Dec
10
Giving Your Best Smile
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Plaque. Since childhood, we’ve been trained to resist that dreaded enemy of teeth. Regular brushing and flossing are sure bets for dental health. What else could you be doing — or avoiding — to keep plaque off your knockout smile?
“Keeping plaque off your teeth isn’t complicated, but consistency is key,” says Richard Price, DMD, spokesman for the American Dental Association. “Good habits make for healthy teeth — for most people, it’s that simple,” Price tells WebMD.
What Is Tooth Plaque?
Plaque is a sticky mix of bacteria and the substances they secrete. Bacteria produce adhesive chemicals called mucopolysaccharides. The bacteria then live in this film on teeth, called a biofilm.
At first, this slimy layer is fragile and easily removed by tooth brushing. “Think of the film on a fish tank wall. It’s easy to wipe off with a washcloth, if you’re vigilant,” says Price.
And if you’re not? The bacteria in tooth plaque are free to release acids that damage tooth enamel. Regular acid assaults on enamel can wear holes in teeth, commonly called cavities.
If left alone, plaque buildup also gradually hardens, creating tartar or calculus on your teeth.
“Tartar is petrified plaque,” Price tells WebMD. “Once it’s there, you need a dentist’s help…tartar can’t be brushed off.” Tartar above the gum line also contributes to gingivitis, or gum disease.
The secrets to avoiding plaque buildup aren’t so secret. You’ve probably been hearing most of them since before you lost your baby teeth. But bad habits have a way of sneaking up on us. Make sure you’re pushing back against plaque by avoiding these five bad habits for tooth health.
Plaque Habit No. 1: Not Brushing Regularly
No one else might notice if you don’t brush your teeth twice a day, every day. But your teeth will.
“Plaque is a little like bees in the summertime,” offers Price. “One or two won’t really bother you, but if you let them build a beehive in the backyard, you’ve got a problem,” he tells WebMD.
Brush your teeth gently twice a day, using a fluoride-containing toothpaste. The exact technique isn’t so important as concentrating to make sure you’re softly brushing all the surfaces of your teeth.
Plaque Habit No. 2: Not Flossing Daily
Brushing doesn’t reach the spaces between teeth, but plaque does. A simple daily flossing between teeth clears away plaque before it can cause damage.
“Flossing also cleans plaque at the gum line, another area that brushing doesn’t reach,” says Price. If left alone, plaque past the gum line can lead to periodontal disease.
If you just can’t stand flossing your teeth, consider using one of the many other ADA-approved products to clean between your teeth daily. They’re available in any supermarket or drugstore; ask your dentist if you’re not sure which one to use.
Plaque Habit No. 3: Avoiding the Dentist
Even if you brush and floss your teeth daily, you’ll miss some plaque. Over time, that plaque hardens into tartar that needs to be removed at your dentist’s office. Yet more than a third of people surveyed haven’t seen their dentist in more than a year.
“Even dentists don’t like to go to the dentist,” jokes Price. But studies show that in general, people who neglect regular dentist visits get more cavities and have a higher chance of losing their teeth.
Once a year teeth cleanings are considered the minimum. Twice a year teeth cleanings may be better for many people. “Most dentists recommend twice a year cleanings or more,” according to Price.
Plaque Habit No. 4: Neglecting Nature’s Toothbrushes
Long before toothbrushes and fluoride toothpaste existed, certain foods played a role in keeping plaque off our teeth.
“Eating crunchy vegetables or fruits with the skin on can scrub off plaque,” Price tells WebMD. Carrots, apples, cucumbers, and many other raw fruits and vegetables are teeth-friendly, despite the sugar they contain.
In addition, eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in processed foods helps protect you from obesity, heart disease, and cancer.
Plaque Habit No. 5: Indulging Your Sweet Tooth
Bacteria love simple carbohydrates like sugar. Eating candy or drinking sugary soft drinks lets sugar stick to our teeth, giving bacteria something to munch on. As the bacteria create a film of plaque, they digest sugar into acid, which damages teeth.
“All sugary candy, and most junk food in general, contribute to plaque formation,” warns Price. “High-sugar foods or drinks that are also soft or sticky are especially problematic. … Sugary soft drinks might be about the worst thing you can put on your teeth,” he tells WebMD.
Avoiding these five bad habits can help you keep plaque in check (and keep your teeth). There are other steps you can consider to prevent plaque, tartar, and cavities, too:
- Sealants. The pits and fissures on molars can be difficult to keep clean in some people, even with good dental care. Dental sealants are a clear plastic coating that covers the tooth surface, barring bacteria and acid from entering. Sealants are safe and effective in blocking plaque and preventing tooth decay.
