Don’t let your hands show your age….

You take care of the skin on your face, why not your hands? They are the first part of the body to show signs of aging and once they do, it is hard to hide them.

It isn’t too late to do something about them. Here are some tips –

Use a good hand cream overnight.

When applying your daily sunblock to your face and neck, put some on your hands as well.

Use an anti-aging product on them. Think Retin-A or glycolic acid. You can do this before bedtime and put your hand cream right over the top of the treatment.

Have an IPL to remove the brown spots or a pixel laser treatment to restore collagen. More than one treatment may be necessary.

Replace lost volume with a dermal filler. In less than an hour, you can have youthful looking hands without prominent veins and ligaments showing.

Until next time….

Making sense of BB, CC, DD and EE creams….

We’ve seen the advertisements, we have friends that swear by them, but what are these creams that promise to do everything and reverse the aging process?

Let’s start at the beginning when BB cream was originally formulated in the 1960’s by German dermatologist Dr. Christine Schrammek. Apparently, Dr. Schrammek created the cream to protect her patients’ skin post surgery.

Fast forward to 1985 when the BB cream hit the Asian market, where porcelain skin is heavily prized, and was an overnight success.

Now, there are so many choices on the market it makes my head spin! So let’s cut through the malarkey and get down to the facts.

BB – beauty balm, is meant to replace your moisturizer, primer, serums and sunscreen. It’s pretty straight forward stuff.

CC – conceal and correct, replaces your moisturizer, primer, serums sunscreen and correct discoloration on the skin. These products contain skin-brightening ingredients such as arbutin or daisy flower extract.

DD – disguise and diminish, replaces your moisturizer, primer, serums, sunscreen, correct discoloration and have anti-aging benefits. Look for creams that contain firming peptides, retinol or adenosine (a molecule that naturally exists in skin’s DNA and is essential to proper cell functioning and also acts as an anti-wrinkle ingredient and stimulates protein synthesis!).

EE – extra exfoliating. This one is a little different – mixing this product to your cleanser, it adds ‘extra exfoliating’. So this is really a cleansing product and not available until Spring 2014.

However, if you are starting to feel a bit more like this –

then it’s time to address it with your skin care professional and have some IPL (intense pulse light) and microdermabrasion treatments along with medical grade products.

Until next time….

 

I have to wait how long???

Let’s be honest, we really don’t want to wait – for anything. We want to walk right up, through, or into whatever it is that we are doing, wanting, having without any delay whatsoever. So it is never a surprise when patients want me to accomplish something right now. Never mind that they spent years in the sun developing those brown spots, have the frown lines from Hell, or a cruise next week and want to be completely hairless. They want it fixed, corrected obliterated….right now!

Well my dears, it just doesn’t work that way. However, there are a few things that you can accomplish quickly and see the results that day. Here’s a few –

Microdermabrasion – Need glowing skin within 24 hours? This is your treatment. Have your skincare professional gently remove part of the top layer of your skin to help smooth the feel and appearance. Follow it up with a bit of steam to help rehydrate and plump, then a non-irritating cream to moisturize and sooth. Done in less than 60 minutes for a beautiful glow. Tip – keep the skin moisturized throughout the night and avoid any harsh products for 2-5 days.

Dermal fillers – Need a quick fix that makes a difference? I’m not talking ‘Housewives of Crazy-ville’ face plumping here, I’m talking about subtle tweaks that can make all the difference. Soften those lines from the nose to the lips (nasolabial lines or NLF’s for short), a slight bump-plump to the lips and you are ready for anything! Tip – pack on the ice immediately after the procedure to contain swelling and have your favorite concealer ready in case of a small bruise.

Skin tightening – Did someone mistake you and your Mother for sisters? Make an appointment for skin tightening STAT!! In the hands of a skilled skincare professional, it really shouldn’t matter that much which machine they are using. Most skin tightening in-office treatments offer zero downtime with a slight pinkish glow and tightening to the skin directly afterwards. In 60 minutes or less, you’ll be holding your head high and defying anyone to call you ma’am! Tip – skin tightening procedures work best if you stick with them. To see long-term results, plan on having one every 4-6 weeks. You do it for your hair….why not your face?

Now that I’ve gotten you off the ledge, there are treatments that have results worth waiting for. So keep following me here to see what they are. Until next time…