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
Sep
28
Save Time Without Scrimping On Beauty!
Filed Under Beauty Tips, Skincare | Leave a Comment
Save time on your beauty regime without compromising on yourself! Try these tips from Good Housekeeping Magazine!
1. You Want: Smooth, Even Skin
Skip the heavy foundation. “In summer your face already has a nice dewiness,” says Gretchen Monahan, style expert on TV’s Bravo Channel andRachael Ray Show. To lighten up, blend equal parts face lotion and foundation in the palm of one hand, then press both palms together and apply the mixture like moisturizer. Get even better staying power by combining base one-to-one with water-resistant sunscreen. “The viscosity ensures it won’t slip off,” says Monahan. We like La Roche-Posay Anthelios 60 Ultra Light Sunscreen Fluid ($27.50, drugstores), a water-resistant matte formula with broad-spectrum protection.
2. You Want: Melt-Proof Makeup
Opt for feather-light formulations (the less makeup you put on, the less you have to worry about it sliding around). “In steamy weather, you’ll sweat through most makeup, even powders,” says Meredith Baraf, a makeup artist for Victoria’s Secret. Her advice: Switch to tinted moisturizer, or simply disguise any discoloration with a concealer or stick foundation. Try Prescriptives AnyWear Multi-Purpose Makeup Stick SPF 15 ($35, department stores) — it comes with two minis you can keep handy in your purse and desk. To enhance lashes without smudges, use waterproof mascara, or try Clarins Double Fix’ Mascara Waterproofing Seal ($21, department stores), which forms a clear, watertight seal over your favorite brand. If you’re fair or just a low-maintenance gal, lash tints safely darken eyelashes for up to four days, even through showers and swims. (However, they won’t add volume or length.) Try Tarte 4 Day Stay Lash Stain ($18, Sephora). On lips, try a sheer stain, such as CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain ($7.29, drugstores). Dab away excess shine with blotting paper or a tissue. “Face powder can look cakey on sweaty skin,” says Nicky Kinnaird, founder of Space NK beauty shops in the U.S. and England.
3. You Want: To Fake a Tan — Fast
Brush on a believable shade of bronze. “Pick a color within a couple of shades of your skin tone,” says celebrity makeup artist Mally Roncal. If you’re fair, try a tan shade with peach tones like Physicians Formula Bronze Booster Pressed Bronzer in Fair to Light ($15, drugstores), which has vitamins and moisturizers designed to enhance your color. If you’re medium-toned, go for caramels like Victoria’s Secret VS Liquid Bronzing Brush in Light to Medium ($22, Victoria’s Secret), a gel bronzer with a built-in brush. For already-tanned or brown skin, choose a deeper bronze: Lorac Tantalizer Baked Matte Satin Bronzer SPF 15 ($28, Sephora) can be applied wet or dry, depending on the color intensity you’re after. “Use a big, fluffy brush to apply the color around the perimeter of your face, then work it in toward the center,” says Roncal, who recommends adding a touch of blush on cheeks.
4. You Want: A Better Way to Tame Your Frizzy Hair
Silicone serums are the gold standard for reducing frizz, but they can weigh hair down and make it greasy. Living Proof No Frizz ($24; Sephora) claims to prevent humidity from penetrating the hair, via a lightweight, moisture-repelling, friction-reducing molecule (PolyfluoroEster) that was developed by an MIT professor and his team of scientists and hair experts. To see if it works, the Good Housekeeping Research Institute tested it against the leading frizz serum. In the lab, frizz-prone women applied one of six Living Proof products (each is for a different hair type and straightening or curl-defining effect) to half their wet hair and the control product to the other half, then styled as usual. They then spent 20 minutes in a climatology chamber set to 80 degrees and 80 percent relative humidity. The volunteers also used the frizz product at home as their sole styler for one week. The results: In the lab, the Living Proof products tamed frizz better than the control for half the testers, and at least as well for all but one of the rest. Over half the women also said Living Proof prevented frizz and improved the look and feel of their hair more than their current product. The highest marks came from volunteers who wanted to maintain their waves.
5. You Want: Sun-Kissed Strands
Shampoo your way to beachy-blond highlights: John Frieda Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Lightening Shampoo and Conditioner ($9 each, drugstores) both contain lactic acid to gradually brighten natural and color-treated blond strands without ammonia or peroxide, the traditional bleaching agents. You should notice a change after about two weeks of daily use, though you can keep using the products until you reach your desired shade. Two caveats: You’ll see a difference only on hair that’s already in the blond family, and you should skip it if your hair is prone to dryness, because lactic acid can further dehydrate it, according to New York City trichologist Philip Kingsley.