- Mouth rinse. Some people may benefit from adding a therapeutic mouth rinse to their daily routine. Several ADA-approved mouth rinses with fluoride have been shown to help prevent plaque and tooth decay. No mouth rinse can substitute for brushing and flossing, however.
“No one’s teeth can stay plaque-free 24 hours a day, it’s just not possible,” says Price. But good habits over a lifetime will help you beat back plaque and save your smile.
Taken from WebMD
Dec
7
De-wrinkle Yourself
Filed Under Aesthetic Procedures, Aesthetic medicine, Beauty Tips, Plastic Surgery, Skincare | Leave a Comment
We’ve all heard the clichés: Wrinkles are a roadmap of your life. But many of us would rather not be reminded of the distance we’ve traveled. What can you do? First, understand what causes wrinkles. Then, if you still want to reduce wrinkles, explore your treatment options.
What Causes Wrinkles?
The following factors are the most significant:
Aging
Wrinkles are a by-product of the aging process. With age, skin cells divide more slowly, and the inner layer, called the dermis, begins to thin. The network of elastin (the protein which causes skin to stretch) and collagen fibers (the major structural proteins in the skin), which support the outer layer, loosen and unravel, causing depressions on the surface. With aging, skin also loses its elasticity, is less able to retain moisture, oil-secreting glands are less efficient and the skin is slower to heal. All of these contribute to the development of wrinkles.
Facial Muscle Contractions
Lines between the eyebrows (frown lines) and lines jutting from the corner of the eyes (crows feet) are believed to develop because of small muscle contractions. Smiling, frowning, squinting and other habitual facial expressions cause these wrinkles to become more prominent. Over time, the expressions coupled with gravity contribute to the formation of jowls and drooping eyelids.
Sun Damage
Exposure to ultraviolet radiation (too much sun) can result in premature aging of skin. Premature aging of the skin is called photoaging. The ultraviolet sunrays that cause photoaging damage collagen fibers and cause the excessive production of abnormal elastin. When ultraviolet light damages skin tissue, an enzyme called metalloproteinase is produced. This enzyme creates and reforms collagen. During the process, however, some healthy collagen fibers are damaged, resulting in a disorganized formation of fibers called solar scars. Wrinkles develop when the rebuilding process occurs over and over.
Smoking
Healthy skin perpetually regenerates. While old collagen is broken down and removed new collagen is produced. Researchers have found that smoke causes a marked reduction in the production of new collagen. A lack of new collagen results in the development of wrinkles.
What Are the Treatment Options for Wrinkles?
There are numerous over-the-counter treatment options for wrinkles, including various creams and lotions. Prescription treatments, including the retinoid cream renova, are also an option.
Removing skin layers to reduce wrinkles or irregular depressions is an effective way to regain smoother, more youthful looking skin. Dermabrasion (scraping layers away) and chemical peels (dissolving skin away) are two of the traditional methods used in skin resurfacing. Laser skin resurfacing with an ablative laser (such as an erbium or carbon dioxide laser) is another technique that, like dermabrasion and deeper chemical peels, may require some downtime during the healing process.
Other lasers, known as non-ablative lasers, may also be beneficial in treating wrinkles. These lasers work by heating the dermis and stimulating collagen growth. This process, which leaves the outer layers of skin intact, has no downtime associated with it. However, the results are not as dramatic as the ablative lasers which actually remove the surface layers of skin.
Botox collagen and other injections are the addional techniques available to help minimize wrinkles.
If you are considering treatment for your wrinkles, ask your doctor which procedure is right for you. There is no replacement for your doctor’s professional advice. Each person has his or her own individual needs; similarly, each procedure fulfills its own specific need.
Taken from WebMD, Reviewed by the doctors at The Cleveland Clinic, Department of Dermatology.
Dec
3
Chic Speak
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What’s a Fashionista without her chic speak? How well do you know your couture talk?
BLOGTIGUE: A condition of exhaustion caused by reading too many blogs and over blogging. More and more fashion and street style blogs are appearing on the net, but similarly extinguished like a flame at the end of the night. Chic Speak: I’m suffering from blogtigue. I can’t even check Fashionista without feeling lightheaded.
CHANEL SURFING: Visiting the cinema repeatedly to catch every naunce of films of Coco Chanel playing this fall: Coco Avent Chanel starring Audrey Tautou, and Coco Chanel & Igor Stavinsky (starring Anna Mouglalis). Just don’t forget to wear your tweed and pearls and worship the temple of Karl on your way out. Chic Speak: I’m busy Chanel surfing tonight, we’re doing a double feature at the multiplex.
