Skin Quality Is Everything. Here’s What That Actually Means.

There's something you've probably noticed without being able to name it. Your skin looks a little dull on a good day. The tone is slightly off. Something about the surface isn't quite catching light the way it used to.

That has a clinical name and it's called Skin Quality, and it can be specifically treated.

Skin quality encompasses a variety of factors that make your skin look more healthy or more youthful: color, texture, roughness, fine lines, crepiness, even pore size. Related to all of that is radiance: how the light reflects off your skin.

Lisa Ishii, MD

When she describes it that way, it stops being abstract. It's the difference between skin that looks rested and skin that looks tired, between a face that glows and one that is dull.

Most aesthetic treatments work below the surface. Fillers add volume. Botox relaxes muscle. Both are highly effective at exactly that.

Neither of them changes what happens on the skin's surface: its texture, tone, or the way it absorbs or reflects light. A well-placed filler on uneven, dull skin still reads as uneven and dull. That's not a technique problem. It's just missing a step by not addressing the issue of skin quality.

Dr. Margo Weishar starts most consultations there.

No matter what you do, the quality of your skin is what reflects your health and wellness. Whether you're considering any other cosmetic procedure, let's first make sure your skin looks its best.

Margo Weishar, MD

It's a clinical principle dressed up as practical advice. It's not much different than getting the greatest haircut and style in the world, but not addressing dry, brittle or thin hair at the same time. Most providers don't understand this because most providers don't have the training or equipment to treat it. But the logic is hard to argue with: whatever you do to enhance foundational issues with Botox and filler, it works and looks better on skin that also looks good.

Your skin is the largest organ on your body, and skin quality isn't one thing, and it isn't treated by one approach. Redness has a different approach than pigmentation. Texture responds to different treatment than fine lines. A provider who takes skin quality seriously needs a range of tools and the judgment to know which situation calls for which.

That's the part worth paying attention to: range. If a clinic runs on one or two options, your plan defaults to what's available, not what's right for your specific skin.

The question most people bring to a consultation is about a specific feature: a line, a spot, some laxity. Practitioners who get the most consistent results tend to start with the skin first.

My signature approach is to let your skin shine through. Less is more, and I want you to be your natural best.

Selika Gutierrez-Borst

So next time you see your provider, make sure they aren't shortchanging you on what's possible. Make sure they are talking to you about skin quality. If they aren't, it just might be time to see someone new.