled with the atmosphere, advice, or treatments options available, and wanted to further comparison shop.

After the choice has been made as to who you will go to for your professional skin care treatment(s), that is when the fun begins, and the process by which a special treatment or combination of treatments is chosen for you particular situation. Most likely, you will be offered a few choices, and based on your age, and depth of wrinkles or fine lines, it will be a combination of a couple of things, only three of which we'll discuss here today.

The most common and popular anti aging treatments available are variations of laser therapy, chemical peels, Botox injections, Microdermabrasion, and injectable dermal fillers such as Restylane. We'll talk today a little more about Microdermabrasion, Botox, and Restylane.

Microdermabrasion is a process that does not involve any type of chemicals or invasive needles or surgery, and yet can have quite a dramatic effect on the appearance of the skin, no matter what your age is. However, it is usually not prescribed as a means to rid you of deep wrinkles.

Usually, Botox or injectable fillers are recommended for deep wrinkles. Microdermabrasion can range from agressive to less agressive in its treatment of fine lines, but it is primarily used to help with other signs of aging or skin damage such as scarring, spotting, discoloration and uneven skin tone. In other words, it sloughs away the "dullness" that often comes with aging skin.

In the process, which involves blasting tiny particles of aluminum dioxide, and then sucking them up through a vacuum. If the procedure is done in the right localized area and agressively enough, many times patients will see a reduction in their fine lines, as well as a renewed, fresher look to their skin and a great improvement in the evenness and tone of their skin.

I've had Microdermabrasion before, and was pleased with the results, but as far as erasing fine lines, it didn't do the trick, although I will say it even out my skin tone, and also helped with the appearance of the fine lines.

Chemical peels are another offering that you might have heard about. They usually custom mix a solution of glycolic acid, or perhaps some other sort of acid commonly used in skin care.

This acid solution is applied to the skin and allowed to set for a specified time frame, and when it is taken off, the skin usually responds by shedding layers, or peeling, revealing younger, more vibrant and even skin underneath.

You see, when we age, our skin sheds less and less, and our cells do not turn over as quickly, which results in a dull appearance as well as wrinkles and fine lines. The peels, especially when combined with Microdermabrasion, can help speed cell turnover like when we were younger, and give us back that youthful, dewy look.

The final professional anti aging treatment we will talk about is that all too commonly joked about product called Botox. Botox is a form of botulism, a feared word because of it's toxic status and the bad rep for being a food toxin that causes unpleasant side effects if ingested orally. But not if it's injected in the right amounts, into the very muscles that cause you to look "wrinkled" when you make a facial expression.

Because Botox actually relaxes, or freezes the muscles where it is locally injected, it is not only a current wrinkle inhibitor, but it is also considered preventive, because it will actually prevent wrinkles from happening by preventing the positions of the skin that cause wrinkles to occur.

I had a conversation with a skin care professional (esthetician) today and discussed my personal concerns about the Botox treatments, and what I perceived as a loss of ability to express my self through facial expression.

She said this is a common misconception, and that this is why good doctors will only use Botox in selective areas, just locally enough so that they don't relax large sections of muscle and a patient can still express themselves through facial expressions, without further wrinkling their skin.

Botox has continued as one of the most elected professional anti aging procedures in the world today for a reason. It actually might be the way to go for people who want to prevent further wrinkles, who are not yet ideal candidates for dermal fillers because their wrinkles have not yet progressed far enough to be "filled".