Doctor Specifications. Today, a lot of professionals have added injectables to their repertoire (dentists?! OBGYN!?). Dr. Guida warns that for both safe and effective results, the best doctors to administer a Botox boost is facial plastic surgeons or dermatologists who have experience operating on the face. They will be more familiar with the position, location and function of the muscles, so they know the exact place to make the injection. And, for the best results, the correct placement of the Botox injection is critical.

Instant Gratification? Don’t be surprised if you glance in the mirror without noticing an immediate difference. Dr. Guida says that it may take up to 48 hours to see results and up to 14 days for the full effect to sink in. So don’t go running back for a touch up until the Botox has had time to work its magic. However, Dr. Guida does encourage patients to return after two or three weeks for a small touch up if necessary. Feedback is essential so the Botox injection can be fine tuned and for the individual.

Painless “Pinch”. Does it hurt?! “Expect to feel a pinch, about the equivalent to a bee sting.” If you’re concerned, Dr. Guida recommends putting numbing cream on the area 10 minutes prior to the injection. A topical numbing cream and/or ice prior to an injection will minimize the pain significantly.

Lunch Time Procedure. Patients can return to work immediately after. There maybe the appearance of a small bump at the injection site that lasts 10-15 minutes. The makers of Botox do recommend that users ***DO NOT *** lay flat for four hours after the injection so the Botox doesn’t migrate. But, Dr. Guida says not to sweat it…he’s taken a yoga class 30 minutes afterwards. Downward dog didn’t cause any interference!

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However, this new category can be confusing for consumers who are faced with many new choices but possess minimal knowledge on choosing the best device. According to Kevin Appelbaum, CEO of TRIA Beauty, the biggest challenge for consumers is to determine which devices actually work — and which provide value for their money.

“Clearly the most dramatic breakthroughs in the beauty industry over the next five years will be light-based devices that feature technology previously available only at doctor offices,” said Appelbaum. “But, not all technologies translate into safe, effective tools that deliver the desired long-lasting results. The consumer needs to be educated about the choices and technologies.”

In the case of hair removal beauty tools, manufacturers use a variety of technologies to achieve smooth, hair-free skin. According to Appelbaum, the market is divided into three categories:

High-power lasers — Diode laser technology is the gold standard for physicians and continues to be the preferred method for in-office hair removal. Its precision technology and single-band light enable it to target just the dark pigment in hair. This makes it easier to use, less painful and more effective at delivering permanent hair reduction. Clinical studies show that the laser energy not only removes the hair but prevents it from growing back. After six monthly treatments, consumers can expect virtually hair-free results. The TRIA Laser Hair Removal System uses the same diode laser technology used by the professional systems and was developed by the same scientists who invented the technology back in 1993. Clinical studies demonstrate that it too delivers long-lasting hair reduction and prevents the hair from growing back.

Low-power flashlamps — Less expensive, broad-spectrum light devices do a good job at removing hair short-term, and are a great option for consumers who only want temporary hair reduction. These devices are typically used once or twice a month to maintain a hair-free appearance. Clinical studies show that the hair typically grows back when the monthly treatments are stopped.

Heat-based razors – Using technology created for the consumer market, these hand-held tools are effectively thermal razors, burning the hair away from the surface of the skin. They require more regular use.

To make the process of choosing the most effective DIY device easier, consumers should first decide whether they want lasting results, such that the hair won’t grow back, or if they would prefer temporary hair elimination. There are a variety of devices that deliver temporary hair elimination, and cost and comfort will likely determine which product is best for each consumer.

For consumers who desire long-lasting results and a device that actually prevents the hair from growing back, they should ask three questions:

1. Is the device FDA-cleared? FDA clearance indicates a safe and effective product, although actual performance can vary dramatically between products.
2. Does the device deliver sufficient power? Typically, higher power levels are required to deliver better performance and more lasting results.
3. Are there clinical studies published in respected journals to support the science behind the device and the claimed benefits? Tools that have published clinical data that supports their effectiveness are the most reputable within the market.

Image: TRIA Beauty

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“These procedures, which are popular with celebrities who need big results in a short amount of time, are now accessible to everyone who wants to look fabulous for a special occasion,” said Kimberly Butterwick, M.D., member of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS).