CLOSET SHOPPER: A classic recessionista who digs up her wardrobe archives to bring back some old favourites. Chic Speak: I’m a closet shopper, everyone knows a Chanel boucle jacket is better the second season around.
ELSA SCHIAPARELLI: The 1930s legendary Italian designer and queen of surrealism- her best collaberations were with master surrealist Salvador Dali- inspired the season’s playful looks on hot runways from D&G to Moschino Cheap and Chic. Chic Speak: Isaac Mizrahi was channeling Schiaperelli this season with his quirky handbag hats.
GLAM SLAM: The sartorial equivalent of a grand slam in baseball: fabulous bases loaded (perfectly dressed turns at events build up the style quotient), then one knockout look on the red carpet scores our girl a fashion home run. Chic Speak: Did you see Penelope Cruz at the Cannes? Talk about Glam Slam!
GLAMBAMA: Glamorous dressing and a debonair sartorial preference for hot young designers. Exemplified by US First Lady Michelle Obama. Chic Speak: A Thakoon dress and date night? You’ve turned into such a Glambama!
JOLIE LAIDE: Look to the French socialite Lou Doillon as the ultimate example of this French contradiction- not your typical beauty but striking nontheless. Chic Speak: She’s so jolie laide with the Nina Riccci jacket and bedhead.
LA PARISIENNE: This coquette embodies the chic style of a Pasisian ‘it’ girl. She follows Garance Dore’s website religously and adores the girlie vibe at LV, Balenciaga and Lanvin. Chic Speak: Who knew Leighton Meester was such a Parisienne? Her LV outfit at the Met’s Costume Institute was more Left Bank than Upper East Side.
ON THE VERGE OF A LACROIX: A state of a financial crisis that refers to legendary couturier Christian Lacroix’s shocking file for bankruptcy. Chic Speak: If I charge any more shoes on my credit card, I’ll be on the verge of a Lacroix.
THIGH-SCRAPER: Tall glamazon boots that reach mid-thigh, as seen all over runways such as Rodarte and Prada this fall. Practical (warm knees at least!) and frivolous at the same time. Chic Speak: I need thigh scrapers to pair with my new leather mini.
UPCYCLING: Using reclaimed and repurposed fabric to create another new, high-end look- much like recycling, but with a more fashionable spin. Chic Speak: She upcycled her dad’s judge’s cloak into that sexy LBD.
Adapted from: Flare Magazine
Nov
30
Your Aging Patterns Mimic Your Mom’s!
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Oct. 27, 2009 — New research confirms what may be some women’s greatest fear: You may actually turn into your mother – at least when it comes to aging in your lower eyelids. The new findings were presented at the annual meeting of American Society of Plastic Surgeons in Seattle.
“We now have a way of knowing precisely where in the lower eyelids you will age and where you will age the most and we can plan the correction based on the prediction,” says study author Subhas Gupta, MD, a plastic surgeon in Loma Linda, Calif.
The researchers looked at 10 sets of similar-looking mom-daughter pairs via high-tech 3D computer modeling to determine which areas around the eye lost the greatest amounts of volume over time. A clear pattern emerged: Sagging and volume loss around the inner corners of the eye and lower eyelids in the mothers mimicked the early signs of lower eyelid aging in the daughters. The mom-and-daughter pairs ranged in age from 15 to 90. By and large, volume loss in this area began when women entered their 30s and was greater than previously estimated.
“If you come in when you are 30, we can tell you where you will have changes and quantify what you will need and where,” he says.
“The findings were surprisingly repetitive regardless of ethnicity and actual age difference between mothers and daughters,” he says.
“You can beat Mother Nature to the punch and not have your mother’s eyes,” he says. Now the researchers plan to look at the whole face in a larger number of mother-daughter pairs to see if the findings hold.
Richard J. Greco, MD, a plastic surgeon in Savannah, Ga., says the researchers looked at the severe aging progression in moms and early aging in daughters, “and found that the patterns were similar in both.
“If your mom has great genes — taut skin, no jowls — you will probably age well,” Greco says.
The flip side is also true, he says.
Nov
25
DIY Botox Kit Seller Charged
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Mansfield Woman Sold DIY Botox Kits
A Mansfield woman is facing charges and possible fines for allegedly selling do-it-yourself Botox injection kits over the internet.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says Laurie D’Alleva sold several prescription drugs online from her businesses, Ontario MedSpa and Discount MedSpa. Abbott says D’Alleva does not have a license to sell or distribute prescription products, which is required in Texas.