6. You Want: Sandal-Ready Feet
Try this express “spa” pedicure: Shape uneven nails by filing them straight across the tops, then smooth feet with a mixture of salt and lotion or olive oil — or try Barielle 60 Second Mani-Pedi ($25, barielle.com), an exfoliating treatment combining hydrating oils and Dead Sea salts that smells like a day at the beach. Rinse and dry thoroughly (push back cuticles with the towel as you dry). To get out the door faster, use shimmer polish; any mistakes won’t be quite as obvious, and the mica in shimmer adheres better, says CND cofounder Jan Arnold. Try N.Y.C. In a New York Color Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish in Bryant Park ($2, drugstores).Originally published on May 13, 2009 Related content on goodhousekeeping.comGet Ready for Summer Outsmart the Sun See the 5 Best Hairstyles of All Time Get a Virtual Makeover Find Makeup That Does MoreTry this express “spa” pedicure: Shape uneven nails by filing them straight across the tops, then smooth feet with a mixture of salt and lotion or olive oil — or try Barielle 60 Second Mani-Pedi ($25, barielle.com), an exfoliating treatment combining hydrating oils and Dead Sea salts that smells like a day at the beach. Rinse and dry thoroughly (push back cuticles with the towel as you dry). To get out the door faster, use shimmer polish; any mistakes won’t be quite as obvious, and the mica in shimmer adheres better, says CND cofounder Jan Arnold. Try N.Y.C. In a New York Color Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish in Bryant Park ($2, drugstores).
Originally published on May 13, 2009
Sep
14
All About Lasers
Filed Under Aesthetic Medicine, Aesthetic Procedures | Leave a Comment
Back in the ’90s, blasting wrinkles meant horror-flick-like oozing and months of redness as “ablative” lasers burned off the skin’s surface and a younger-looking version grew in.
Not so with the new generation of smarter lasers, which target the hallmarks of aging—creases, brown spots, broken capillaries, sagginess—without destroying the skin you’ve got. The result? Faster healing, so you can get back in makeup and return to work with smoother skin in as little as 24 hours. Still, any searing laser beam has the potential to scar or damage pigment (especially for women of color), so treatments are best left to an M.D., who can adjust the intensity to work with your skin tone. And sun-worshippers beware: Because many lasers target pigment, give the beach a four- to six-week break before your first session. Here, a laser-by-laser guide to the treatments that’ll suit your trouble spots, budget, and schedule.
THE TREATMENT: Nonablative (i.e., surface skin is left intact) Fractional Resurfacing
WHAT IT’S FOR: Smoothing fine-to-moderate lines, evening out brown spots, and improving overall glow with quick weekend recovery. (It’s often referred to as “Fraxel,” the brand that debuted the device in 2004.)
HOW IT WORKS: Heat generated by the laser penetrates deep into the skin and stimulates collagen production without annihilating your epidermis (translation: no oozing or rawness). It’s typically performed over a course of three to five 25-minute treatments, one to two months apart, under topical anesthesia. And it’s safer for ethnic skin types than ablative lasers, but even women as light in tone as Lucy Liu should proceed with extra caution (your doctor can calibrate the laser at a lower intensity to minimize risks, but you may need extra sessions).
HOW IT FEELS: Less painful than ablative procedures, these treatments give the sensation of heat rather than pins and needles. Feels like a bad sunburn for about 10 minutes post-procedure; afterward, skin is pink and sandpapery for three to five days but can be camouflaged with concealer.
PRICE: $600 to $1200 per treatment
THE TREATMENT: Ablative (i.e., skin-wounding) Fractional Resurfacing
WHAT IT’S FOR: Smoothing fine-to-deep lines and evening out brown spots in a single treatment. Can also help tighten lax skin and carpet bomb broken capillaries if they fall in the laser’s direct path.
HOW IT WORKS: The laser beam strikes the skin in thousands of places, destroying tissue a millimeter deep in those microscopic spots only (think perforated paper). Surrounding skin remains intact, allowing for faster recovery than the original ablative devices but more intense results than the nonablative fractional laser. The hole-punching fires up the body’s wound-healing response, which generates collagen and smooths wrinkles. It’s ablative and therefore riskier for women of color, but can be executed successfully at a doctor’s discretion.
