wrinkles and foldsWrinkles that travel from each side of the nose to the corners of your mouth are known as nasolabial folds, nasal labial folds, or simply “smile lines.”

Nasolabial wrinkles are often the first lines that people seen around the mouth. Many are bothered by them and seek a treatment to remove or erase them.

Nasolabial folds are caused by a combination of factors, such as:

  • Muscle tension (smiling)

  • Loss of facial volume

  • Lack of bone structure in cheeks

  • Sagging or overhang in the cheek tissue

The severity of these conditions varies widely, so the treatments vary and need to be tailored for each patient.

Don’t expect to find a skin care product that can treat nasolabial folds. Although products that have antioxidants and Retinoids can help with overall skin health and anti-aging, these are designed to work at the topical level. To effectively treat the nasolabial folds, we need to replenish the volume of the tissue from within and/or smooth out the cheek area.

The most common treatments for nasolabial wrinkles are injectable products like Juvederm, Radiesse, or Restylane. These products are sold by the syringe, so the cost of treatment depends on the dosage required. During a consultation, we can advise you about the dosage and treatment cost needed to achieve your goals.

Photo by SuperFantastic on Flickr

Gold in skincare products can accelerate the signs of aging, according to a new study.

Everyone likes gold, right? Many cultures have many positive connotations with aurum – we celebrate weddings with golden rings, award our best olympic athletes with golden medallions, and sometimes, we even eat it. But as the old adage goes, all that glitters is not gold.

Well, except in skin care products – if it glitters, it very well could be gold. Gold particles are often added to give a glittery appearance to the user’s skin. Harmless enough, right?

Actually, no, harmless it is not. A new study published in the journal Nanotoxicology concluded that gold nanoparticles can actually cause quite a lot of problems when they penetrate the cell walls of certain cells, hindering mobility, cell division, and collagen contraction.

What does that mean for you? Well, it means your skin could age faster, heal wounds more slowly, and even lead to diabetes in some cases. This is just one of the many examples of why it’s so important to do your homework when it comes to shopping for skin care products – not every ingredient in every product is actually helpful for fighting aging. In some cases, such as this, they might even be counterintuitive.

If you’re interested in combating the signs of aging the right way, consult with your cosmetic surgeon about recommended skin care products, or other anti-aging treatments like Botox or wrinkle fillers. If you go about things the right way, your anti-aging efforts will be worth their weight in gold.

As we approach beach season in Rancho Cucamonga, it might be time to laser that peach fuzz from our faces.

peach fuzz laser It sneaks up on you, I know. You wake up one morning, look in the mirror and realize that your peaches-and-cream-complexion morphed into something like the peach itself – complete with a fine layer of fuzzy hair covering it.

Once you become aware of it, you might notice excess hair on other women’s faces, especially as they get older. Another small indignity of aging, right? The hair on our head and brows thins over time and in return we get more … facial hair.

So what are we supposed to do about it? There are many options:

  • Shaving is always an option, but obviously that’s only going to work for a day or so at a time before we have to do it again. If you shave the hair on your legs, underarms, and face then you’ll probably spend lots of time shaving.

  • Cream hair removal products can be found in the drugstore, but they’re also temporary and tend to have an unpleasant smell. Of course, it has to be done over and over and over ….

  • Some women dye their facial hair, but this is clearly not a reasonable solution. The color seldom looks natural and it grows out and has to be colored again and again.

  • Electrolysis is another option, but this is one-hair-at-a-time removal and it’s a time consuming, somewhat painful process.

  • Waxing works. Hairs can be removed from under the skin surface, giving you weeks of bare skin before it must be repeated.

Laser Hair Removal

Then of course, there’s laser hair removal.

With advanced laser hair removal systems, we can now treat lighter hair, such as the strays that show up on our checks, necks and chins or around our eyes. Several laser treatments will be needed to account for the varying growth cycles of facial hair, but once the treatments are over you will have smooth skin once again, and time to spare.

Laser hair removal is a relatively comfortable with topical anesthetic that can be applied beforehand. It can sting a bit, but the tradeoff for a short time spent in mild discomfort is certainly offset by the convenience of not having to shave and the beauty of soft, smooth skin.

Many say the best part is saving that 75 or 100 hours of your time by not having to shave. Not to mention saving money on shaving gel, razor blades and soothing lotions. It’s far better to have the peach fuzz off your face and leave it to the actual peaches where they belong.

Photo by chucknado

What’s safe while there’s a bun in the oven?

A lot of things are suddenly off-limits to expectant mothers once they become pregnant, until that baby’s out in the world and eating strained peas from a jar. Anything from obvious no-nos, like alcohol and caffeine, to less obvious things such as Vitamin A and oxybenzone (often found in sunscreen), could prove harmful to your still-growing bundle of joy.

