In this episode of Connecting the Dots: The Longevity Playbook, Jennifer Halsall sits down with Maaike Dorsteen, founder of Furrow and one of Europe’s best-known skinfluencers. Known as “the Wrinkle Queen of the Netherlands,” Maaike has spent the last 15 years making aesthetics transparent, accessible, and evidence-based. Together we explore how skin and appearance can be more than vanity. Done responsibly, aesthetics can be an entry point into deeper health behaviors and longevity practices.
This conversation goes beyond Botox to look at how medical aesthetics and lifestyle medicine can collaborate, giving people the best of both worlds: confidence in how they look and strength in how they feel.
About Maaike:
Maaike Dorsteen is the founder of Furrow.nl and creator of @furrownl. She is a trusted voice in Europe’s aesthetics community, translating complex medical treatments into clear, science-backed information for the public and helping clinics connect with patients through education and transparency.
Treatments Discussed in This Episode:
Botox: An injectable protein that relaxes muscles to reduce wrinkles caused by movement.
Fillers: Gel-like injections that restore lost volume and smooth deeper lines.
Vitamin A creams (retinoids): Topical treatments that speed up cell turnover to improve texture, pigmentation, and acne.
Collagen supplements: Powders or capsules designed to support skin, hair, nails, and joints with subtle results.
Radio-frequency treatments: Heat-based energy treatments that stimulate collagen for firmer skin.
Radio-frequency microneedling (e.g. Morpheus8): Combines microneedling with heat to remodel deeper layers of skin, reducing wrinkles, scars, and laxity.
IPL (Intense Pulsed Light): Light therapy that reduces redness, pigmentation, and sun damage.
OPL (Optical Pulsed Light): A variant of IPL that targets pigmentation and vascular issues.
Ignite (subdermal radio-frequency): Tightening treatment applied beneath the skin, often used for abdomen or knees.
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT): Restores estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone to ease menopause and andropause symptoms while supporting skin, bone, and sleep health.
NAD (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide): A molecule linked to energy and repair, offered as injections or supplements. Evidence is early.
Skin boosters: Injectable treatments that hydrate and improve elasticity without changing facial volume.
Hyaluronic acid: A molecule that binds water, available in creams or injections for hydration and skin quality.
GLP-1 medications (Ozempic, Wegovy): Originally for diabetes, now widely used for weight management and obesity-related health risks.
Breast augmentation: Surgery to restore or enhance breast volume.
Tummy tuck (abdominoplasty): Surgery to remove excess skin and tighten abdominal muscles.
Mommy makeover: A combination of procedures such as tummy tuck, breast surgery, and liposuction after pregnancy.
Sunscreen: Daily skin protection that prevents 80 percent of visible aging and reduces risk of skin cancer.
Listen now and see why aesthetics, done right, can be the on-ramp to better health.