To be “camera ready” for an upcoming event, Dr. Butterwick recommends the following timeline:

One Month Before:
•       Contour Thread lifts use non-absorbable thread under the skin’s surface to anchor and gently pull skin upward for an effective facelift without detectable scars.  Recovery time depends on the area treated, but lifts done to the jaw line and cheeks regularly require a week of downtime, while other areas have two to three week recovery periods.  Results vary and depend on the patient’s age as well as the skin’s elasticity. Generally, results last two to five years.

One Week Before:
•       The Fraxel Laser procedure successfully treats non-facial areas to resurface small wrinkles, improve texture, tone and pore size, and rejuvenate skin in the neck, chest and hands area.  There is no scarring and a brief recovery period of two to three days.  Results can last for years.

Days Before: Fillers and Lasers
•       Restylane is a dermal filler that adds volume and fullness around the face and to improve the look of wrinkles and dark circles around the eyes.  Minimal swelling and bruising may occur, but patients are usually ready to be seen the next day.
•       Sculptra is used to add volume and natural curves to the face in patients that have gaunt and sunken cheeks from fat loss either due to aging or illness.  This procedure can be done in one office visit.
•       Intense Pulsed Light is used to treat freckles, port wine stains, varicose and spider veins and flat birth marks on larger areas of the body such as the neck, chest, legs or forearms.  There is virtually no downtime and results are very effective.  Mild redness and swelling may occur around the treated area directly after a treatment but will subside in a few days.
•       Photo Facial treatments are used on patients who suffer from irregular skin texture or skin discoloration due to the effects of red blood vessels and brown spots.  Four to six treatments are recommended depending on the severity of the problem.  A patient’s skin will be refreshed and glowing without any recovery time.  Maintenance treatments are suggested once a year to keep skin in tip-top shape.

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Botox, which is most commonly associated with reducing wrinkles in the face, is now being used to treat other skin conditions such as large pores, oily skin, and inflammation from acne. The new technique is called intradermal Botox, and it is transforming the way people with less-than-perfect skin look at their old-school treatments and remedies.

The difference between intradermal and regular Botox is where it is injected: where regular Botox is injected deep into the muscles of the skin, causes wrinkles to smooth out, intradermal Botox is injected into the skin itself.

The injection of Botox into the skin actually causes the pores to constrict in size, which is a huge plus for anyone who has tried to reduce them in the past – there have always been different methods and applications to reduce pore size, but there is nothing topical that can be applied to the skin to reduce their appearance.

Because of its interaction with the pores, Botox also does wonders for oily and acne prone skin. The pores of the skin contain sebaceous glands, which secret oil, which can cause oily skin and acne if the glands are over productive. By restricting the muscles of the pores, Botox also stops oil production from the sebaceous glands, allowing acne prone skin to become clear.

“Botox has been used in the ‘off label’ form for many years, with the most notable targets being wrinkles. Throughout the course of the application of Botox for wrinkles, doctors were noticing a reduction in pore size and an overall ‘matte’ finish on the skin,” says Dr. Jafri. “What we have discovered now is that Botox can be used for more than just wrinkles, and it can change the lives of those with acne prone skin. It provides an effective treatment where acne problems were previously left untreated.”

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According to The New York Times, (December 29th, 2005 New York Times, Style section) December has always been a busy month for plastic surgeons, whose schedules fill with patients seeking a little streamlining before the holiday party season or in advance of body-baring winter beach vacations. However, along with the injections and the nips and tucks of cosmetic procedures comes unsightly bruising and painful swelling.

Not to worry! If you’re entertaining the idea of having a cosmetic procedure this holiday season, there’s a beauty secret you should know about to help cut post-op bruising heal in half the time.

Biopelle’s new Auriderm post-op gel and Auriderm post-procedural relief kit can get you out of the house and into your party dress faster! Bruising, redness and swelling from cosmetic procedures such as injections of Botox or injections of fillers such as Restylane® can often take at least a week to disappear. With the holidays just around the corner, who has that much time to wait?

Auriderm features Vitamin K Oxide, a more stable form of Vitamin K. Auriderm uses a patented nanosome delivery technology to deliver Vitamin K Oxide to the dermal layers, helping it to penetrate more effectively and intervene with the bruising process. The result is faster post-op bruise healing, which will help you to look your best, faster.

The Auriderm post-procedural relief kit offers an extra benefit, Arnica Montana, an herbal remedy used for hundreds of years in Europe. It reduces swelling and shortens the recovery period after physical trauma. Available in an oral form in the Auriderm post-procedural relief kit, it works with Auriderm post-op gel to let you enjoy you the results of a cosmetic procedure faster. It can even be taken the day before a procedure to help get a jump on healing. The Vitamin K Oxide in Auriderm post-op gel actually speeds up the most critical step in the body’s natural bruise resolution cycle.