Ontario MedSpa’s website sold several products, including Dysport and another the site calls “Freeze,” which the AG’s office says contains botulinum toxin. The site also sold the drugs as part of do-it-yourself kits, containing the drugs, syringes and needles. The site was still online as of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The AG says D’Alleva claimed that she was allowed to sell the prescription medications because she was a member of a group called the Texas Medical Council. But no such group exists.
D’Alleva also apparently produced “how-to” videos showing herself injecting her own face with syringes, which she posted to YouTube.
Wired Magazine did its own investigation of D’Alleva’s business last month. Although she has apparently removed the videos from YouTube, Wired saved one and posted it.
The AG is charging D’Alleva with several violations of state law. She could be fined up to $25,000 per violation per day of the Texas Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act, and up to $20,000 per violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices act.
Agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency, Mansfield Police, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, and the Tarrant County Constable’s Office were all at D’Alleva’s house when we were there Tuesday afternoon. She was there too, because she has not been arrested. But she refused to talk to us.
Nov 24, 2009, CBS Broadcasting Inc.
Nov
23
One hundred women were asked to carry a clicker in an experiment to measure how many times they felt anxiety about their bodies ageing.
Over a seven day period, the women aged 35 to 69 had to use the clicker every time they worried about their face, body, or appearance in general.
On average, the women surveyed had negative thoughts 36 times a day.
One of the participants, Loose Women presenter Sherrie Hewson, 59, said: “It brought to the fore how many women have issues.
“Listening to others, they are saying what I’m saying when you think it’s only you.
“There are so many of us there’s got to be a common denominator, so we’ve got to get together and change it, change us.”
Sherrie, who had a facelift ten years ago, clicked 1,400 times over seven days but admitted she thought it would be more.
In her waking hours, she experienced a negative thought about herself approximately every three minutes.
She told the Daily Mail: “When I look in the mirror, my overriding thought is: “I don’t know this person.” I wake up to this face, and I feel as though it’s someone else’s. All I see in the mirror is age creeping up on me.
“The worst time for me in terms of clicking was the morning.
“Just getting up, I’d look in the mirror at my face and hair and think: “Oh dear, now that’s a worry.” I’d click as I put my make-up on, but the more make-up I applied the less I clicked, and by the time my “face” was complete I’d have stopped clicking.
“I’d also click whenever I saw images of myself as a young actress, which happens from time to time. Just seeing how I used to look would remind me I was getting older.”
The study was devised by keep-fit instructor Irene Estry and psychologist Emma Kenny to see if a looks-obsessed society creates ageism and pressure to stay youthful.
Source: The Telegraph 23 November 2009
Nov
16
Lifting the lid on wrinkle reversal
Filed Under Aesthetic medicine, Beauty Products, Skincare | Leave a Comment
Expensive or cheap, the price of the cream you slap around your eyes to iron out those wrinkles makes no difference to the final outcome, consumer watchdogs have discovered.The Consumer Council also said one of the best ways to put wrinkles into reverse is to eat well, sleep well and drink plenty of green tea.
Separately, a dermatologist suggested Botox or laser treatment might be the way to go.
The council and International Consumer Research and Testing carried out tests on eight popular anti-wrinkle eye cream products sold in Hong Kong and overseas.
They found Nivea Visage anti-wrinkle Q10 Plus eye cream and Olay total effect 7-in-1 eye transforming cream, which cost HK$159 per 15 milliliters and HK$150 per 14 grams, respectively, are two of the three top performers.
Another top performer is the much more expensive Dr Brandt Lineless Eye Cream, which sells at HK$650 per 15 grams.
These three are more effective than the luxury brands – Clinique Repairwear Intensive Eye Cream (HK$320 per 15ml), StriVectin-SD Eye Cream (HK$695 per 38.45ml), Clarins Advance Extra-Firming Eye Contour Cream (HK$440 per 20ml) and NV Perricone MD cosmeceuticals Advanced Eye Area Therapy (HK$1,300 per 15ml).
The test for each product involved groups of nine to 11 users aged between 35 and 65. Over a period of six weeks, panelists observed the differences using high-definition photos.
RoC Retinol Correxion Eye Cream from France, at HK$360 per 15ml, was the poorest performer in the trials.
The council admitted there are only a few sure ways to minimize wrinkles, such as wearing sunglasses, wearing a hat or carrying an umbrella, applying sunscreen to the face and eye areas, avoiding smoking, having plenty of rest and eating a balanced diet.
However, dermatologist Henry Chan Hin- lee said there are no established studies to show creams can reduce eye wrinkles despite claims by manufacturers.
According to Chan, the most effective way to reduce wrinkles is using medical knowhow and technology such as Botox injections and lasers.