So, is something like skin care out of the question?

It’s definitely advisable not to start any new treatments or procedures while pregnant, as your body is in a constant state of flux, and you never know how your body might react to any new stimuli.

That said, you don’t need to totally abandon the possibility of skin care during your pregnancy. Hyaluronic acid, a chief ingredient found in injectable fillers like Juvederm, isn’t considered harmful since it’s something the body produces anyway, and some doctors even recommend it during pregnancy – dry skin is a common problem among pregnant women, and hyaluronic acid supplements help skin attract and retain moisture.

But what about Juvederm injections? Well, they’re not necessarily dangerous – due to its large molecular size, hyaluronic acid is not systemically absorbed, and thus very unlikely to reach your baby. But it might be wise to err on the side of caution until your pregnancy is over – after all, your baby’s well-being is your first concern. Your surgeon can give you a better idea if it’s safe for you to get an injection while pregnant or breastfeeding, or what alternatives are available in the meantime. Be sure to set up a consultation if you have any questions.

Surgery, fillers, or topical options?

Laugh lines are among the most prominent, and least loved, signs of aging – it’s only a small comfort that they’re supposed to mean you’ve had a happy life so far. Nasolabial wrinkles, also known as “laugh” or “smile” lines, are the lines that seem to connect the edges of your lips to the edges of your nose. Some people take pride in their laugh lines, but plenty more would see them vanish.

If you’re one of the latter, you might be asking: what’s the best way to accomplish that?

It basically comes down to three options: surgical, injectables, and external skin care. Surgical options, such as facelifts or facial implants, are the longest-lasting but also the most expensive. Plus, being surgical procedures, there’s an element of risk involved. Injectable options like Botox and wrinkle fillers like Juvederm are less risky, but also more temporary, and will still cost a pretty penny. For the more frugal, there’s creams with retinol, like Retin-A. Retinoids are effective in preventing collagen loss, a chief culprit in the formation of laugh lines.

With all of these options, what’s the best choice? When it comes to the maximization of results-per-cost, and the minimization of risk, the injectable option comes out on top. Juvederm won’t last as long as a surgical option, but it can last upwards of 12 months before it needs topping off – at around $450 per cheek, that could work out to just $900 per year to keep laugh lines at bay. Basically, the injectable option yields the best results at the best price, with minimal risk to you.

However, only you can truly know what’s right for you, be it surgery, injectables, topical treatments, or even just letting yourself age naturally. Well, you and your surgeon – book a consultation and see what they think about your options. Hopefully, you’ll leave their office smiling.

One of the benefits to Botox is how little time is needed to complete the procedure

The world’s a busy place these days – there’s always somewhere to be, or someone to meet, or something to do. For busy folks who might want a little work done, the matter of recovery time might cause a problem.

Many aesthetic surgical procedures, such as facelifts, require a fair bit of down time in order for the body to heal properly, and it might be difficult for some people to set aside enough time to recover. But if you still want to say goodbye to wrinkles without using up your vacation time, you have options.

That’s one of the benefits of Botox – practically no recovery time. Also, unlike more invasive surgical procedures, Botox and other injectables like soft tissue fillers don’t require a number of hours on an operating table. Many of these procedures could be done on a lunch break – though, just to be on the safe side, it might be good too book at least a half day off work to let you go home and rest afterwards.

That said, Botox can’t permanently rid you of your wrinkles. However, Botox does last for several months, and while it can’t totally get rid of the wrinkles you have, it can help prevent new ones from forming. If you think you might be interested, the least you can do is spare a lunch hour to set aside time for a consultation with your cosmetic surgeon.

Are both wrinkle-removers made equal?

If you’ve followed the careers and lifestyles of Hollywood starlets like Marlene Dietrich, Raquel Welch, or Joan Crawford, you might be familiar with “Frownies” – adhesive strips meant to pull back wrinkles on the face, leading to a more youthful look. Actresses like these and more used them in the golden days of Hollywood, and they’re still around today. But, could Frownies be an alternative to Botox?

New York Magazine columnist Gina Grey recently put Frownies – or more accurately, a more modern alternative, Furlesse – to the test, with herself as the guinea pig. She wore the Furlesse patches for a week as she slept, to see if they could reduce or even prevent visible wrinkles.

She found that the strips did visibly diminish the appearance of facial wrinkles – so long as she was wearing them. Once removed, her wrinkles reappeared. According to a New York dermatologist quoted in the piece, the patches could potentially prove useful in stemming wrinkles by preventing involuntary facial movements while we sleep, but would take a lot longer than a week to show results.