Don’t be late to holiday parties because you’re busy covering your black-and-blues. It’s the holidays! Think green and red and make sure to stand under the mistletoe!

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Laser treatments are so popular these days, they can remove age spots, sun spots, wrinkles and unwanted hair. I really have never given these things too much of a second thought – I thought they were pretty safe, and I guess they are for the most part, but if they are botched, they are really botched. Here are a couple pictures, the first one is of a botched sun spot removal, and the second one is a botched hair removal. Read the accompanying article at the ABC web site if you didn’t see the story on Good Morning America last week. And check out all the pictures. Yikes.

Have you had laser work done before? If so, I hope your results were better than this – tell us about it, if you have a minute.

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If you can see it on tour, definitely don’t miss it – on this tour schedule page are also links to virtual tours. Spread this video around, it is important for women of all ages to realize that perfection is unattainable, and our bodies are beautiful just the way they are.

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It was an odd experience. The cancer appeared not as a brown mole, or anything that was ugly or even noticeable. It was on the upper part of my nose, and was flesh colored – the only thing I really noticed that was odd about it was that it was strangely smooth. And then it started growing – within two weeks it went from an area about the size of a dull pencil tip to the size of an eraser. It really wasn’t raised at all though, but I knew something was going on.

I went to my general practitioner, who thought it was nothing. She told me to go home and watch it for another couple of weeks. I refused to – I insisted she cut it off and send it in. I remember Marshall telling the doc, “if you don’t, she will, and she will come back with it in a baggie.” So anyway, she went on and did it. And called me back 4 or 5 days later and said it was indeed cancer.

Thankfully it wasn’t the super scary kind, but a basal cell carcinoma. Anything attached with “cancer” is scary though. This little flat pencil tip/eraser shiny spot on my nose gave me a 1.5 inch scar going right down my nose. Thankfully my plastic surgeon was amazing, and 2 years later, I really have to be dehydrated or looking especially haggard to even notice it. But, as Dr. Rude told me and I have since heard time and time again, my chances are huge (like 90%?) that I will have another one within 5 years. 2 years and counting, so far so good.

As a result of all this fun, I am pretty well scared of the sun. I used to love it, now I really don’t – it kind of pains me to admit that. I still love the beach, but I would just as soon go there in the morning and the late afternoon rather than bask and frolic all day. We have a beautiful cabin cruiser, that has sat unused for most of the last two seasons. I just don’t really want to go out on it. I wear hats, I wear pants (I used to wear tank tops and shorts 11 months out of the year). And, I wear sunscreen. Every day. I usually use products that incorporate sunscreen (one big reason I love bareMinerals so much – the sunscreen is amazing), but I have plenty of sunscreen – only products as well. My love for playing in the yard, planting things and making things pretty has gone for the most part, and I am sure my fear of the sun has a bit to do with that. I just want to stay inside during the day now. I think I would rather have a hot tub than a swimming pool – which is a huge admission for me, I have been clamoring for a pool since we moved to TX.

Now that I re-read all of this, I also think it sounds a little depressing. LOL Is the answer to face my fears, slather on the sunscreen and face my demons – or am I doing the right thing in hiding from the demon sun?

Stay tuned for more on the sun and sunscreens. Obviously I haven’t been preaching enough.

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In the Framingham case, at least two other women have come forward, saying they were patients of the doctor. Authorities are using local Brazilian media and a hot line to find other potential victims and explain the risks involved in illegal surgery. Massachusetts is estimated to have more than 30,000 people of Brazilian descent, most of them in the Boston area.

“There should be a lesson learned from the death of this young woman,” the district attorney. “People think this is an extension of getting my nails done, getting my hair done.”

Foster said the sad thing is that her friend had no need for cosmetic surgery: “She was absolutely gorgeous, not only on the outside but on the inside.”

Scary stuff, folks. You are beautiful, just the way you are. If you happen to be one of this man’s patients, please contact the authorities and do your part to see that he is properly punished for his crimes.

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More than half the nearly 22,000 people who answered the question, 53 percent, said yes. Less than a third, 31 percent, said it would not. [source]

Sad to say, but I can see where it would help some people along the way. You know I am not a proponent of elective surgery (of the plastic variety anyway), but I wonder how many perfectly well suited people are out there that are not advancing in their careers as quickly as “Barbie,” their co-worker. Interesting question…

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