Chan said wrinkles are the result of aging and harm caused by ultraviolet rays and smoking.
He added eating more anti-oxidant foods rich in vitamin C, such as oranges, and drinking green tea could help.
Article from Aesthetic Medicine News
Patsy Moy and Beatrice Siu
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Nov
16
How to Get “Perfect” Skin
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Dr. Ellen Marmur, chief of dermatology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center and author of “Simple Skin Beauty” and Cynde Watson, a celebrity makeup expert, shared tips on how to achieve — or fake — flawless skin.
What is perfect skin, exactly?
According to Marmur, perfect skin is young, clear, radiant skin at any age. Perfect skin, she said, is free of sun spots and blemishes. She added “perfect skin” could also be defined as perfectly lined with years of smiling.
“Perfect skin makes you feel beautiful,” Marmur said.
Marmur says perfect skin is achievable by anyone. Marmur said her mantra for gorgeous skin is, “Protect, enhance and troubleshoot.”
“You can do that for 100 bucks a year,” she said. “That’s less than 50 cents a day. My philosophy is you don’t have to be rich or high-maintenance to have beautiful skin.”
If you spend the most time on any one thing, Marmur said, you want to go heavy on the protection end.
“It might not be sexy, but it is true,” she said.
Protection, she said, means moisturizing and sun protection. Marmur recommended multi-tasking your products to simplify your life. Use moisturizers and make-ups with SPF, she said. Use lotions to remove make up, not soaps. Massage your skin with creamy exfoliator to smoothe, stimulate, and moisturize all at once, she said.
Marmur said the main thing that stops people from having “perfect skin” is overdoing skin care by ‘over-enhancing” and “over-troubleshooting.”
“Many women and men use too many products, like exfoliating way too much,” she said. “It’s best to keep it simple. I have patients who bring a big sack of potions to me, pour it out on the table, and cry ‘What am I supposed to do with this?’”
If you don’t understand the purpose of the potion, Marmur said, you should read the ingredients, and cross check with her book.
“(My book) will spell it out for you. If in doubt, don’t use that product until you know exactly how it fits in with your routine,” she said. “If anything stings or turns your skin red and flaky, it’s not for you.”
She said the exception is “the retinoid family.” Marmur’s recommendation is to ask your dermatologist for tips.
Marmur said lasers are also another way people are striving to achieve “perfect skin.”
Fractional laser resurfacing, she said, is one of the latest lasers used to help in anti-aging. She said the laser works with aging prevention and building collagen, as well as resurfacing, exfoliating, and firming skin.
The downside to lasers, Marmur said, are that they can be expensive and “are a bit painful.”
“In the old days, dermatologists would give deep chemical peels, like the Samantha peel in ‘Sex in the City,’ or carbon dioxide resurfacing, which totally ablates the skin leaving red, raw skin for weeks, sometimes months,” Marmur explained. “The side effect profile was significant, like infections or white discoloration of the skin, plus people are too busy now to hide for a few weeks to heal. The fractional laser resurfaces a fraction of the skin at a time. So what was once one or two treatments, but intense, is now four to six treatments but much more manageable.”
Marmur said the laser drills thousands of tiny microscopic pinholes into the skin in a pegboard pattern. These columns of sun damaged skin — the deep collagen and elastic that dissolve with sun damage and are the filler and tightness of the skin, plus the epidermis which is the color and complexion of the skin — get kicked out about three days after the laser treatment, making your skin feel sandy for a day or two. The normal surrounding skin, she said, heals the lasered microthermal zone, also known as a “column,” very quickly leaving new collagen, new elastin, and new epidermis.
“I’ve done this twice to my own skin and noticed a huge difference,” she said. “I am ready for my third.”
Marmur added that there are many other lasers available that are can fix many other specific issues, such as freckles or red spots. However, she added, fractional resurfacing is her favorite way to invest against future sagging and aging skin and to reverse sun damage.
Botox is a popular procedure, but a new treatment called Dysport, Marmur said, is also available. Both Botox and Dysport, she said, relax muscles using homeopathic doses of a toxin that temporarily blocks contraction.
Many people, she pointed out, confuse this with filler, which is only to fill wrinkles at rest or to add volume to the cheeks. Dysport, she said, relaxes dynamic wrinkles of expression.
People can have these relaxers placed in the frown lines between the eyes, the neck, the jaw to lift up the corners of the lip, and the eyebrows to give a lift of the upper eyelid.
“We’ve noticed something unexpected with Dysport,” Marmur said. “It seems to change the complexion of the skin too. My patients are ecstatic saying, ‘You’ve given me back my look.’”