HOW IT FEELS: Generally performed with local anesthesia similar to what you’d get in a dentist’s office. After 15 minutes of post-treatment discomfort and an application of ice packs, pain is minimal. For 24 to 36 hours, skin oozes and bleeds (just as pretty as it sounds), followed by five days of crustiness. Once crust peels, new, pink skin emerges and makeup can be worn; complete healing within two weeks. (FYI, this laser comes in three varieties: CO2, Erbium, and YSGG. CO2 is harshest, while YSGG offers the quickest, easiest recovery.)
PRICE: $1500 to $5000
THE TREATMENT: Ablative Carbon Dioxide Resurfacing (i.e., the original ’90s procedure)
WHAT IT’S FOR: Still the most aggressive fix for hard-core lines and acne scars; can also tighten loose skin but is safe only for fair skin types (olive tones and women of color risk permanent pigment loss).
HOW IT WORKS: By blasting away the skin’s top layer, this aggressive single treatment bulldozes wrinkles.
HOW IT FEELS: During, like needles across the face (it’s sometimes performed under general anesthesia). Recovery-wise, think burn victim on day one as open wounds ooze and bleed, followed by five to 10 days of rawness while your obliterated epidermis regenerates (sorry, no makeup for up to two weeks). Overall pinkness persists for two to four months.
PRICE: Approximately $4000 to $8000, depending on size of area treated
THE TREATMENT: Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)
WHAT IT’S FOR: Eliminating brown spots and other sun-induced discoloration and spot-treating broken capillaries. When performed with nonablative fractional treatments, can amplify skin-tone-evening benefits–but it has no effect on wrinkles.
HOW IT WORKS: While not a “laser” per se, IPL devices work similarly. Short pulses of bright white light pinpoint brown pigment cells and redness, which are damaged when they absorb the light and the heat it creates. Safe for most skin types, but a doctor may dial down intensity for darker skin tones to avoid slim risk of de-pigmentation.
HOW IT FEELS: Sunburn-like. Patients experience slight swelling and pinkness the day of the procedure, but there’s no downtime, which is why it’s often categorized as a “lunchtime” treatment.
PRICE: $400 to $600 per treatment.
Originally published on May 21, 2009, Feature from “Marie Claire”
Sep
7
The Nonsurgical Nose Job
Filed Under Aesthetic Medicine, Beauty, Plastic Surgery | Leave a Comment
Wish your nose could be different? Smoothen out irregularities? Correcting an downturned nose? There are some ways that a doctor can improve the appearance without you having to go under the knife.
Currently, there is a trend towards using injectable fillers to correct nasal features. For contour irregularities, hyaluronic acid fillers like Restylane, Juvederm, Perlane and Radiesse are most frequently used for injectable nose jobs to smoothen out irregularities.
Botox injections can also be given to relax the facial muscle that pulls the tip of your nose downward to create a more upturned appearance.
Injections can also be given around the nose, to soften the lines around the nose, giving an appearance of a younger looking nose.
However, its best to discuss with your doctor whether your nose is suitable for corrections by using injectables, and which injectables to most suitable for use taking into account your skin features and thickness. For example, Radiesse is injected deeper to fix contour irregularities, while the hyaluronic acids are great for fine creases at the bridge. Also, if it’s your first nonsurgical nose job, your doctor will probably recommend a hyaluronic acid filler since it can be dissolved with an injection of hyaluronidase if you don’t like the results. Radiesse lasts longer, but it costs more, so your budget may also help determine which filler is used.
Previous related posts:
Sep
3
Aging Effects On The Nose
Filed Under Aesthetic medicine, Beauty, Plastic Surgery | Leave a Comment
The nose, as with the rest of the face and skin, is also susceptible to the aging process. Commonly, changes to the nose include drooping of the tip of the nose, contour irregularities, lengthening of the nose, a decreased nasolabial angle, narrowing of the nasal valve, and obstructed nasal breathing.
Drooping of the nasal tip is the one most precalent and distinctive features of an aging nose. It is caused by the weakening of the lower cartilage of the nose, and other supporting structures in the nose. Sometimes, the drooping tip may result in a illusion of a hump on the nose, and perceived septum prominence which is not physically present. Some ways a doctor may help correct the drooping is by using strut grafts in the columella, tip grafts, and various stitching techniques to increase tip support, projection, rotation and correction of contour deformities.
