Plastics Without the Surgery

New (and Old) Ideas That Can Iron Out the Wrinkles

RobinMillerMD

Posted: Feb 8, 07 9:08am

Most of us don't notice ourselves aging -- until we look in the mirror. Good habits like eating healthy, exercising, and using sunscreen 24/7 can go a long way in slowing the march of time. But if you're interested in a more aggressive approach -- but not plastic surgery -- here's a round-up of other skin treatments that can help restore a youthful appearance:

Retinoids:

Retin-A, for instance, reduces fine lines and smooths out blotchy skin. You need a prescription and you need to use this product for several weeks before you see results.

Facial Peels:

Usually a peel is made of fruit acid and is applied to the skin. The peel removes the top layer of skin and diminishes the appearance of wrinkles, improves discoloration, and brightens the complexion. Stronger chemical peels can remove more layers of skin and give a tighter, smoother appearance, but they also cause more redness. (The stronger the peel, the longer the redness lasts, which can be a few weeks.)

Botox:

Made from Botulinum toxin, Botox is injected into the facial muscles under frown lines. The Botox paralyzes them and helps the skin over the muscles to relax and helps you look more rested. It is very important to go to someone that really knows what he or she is doing. If someone is "over-Botoxed" their face won't move. In addition, you want a nice symmetrical result. The effects of Botox are temporary and can last up to three or four months.

Thermage:

The Thermage technique uses a radiofrequency to heat the under-layer of the skin's collagen to stimulate growth. (Collagen is what keeps our skin looking plump. As we grow older, we lose collagen and that's one of the reasons we develop wrinkles.) Each treatment takes about two hours and I've heard the results can last for years.

Restylane:

Restylane is injected into the skin to fill in wrinkles and add volume to the lips. The results last about six months. Again, it is really important to find someone who is good at doing this. Otherwise, you could look like you just sucked a lemon.

Laser:

There are several types of laser treatments. The one I like is the lunchtime face-lift called the triple treat laser. This treatment starts with a micro-dermabrasion treatment that removes the top layer of skin. This is followed by a hot touch laser treatment and then a cool touch laser treatment. These lasers stimulate underlying collagen growth. The procedure feels like someone is snapping you with a rubber band. (If that sounds too painful, you can ask for a topical anesthetic cream that numbs the skin.) The whole treatment takes less than an hour and there is very little redness afterwards. However, it can take months to see the effects and the treatment needs to be repeated to have continued improvement. I have done this one myself and really like the results.

And finally, there is also a laser resurfacing procedure. With this treatment, a laser beam destroys the outer layer of skin and heats the underlying skin, which stimulates the growth of collagen. The new skin that is formed is smoother and tighter, but it takes several months to heal from this procedure.

All of these procedures, if done right, can help you look more rested (and youthful). But they can be very expensive, and it is really important to do your research and have the treatments done by a qualified plastic surgeon or dermatologist.

And one last interesting note on sunscreens: Recently, a comparison of some of the higher priced creams and the lower priced creams found that Oil of Olay with sunscreen did the best job decreasing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It's the one that my dermatologist uses!