Celebrity makeup expert Cynde Watson also appeared on “The Early Show” with ways to fake that perfect skin.
“Believe me,” Watson said, “these celebs that are gracing magazines and red carpets do not all have perfect skin.”
But how can you get the appearance of flawless skin?
Watson shared these four steps:
STEP 1
The first thing Watson said she likes to do is apply a base of foundation before she begins correcting the skin.
“You need a base of something to adhere the corrective makeup to,” she said.
Watson pointed out the difference between a corrector and a concealer. She said a corrector is a concealer with a peachy/pink hue.
She said, “The peachy/pink color helps contrast the blue, green, purple or ruddy tones on the skin common in dark circles, hyperpigmentation/pregnancy mask, age spots/sun spots, acne scars and ruddy/red patches on the skin.”
STEP 2
Using a small concealer brush apply light strokes then tap a corrector directly on the discolored area of your face to balance out your skin tone and avoid making the blemish appear more obvious, Watson said.
Watson said, first apply corrector in discolored areas then layer your foundation or a concealer in the shade of your foundation over the top of the corrector until desired coverage is achieved.
Step 3
Apply a translucent finishing powder to set makeup. It’s important to use a translucent powder because it is invisible and won’t change the shade of your makeup. If you set your makeup with your regular face powder, Watson said, the areas that you used corrector will appear darker.
Step 4
To keep your makeup from melting or disappearing during the day, Watson recommended spritzing on a makeup finishing spray.
CBS Early Show, NEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2009http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/16/earlyshow/living/beauty/main5667668.shtml
Nov
2
Makeup Tips For Aging Skin
Filed Under Beauty Tips, Skincare | Leave a Comment
As you age, you experience many things — puberty, pregnancy, menopause, pollution, sunlight, dry winters, humid summers, stress. Your aging skin experiences them too. And even if you take good care of your skin, life takes a toll on it.
But you can turn back the clock, at least a little, with makeup. By skillfully applying makeup, you can hide wrinkles, age spots, and sun damage and also play up your best features. Here are some tips from the professionals: makeup artists.
Hiding Fine Lines and Wrinkles
In trying to conceal fine lines and wrinkles around the eyes, lips, and forehead, many women make the mistake of accentuating them instead by overdoing makeup. Too much makeup settles and cakes into lines, making wrinkles more noticeable.
Prevention begins with a moisturizer. “After you wash your face in the morning, apply moisturizer while the skin is damp, which will plump it up and even it out, helping makeup glide on,” says Billy Lowe, celebrity hairstylist and beauty expert for television shows such as Extreme Makeover and TLC’s 10 Years Younger.
Don’t forget to moisturize around the eyes. “Start with a silicone-based eye serum that will gel to the concealer and prevent it from slipping,” says Lowe. And, he says, “Packing on the makeup to cover lines or dark circles will cause it to crepe and bring out creases.” To avoid a cakey look around the eyes, don’t use heavy concealers.
“Learn your bone structure and features of your face,” advises Bridget Winton, makeup instructor at the Bellus Academy of Beauty & Spa in San Diego. “Focus on your bone structure to lift the face. Give yourself a youthful look by using lighter and darker shades to make hard lines soft and soft lines hard.”
For a sagging chin, for example, work with a foundation that is one or two shades darker than your facial foundation. Cover the darker area with a translucent powder.
How to Brighten Aging Skin
A dull, gray complexion can be a sign of dehydrated skin, but skin also loses its rosy glow as it thins with age. While you work to replenish dry skin with moisturizers, you can also brighten color lost through thinning with lighter makeup.
Use warm colors to brighten the appearance of shallow, dull skin. Experts suggest using a foundation that is a half shade lighter than your skin tone.
To diminish dark circles under the eyes, apply foundation that’s a shade lighter than your facial foundation to the area. Top it with a concealer and then add a loose powder to set the makeup and hide the color difference.
Illuminators and bronzers can also add a sun-kissed glow, but don’t overdo it; a fake tan can add years to your face. Instead, blend the bronzer into your moisturizer or foundation and then apply it evenly to your face. Or use a loose powder just one or two shades darker than your skin tone.
To give skin a dewy look, Winton recommends spritzers and remoisturizing sprays to set makeup and add glisten.
Soften Your Colors
Ruby red may have been your signature lip color since your 20s, but as you mellow with age, so should your color palette. “You don’t want bright, vibrant colors that call attention to the eyes, lips, or cheeks because they will draw attention to damage and not blend with the skin,” says Winton. “You can still stay with the harmony of your hair and eye color, just do it with softer colors.”