Nasal valve obstruction is common in the elderly, and it’s surprisingly under-recognized as a factor which is important in improving the quality of life. The weakening of the nsasal cartilages and the surrounding support mechanisms can cause collapse of the nasal valves resulting in nasal obstruction, worsened at rest or on breathing in. Surgery may be necessary to correct the problem.
As you age, the nasal bones also thin out and become fragile, making you more susceptible to nose fractures and trauma. The overlying skin also thins out, leading to greater visibility of even minor contour and tip irregularities previously concealed by the thicker nasal skin of youth.
Find out what a non surgical nose job can do for you in my next post!
Aug
31
Perfect Facial Proportions: The Nose
Filed Under Aesthetic Medicine, Beauty, Plastic Surgery | Leave a Comment
The nose is in the middle of the face, and many people are conscious of its position and appearance. Many times we hear people commenting on the type or size of noses another individual has. Some different descriptions of noses we hear are those of:
The Roman or Aquiline Nose: This type of nose is convex in shape, like a hook. It is also known as ‘hooknose’ because of its shape. The word aquiline is derived from the Latin word ‘aquilinus’ which means ‘eagle like’.
The Greek or Straight Nose. This type of nose is perfectly straight with no curves or hooked like shape. It is known as Greek nose because it is generally noticed that the Greek people have this kind of nose.
The Nubian Nose: This type of nose has wide nostrils. It is generally a little narrow at the top, thick and broad at the middle and wide at the end. The term ‘Nubian’ comes from the ethnic group ‘Nubians’ who belong to northern Sudan.
The Hawk Nose: The hawk nose is so called because it is very convex, to the extent that it almost looks like a bow. It is very thin and sharp as well. Since it resembles the beak of a Hawk, it is known as the hawk nose.
Snub Nose: This type of nose is quite short in length and is neither sharp, nor hook like nor wide. It is almost as short as a nose possibly can be. Hence, it is known as snub nose
The turn up Nose: This type of nose is also called as the Celestial nose. It is so called because it runs continuously from the eyes towards the tip.
Like all other features of the face, there are guidelines and measurements that allows the nose to be viewed as more aesthetically pleasing. Here are the proportions for the ‘ideal’ nose:
- The ideal nasal length should be equal the distance from the stomion (the middle point of the oral slit when the lips are closed) to the menton (the lowermost point of the chin when seen in profile).
- The ideal nose tip projection should be equal to 0.66 x ideal nasal length.
- The distance from the infraorbital rim (lower bony edge of the eye socket) to the base of the nose is equal to the width of the base of the nose, and is half the length of the middle third of the face (ie, the distance between the brow to the base of the nose)
- The nose is straight by following a line falling from the midglabellar area (point between the brows), the nasal bridge, the nasal tip and the Cupid’s Bow of the lips.
- The width of the alar base (where the flare of the nose joins the cheek) should be equal to one eye width.
- The width of the bony base of the nose should be 80% of the alar width.
- The alar rims should have a slight outward flare in the inferior direction.
- The lines connecting the tip defining points (the most projecting area on each side of the nose tip), the supratip break area (the depression just above the tip), and the columellar lobular angle (angle formed by the junction of the infra-tip lobule with the columella) form 2 equilateral triangles.
- A line outlining the alar rims and the columella (the skin separating the nostrils) resemble a gull in gentle flight
- From the front, the nasofrontal angle (angle of demarcation between forehead and nasal dorsum, best seen in profile) lies at a level between the upper eyelashes and the supratarsal crease.
- In women, the nasal dorsum should lie 2mm behind and parallel to a line from just above the nasofrontal angle to the tip defining points. In men, the dorsum should be slightly higher.
- 50-60% of the tip should lie in front of a vertical line drawn adjacent to the most projecting portion of a normally positioned upper lip.
- The tip projection should be equivalent to the alar base width.
- The tip rotation is determined by the degree of the nasolabial angle, as measured by the angle between the vertical and a line drawn through the most anterior and posterior edges of the nostrils (normally 95-100° in women and 90-95° in men.
- The columellar lobular angle is approximately 45°.
- On the basal view, the outline of the nasal base forms an equilateral triangle, the lobular to nostril ratio is 1:2.
- The upper lip projects 2mm more than the lower lip, and in women, the chin lies slightly posterior to the lower lip, slightly stronger in men.
- The distance from the angle of the jaw to the menton is half the distance from the menton to the natural hairline.
As always, these are just guidelines, but the final appearance and modifications should be worked through with a qualified plastic surgeon.
Eager to find out what aging does to your nose? Check out the upcoming post!
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