- ONE OF THE BIGGEST MYTHS in the skin care industry is that what you eat does not affect your skin, says Dr. Jessica Wu, a Los Angeles-based dermatologist. In her anxiously awaited book Feed Your Face, scheduled to be on stands February 2011, she debunks this idea and dishes up a new skin care prescription with a specific 28-day diet plan that promises to banish breakouts, erase wrinkles, shed pounds and simply make you feel better!
- IT’S A FACT According to the recent Consumer Survey conducted by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, 83 percent of men believe that personal appearance plays a role in their professional success and advancement.
- WINTER SUN SENSE The sun’s rays are still harmful to your skin—even under cloudy skies in the winter months! So regardless of season or daylight hour, experts advise to wear a full-spectrum SPF.
- STEM CELL SAVVY Stem cell technology for topical skin rejuvenation is the latest buzz but seems to be mainly driven by marketing, not science, according to Frank Dreher, PhD, chief scientific officer of San Francisco- based pharmaceutical company Neocutis. Science has shown us that epidermal stem cells are unique because they don’t age, he says, so using a product that claims to stimulate or protect these cells isn’t going to have an effect.
- HORMONE HELP Turns out, hormone replacement therapy is half the anti-aging battle. Experts agree: hormones decline as we age and, well, we “age” as a result. By working with an accredited anti-aging doctor to replace lost hormones, you can expect to alleviate some of the signs and symptoms of aging. (Translation: You’ll enhance your mood, sex drive and energy levels!)
- DID YOU KNOW? Cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery are different? Although we tend to use them interchangeably, the term “plastic surgery” refers to procedures that repair or improve injured or defective body parts; “cosmetic surgery” is elective and focuses on the aesthetics of beauty.
- SKIN DAILY What are the skin care essentials every maturing woman and her acne-prone daughter need in their daily skin care arsenal? Tretinoin and a good sunscreen, according to LA-based cosmetic dermatologist Lisa Chipps, MD. By speeding up cell turnover, tretinoin products exfoliate the skin, making it an excellent acne treatment while also reducing the look of fine lines and wrinkles.
- CHIN UP! Don’t let that double chin get you down. Turns out liposuction isn’t just for the tummy, hips and thighs. Other areas, including the calves, knees, lower back and, yes, under the chin, are shaping up with contouring via the cannula (tube).
- THE FRENCH CONNECTION When French inventor Louis Paul Guitay came up with his Endermologie technique to standardize scar massage therapy in the 1970s, he had no idea that the women of France would later embrace his concept for their cellulite. But that is just what happened, and in the last two decades, some 40,000 of his devices have been installed in physicians’ offices across France. The device recently won FDA approval for use in the U.S.
The system works basically by delivering a kind of high-speed, deep massage therapy. The mechanical device consists of two moving rollers that travel across the skin with a suction-generating vacuum between the rollers. The suction draws a fold of skin and fat into the space between the rollers, which massage the tissues more effectively than human hands.While researchers have not yet figured out exactly why the device works, it apparently does, producing a substantial increase in blood and lymphatic flow in the treated areas, lasting for hours after the completion of treatment, which helps reduce cellulite. “After 15 years of experience, we can certainly affirm this methodology as the most important basic treatment for cellulite,” says Pier Antonio Bacci, a French physician who has used Endermologie since the mid 1990s. The only downside is that patients must return for periodic treatments. French women don’t seem to mind. Vive La Difference.