Lowe says, “I’m a sucker for soft tones. I use them on everyone. I like neutrals and pastels and find they complement aging skin well.”
Around the eyes, black mascaras and eyeliners are appropriate if your hair color hasn’t grayed. When your hair color fades, so should your mascara; opt for a soft brown or gray.
Eyelashes also tend to lose their volume and thickness over time. A volumizing, defining mascara will plump them up. To make them even fuller, “apply a very fine layer of translucent powder to the lashes in between two coats of mascara,” says makeup artist and former model Jemma Kidd. Or consider having your lashes and brows tinted with semi-permanent color at your local hair salon.
Plump Lips
Thinning lips are another downside of aging skin. But a few tricks can make them look full again.
Choosing the right color for thinning lips is as important as how it is applied. Again, avoid strong colors like red. They can make lips appear even thinner, while peach and beige colors, lip glosses, and tawny liners make them appear fuller and more defined.
Liners can help complete the illusion of fuller lips. Draw just on the outside of the lips and fill in with color, but be careful not to make them appear too rigid. “Most people use the pencil to outline the lips first,” says Lowe. “This creates too much definition in the lining of the lip. Instead, use color first and then line the lip. It gives it a softer line that is still defined.”
Feathery lines also appear around lips as you age. To stop lipstick from bleeding into them, use matte lipsticks and lip liners. Kidd recommends mixing a good quality lip balm with your favorite lip color for a glossier or subtler look.
Prevent Further Skin Damage
Makeup can make a temporary difference in your appearance, but it’s most effective if you start with the best base possible — well-tended skin.
No matter how old you are, your skin still needs moisturizer and protection from the sun.
Makeup artists stress the importance of keeping the skin hydrated and clean, and warding off additional sun damage.
Exfoliate the skin every day, says Lowe: “Pollution builds up on your skin and will prevent moisture from getting into it. Exfoliation removes the build up and speeds up cellular turnover, bringing new, brighter cells to the surface.”
Apply moisturizer and sunscreens as a base each morning, and reapply sunscreen throughout the day. Make a point to wash makeup off every night and repair the day’s damage by applying heavier, nighttime moisturizers.
“You know the saying, ‘an ounce of prevention,’” says Lowe. “Take care of your skin at any age.”
Oct
1
Teens and Plastic Surgery: An Expert Interview With Michael F. McGuire, MD, President-Elect of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons
Filed Under Beauty, Plastic Surgery | 1 Comment
Editor’s Note:
Having cosmetic surgery is a growing practice among teens. There is general debate about the appropriateness of cosmetic surgery in teens and whether they truly understand the risks involved. Medscape’s Pippa Wysong spoke with Michael F. McGuire, MD, President-Elect of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). He was a member of the team that authored the ASPS guidelines on cosmetic surgery in teens. Dr. McGuire is Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Chief of Plastic Surgery at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, and is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
Medscape: Today we’re talking about plastic and cosmetic surgery in teens. Could you start by describing the main types of plastic surgery preformed?
Dr. McGuire: There are 2 basic reasons for performing plastic surgery in children and teens. The first, reconstructive surgery, is aimed at repairing defects that impair normal function. The other, cosmetic surgery, has more to do with improving confidence and self-esteem. We also perform reconstructive plastic surgery in newborns — for example, cleft lip and repairs of various severe birth defects.
Medscape: The popularity of cosmetic surgery in teens is increasing. Why is that?
Dr. McGuire: Plastic surgery is becoming more acceptable in the population in general. More teenagers are having it done. Parents are more accepting of it and are more sensitive to the role that appearance plays in self-image and confidence in teens.
Medscape: Which cosmetic procedures are the most popular?
Dr. McGuire: In the younger middle teenage years, the most common surgical procedure in both young women and men is rhinoplasty. Nasal surgery should be performed after the nose is fully grown, which is generally about age 14 in girls and 15 in boys.
Medscape: Which other procedures are common in teens?
Dr. McGuire: Breast reduction is relatively common. Some young girls develop overly large breasts, hypertrophy, at a young age. This procedure is also increasingly common in boys too (gynecomastia), with over 14,000 operations performed on boys aged 13-19 in 2008. On the other hand, some young women want breast enlargement because they want to have normal-sized breasts that are harmonious with their body. Then there are young women whose breasts grow to be noticeably different sizes, and so surgery is done to make the 2 sides equal.
Otoplasty (ear surgery) is a common procedure for kids around 6 years of age who are teased mercilessly by their peers.
Medscape: Surgery is a permanent thing; are teens mature enough to really understand that?
