Health News / February 2008
Facial Rejuvenation
Facial rejuvenation is almost becoming a household word. Between print ads, TV ads and radio commercials, various ways of facial rejuvenation are being presented to the consumer.
Because of this onslaught, there is confusion, disappointment and, from my point of view, concern. When you are confronted with the latest cream, lotion or supplement with their claims of making you look younger (rejuvenated), how do you sort this out? Trial and error becomes expensive. Then you read about procedures, injectable fillers, and surgery, and another level of concern and expense is added.
To either help or add to the confusion I will try to give you a facial plastic surgeon’s point of view. At this point, facial rejuvenation is basically looking younger or better.
Initially, the first basic step is good skin care including sun screens. Good skin care regiments with glycolic acids, antioxidants, retin-A’s and sunscreens help create the base line for other methods of facial rejuvenation. Good skin care helps keep the skin healthy and more youthful. Be wary of ads that state their lotion is better than Botox. Botox is in a class by itself and can not be compared to creams applied to the skin topically.
The next step in facial rejuvenation is glycolic washes and microdermabrasions. These are on the low end of the rejuvenation scale, but are very worthwhile.
Following these, we enter the arena of lasers. Lasers can be ablative (destructive) or non-ablative. With non-ablative lasers we can see improvement in skin texture and appearance and some tightening can be achieved. With ablative lasers we see more tightening and dramatic changes to the skin. tightening. Also there is downtime.
The next step up is treating the skin with radio frequency. Thermage is probably the best known name for this procedure. Skin tightening and contouring can be achieved with essentially zero downtime. We also see improvement to the texture of the skin with Thermage. Thermage early on received a fair amount of bad press, but the company has worked hard to improvethe procedure and the results today are much better and more consistent.
Botox and injectable fillers are adjuncts to the rejuvenation spectrum. Botox can help with wrinkles that are due to contracture of facial muscles such as the area between your eyes (glabellar) and crow’s feet. Injectable fillers (Juvederm, Radiesse) can fill in wrinkles and depressions. They also can help with volume loss in the face that occurs with aging.
Finally there is surgery. Facelifts, brow lifts and eyelid surgery can make you look better and more youthful. At this point, surgery is still the quickest and best fix for most concerns with the aging face. Surgery is the most expensive option, but also gives the longest results. There is significant downtime with surgery as compared to the other options.
There are many options for the person who is interested in facial rejuvenation. Please do your due diligence in seeking information and methods to help improve your appearance.
The ideal option is to have a consultation with specialists who are familiar with these methods and procedures. If you go to a practitioner who only performs surgery, you will probably be steered toward a surgical procedure. If you see someone who doesn’t do surgery, a surgical option may never be presented to you and it may well be your best choice.
Remember, true facial rejuvenation is not really possible. We cannot make you younger; we can only improve your appearance. Keep your expectations reasonable, and ask questions. Check for qualifications and experience. By doing your research, a good outcome for your facial rejuvenation should occur.
Paul A. Blair, M.D., is a board certified Facial Plastic Surgeon and the full-time on-site medical director at Alex-Alexa Medical Spa, 3667 Teays Valley Road, Hurricane, W.Va, 25526. Telephone: (304) 201-3223 Web site: www.drpaulblair.com.
Copyright © 2001-2009 A Woman's View. All rights reserved.
Top • Home • Subscribe • Advertise • Submit • Distribution • Contact
Support Our Advertisers • Organization Resources • Women Owned Business
Organization Resource List • Women Owned Businesses • Support Our Advertisers
Maintained by TEABROOKE
Website Design | SEO | Social Media Consulting
Related Sites | XMLSiteMap | Web Portal
Landing Zone SEO - Website | Search | Usability | Results | Goodness
Send an Email About This Article