And since the effects are only noticeable while the strips are worn, it means they won’t do you much good beyond the pillow – unless you’re willing to wear them out on the town. Actresses like Dietrich and Crawford did wear the strips in real life, hidden beneath wigs, but Way says, “unless he’s lost his sense of sight and touch, or is completely clueless, any guy will notice that you have these on.”

If you’re looking for more long-term results that are noticeable in your everyday life, and the idea of wearing adhesive strips 24/7 doesn’t appeal to you, there’s no contest – Botox wins out. Though, as with any cosmetic procedure, it shouldn’t be entered into lightly. Book a consultation with your surgeon before you decide.

FDA advises consumers on spotting the difference

One of the things that makes Botox so popular with patients is how quick the procedure can be to undergo, and to recover from, compared to more invasive alternatives. But Botox is not quick or easy to produce, no – the product is made according to rigorous specifications and undergoes stringent quality control before it ever reaches the consumer.

Well, the official product, anyway.

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning to be on the lookout for counterfeit Botox. “FDA cannot confirm that the manufacture, quality, storage, and handling of these products follow U.S. standards,” said the agency, according to this Reuters article.

The product, which the FDA says is being sold under the names “Online Botox Pharmacy,” “Onlinebotox.com” and “Onlinebotox,” is being shipped from foreign sources, and is not approved for sale in the United States. Despite the name, most of these products are being solicited via fax.

Allergan, the makers of Botox, said that besides breaking federal law, the fraudulent Botox’s contents and the conditions of its storage and handling can’t be vouched for, making it potentially ineffective, or worse, unsafe.

Lawmakers are hard at work writing bills that would better track and oversee what prescription drugs are moving through the distribution chain. In the meantime, if you’re interested in Botox, but are wary of counterfeit product, feel free to bring up your concerns with your cosmetic surgeon during your consultation. As a patient, it’s your right and your duty to be as informed as possible before undergoing any procedure. A long-practiced and trustworthy surgeon will be happy to put your fears to rest and make you feel comfortable with the product they make available.

Just what are marionette lines, anyway?

When it comes to signs of aging, the lines that form around the mouth and nose are among the most dreaded. There are actually many types of facial wrinkles, all with different names and causes. One such variety is called marionette lines.

Marionette lines are the creases that form at the corners of your lips and extend down to the chin, which make the mouth appear droopy and gives the face an overall more grim or scornful appearance. Marionette Lines occur with the gradual loss of collagen and the decrease of fatty deposits in the mouth region. Some people never develop them, but others are genetically predisposed to them. Environmental conditions such as sun over exposure, poor diet, and smoking can also have an impact.

Since one of the causes of marionette lines is depleted fat deposits, one of the better ways of treating them is filling that space up, with a dermal filler like Juvederm. By filling that empty space under the skin, the appearance of marionette lines and other facial wrinkles can be minimized, if not outright erased.

If you’re worried about the onset of marionette lines, steps you can take ahead of time to avoid them include proper sunlight protection, getting lots of vitamins, exercise, and smoke avoidance. If, however, your smile falls victim to the onset of time, and marionette lines still occur, contact your cosmetic surgeon and book a consultation to see if Juvederm or another dermal filler is the right treatment for you.

Italian study says the two procedures go hand-in-hand.

Sometimes, a patient’s desired results from cosmetic surgery can’t be achieved with a single procedure.

It’s not uncommon for cosmetic surgeons to recommend undergoing two procedures simultaneously, and not just to pad the bill. In fact, combining procedures can save you money as well as time in recovery, and most importantly, can pay dividends when it comes to the aesthetic results of your time in the OR.

A study from the University of Verona in Italy has demonstrated the efficacy of combining rhinoplasty (a nose job) with genioplasty (chin augmentation). Researchers followed 90 patients who had both surgeries simultaneously between 2002 and 2004, and followed up with each of them over the next three years. The results showed that 45.6 per cent of those who had chin reduction surgery had no subsequent changes in the new chin, and 52 per cent of those with chin implants showed a stable profile in the following years.

The reason researchers believe these two surgeries go well together is because the proportions of the nose, chin, and neck are all tied together; if you correct your nose, but don’t adjust your other features in conjunction, your face may look out of proportion.

Furthermore, while rhinoplasty is a more delicate surgery, chin augmentation is relatively simple, especially if we’re talking about chin implants. So in order to maximize the desired aesthetic results, and minimize the number of surgeries and the number of days in recovery, it’s beneficial to get both procedures done at once.

If you’re curious about a nose/chin combo, or a combination of any other cosmetic procedures, be sure to ask your surgeon about it during your next consultation.