Dr. McGuire: In some cases, yes, and in some cases, no. It’s not only about their chronologic age but also their emotional age. Some teens are very emotionally mature, whereas some 25-year-olds are not. If a teen is emotionally mature and presents himself or herself as understanding what’s involved, why they’re doing this, and has realistic expectations, then it’s appropriate. But if a 12-year-old comes in wanting rhinoplasty and is unusually emotionally mature, it would still be inappropriate to do the surgery because her nose has not grown fully.
Medscape: Do teens really understand the permanence of procedures?
Dr. McGuire: There is the permanence of a procedure plus the risks of the surgery and having realistic expectations. It all has to be discussed carefully. One job of plastic surgeons is to detect unrealistic expectations.
Medscape: Are there guidelines or instruments available to help plastic surgeons with the psychological assessment of patients?
Dr. McGuire: It’s something that you learn during residency while watching your mentors evaluate patients. When you evaluate a patient, it’s not just the physical examination; it’s also an assessment of patients’ emotional and mental health and stability. Plus, the consultation is a 2-way street: The patient assesses the surgeon to determine whether the surgeon is competent, caring, and appropriate for them, and the surgeon assesses the patient for appropriateness for the surgery.
Medscape: If one surgeon decides that a teenager is not appropriate for surgery, can’t that patient just keep shopping around until she finds a surgeon that will do the job?
Dr. McGuire: Absolutely. When you have a patient who isn’t appropriate for surgery you don’t say, “Get out of here, you’re nuts,” or “You’re not appropriate.” Surgeons are obliged to do an educational session with that patient to explain why this is either not the right time or they’re not a good candidate. It’s a matter of educating the patient and cautioning them not to go to unscrupulous, untrained people who call themselves plastic surgeons who would perform the procedure anyway. Patients should look for an ASPS-member surgeon who is board certified in plastic surgery.
Medscape: Are surgeons actually taking the time to talk to young patients?
Dr. McGuire: If they’re not, they shouldn’t be doing surgery. There is much more to surgery than making incisions. You’ll get into all kinds of problems if you don’t properly evaluate the patient ahead of time. Patients should note that the so-called “free” consults with a nurse are not adequate; the surgeon must be involved.
Medscape: Should the number or type of cosmetic procedures that are available to teens be limited?
Dr. McGuire: Some types of procedures simply are not appropriate. For instance, we generally don’t perform breast implants until at least 18 years of age, and silicone implants can’t be done until patients are age 22. It’s unusual to perform breast reduction before age 15. An exception may be made for young patients with dramatically uneven breast development.
There are several procedures that are increasingly performed on teens. For example, liposuction in teenagers is discouraged, but some patients have specific medical conditions that make it appropriate. Obviously, it shouldn’t be done until nonsurgical approaches have been tried.
You should never do surgery — at any age or in any patient — unless the benefits outweigh the risks and the improvement that’s possible is greater than the costs and risks of surgery.
Medscape: This sounds like general guidelines. Are they enforced by any of the Colleges or other agencies?
Dr. McGuire: There are guidelines on the ASPS Website. However, there are no legal restrictions on performing cosmetic surgery on teens. If a plastic surgeon is doing breast implants on 14-year-olds, this should come to the attention of the national society and be subject to investigation, and potentially be considered unethical conduct.
Medscape: Should there be legal limits?
Dr. McGuire: There’s no legal prohibition, and that’s partly because there are often special circumstances. You don’t want a blanket statement. There are cases in which procedures are medically appropriate; you don’t want to be too restrictive.
Medscape: Australia recently passed legislation restricting cosmetic procedures in kids and teens. What do you think of that?
Dr. McGuire: It’s appropriate as long as it’s appropriately worded and unusual circumstances and exceptions are accounted for. That’s tough to do in legislation. Generally, it’s best handled within the specialty.
Medscape: Do teens ever have regrets about their cosmetic surgery in later years? Has anybody studied that?
Dr. McGuire: I’m not aware of any studies. There is always a small percentage of patients, at any age, who have some regrets. That’s why doctors need to try to evaluate “How are you going to feel about this in 2 or 3 years?” and not just “What do you want today?”
Medscape: Do you have any general tips or messages for surgeons on this topic of teens and kids?
Dr. McGuire: Approach teen cases with even greater concern than adults. Consider not only the age and the physical condition but the emotional maturity and mental stability of the teen, more so than in older patients. If it’s clearly an appropriate problem in an appropriate patient with appropriate emotional stability, the results can be more dramatic than in an adult, simply because the whole image issue in teens is much greater than it is in adults.
From Medscape Plastic Surgery & Aesthetic Medicine
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