So, I went to a small Doctor’s spa in my town yesterday to get a little insight. I was told that I would be better off with one of a few types of peels for my sun spots, freckles and hyperpigmentation. He also suggested that I could start off with a more gentle microdermabrasion treatment and follow up with  Retin A ointment in a very low dose first. He felt that I would not benefit from Botox yet. (WHAT???) He said he could only see my lines when I did these funny facial movements and they relaxed on their own really quickly. He made a type of mention that I was “blessed with fattier skin” that does not wrinkle as quickly. (Ok – I am fat. I get it!!!)

Well, I hate Retin A. I blame it on the hyperpigmentation that I have. So, I think that is out of the question. I know that I would benefit from microdermabrasion and a peel. But I was thinking I wanted a more instant fix with Botox.

Decisions, decisions.

I will be in NYC this weekend and found a great walk-in Botox clinic called SmoothMed. I will be making a little walk-in visit and see what the good Doctor’s there have to say.

Post from: Aging Fabulous

With the crystals being shot at the face and subsequently sucked off, I suppose it may not be the most comfortable process. I am considering an at-home microdermabrasion machine for myself to try it out first.

There is a pretty affordable at-home system called Crystalift. My friend Christina from eBeautyDaily has been testing out the system and I cannot wait to hear about her final results.

Crystalift is $199 and contains enough product for 6 weeks of use. If Christina gets some great results, I may just have to purchase for myself. If I do, I will definitely let you know about my experience.

Has anyone had a professional Microdermabrasion treatment? Has anyone used the Crystalift?

image from Crystalift

Post from: Aging Fabulous

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, over 11.5 million surgical and non-surgical procedures were performed during the year 2006 in the United States alone.

Here are the top five of each type of method, surgical and non-surgical.

Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Procedures

1. Liposuction – 403,684
2. Breast augmentation – 383,886
3. Eyelid surgery – 209,999
4. Abdominoplasty – 172,457
5. Breast Reduction – 145,822

Cosmetic Non-Surgical Procedures

1. Botox – 3.1 million
2. Hyaluronic Acid – such as Hylaform, Restylane – 1.5 million
3. Laser hair removal – 1.4 million
4. Microdermabrasion – 993,071
5. Laser Skin Resurfacing – 556,172

I will be on the lookout for the statistics for 2007 when they are published next year. I wonder if the numbers will rise.

What do you think?

Post from: Aging Fabulous

One microdermabrasion product I have been using, has been put to the test. And form my few weeks of results, I believe that it is working.

I have been using the Daily Microdermabrasion Cleansing Disks from RoC – and I have fallen for these. These discs go way beyond normal cleansing by providing results similar to microdermabrasion. But it is done with one simple dual-sided disk. Each disk features a unique cleansing technology to deliver the anti-aging results we want.

As I said, the disks are dual sided. One side, is the exfoliating side. This side is ridged containing micro-crystals that provide a gentle microdermabrasion-like action that not only wipes away dead skin cells, but it cleanses the skin as it does that. The second side, is the conditioning side. This side has a diamond pattern on it, and this helps to remove the excess dirt and oil from the skin, while it leaves behind a moisturizing blend to help keep the skin soft and smooth.

It is so easy to use by just putting your fingers in the pocket and running it under water. I use the exfoliating side first in light circular motions over my entire face, and then follow with the conditioning side.

Overall, these disks simplify my cleansing routine, and do ore then just cleanse. My skin looks better and feels so much smoother since I started using them.

RoC products can be found at drugstores nationwide and drugstore.com for $9.99.

Post from: Aging Fabulous

Just over the past two weeks, I have used 4 different treatments over different parts of my body. I can’t help but fall in love with my soft skin over and over, and when my skin starts to feel tight or just not as soft and silky, I find myself doing dermabrasion again.

Today, I am going to take a few to tell you about DermaDoctor’s Physical Chemistry. This is not only a microdermabrasion product, but some what of a chemical peel as well. In fact, there is a lot of scientific “chemistry” information on the DermaDoctor website that explains the differences in what exactly a microdermabrasion treatment does versus a chemical peel, and how this product is balanced just so it can do both.

I feel that this is best used on my somewhat sensitive facial skin only once every two or three weeks or – when I really want to kick up the smoothing process. But I use this two to three times a week on my hand alone. I cannot believe how my hands look and feel – age spots, unevenness, dryness, discolorations… gone! It is a very thick, very gritty product (it contains crystals that are more on the larger side), that you only need to use just a tiny bit of.

If you are looking for a multi-functional peel/microdermabrasion product that does a great, heavy-duty (almost clinical) job, then this a good one to try.

Stay tuned for my other 3 microdermabrasion products that I am *obsessed* with! I’ll be telling you all about those over the next week or so.

Post from: Aging Fabulous