PARTY prep

GET A FRESH FACE FOR THE HOLIDAYS — WITH TIME TO HEAL

BY MIMI GREENWOOD KNIGHT

This year, along with the perfect holiday decorations and drop-dead party clothes, you can look your fresh-faced best with these proven procedures.

CHEMICAL PEEL

Wouldn’t it be great to wave a magic wand and make uneven skin tones, fine lines, age spots, dull skin, rough patches, sun damage, and acne scarring disappear? A chemical peel can do this by removing the damaged top layers of skin and leaving you with a fresh, glowing complexion. Plus, it’s one of the least invasive and most affordable ways to improve your skin before the holidays. Talk to your aesthetician about the chemical peel and strength that’s right for you.

BOTOX

One of the oldest and most widely used FDA-approved wrinkle-reducing injectables, Botox is highly effective at treating the little crinkles and “crow’s feet” that appear at the corner of your eyes when you smile, the crease between eyebrows when you frown, and the furrows on your forehead when you raise your brows. You can usually resume your normal activities immediately after Botox and should begin to see results within two days and full results within a few weeks. Although results vary, for most patients, Botox lasts three to four months.

DERMAL FILLERS

Dermal fillers such as Juvéderm, Restylane, Sculptra, and Radiesse can give you a younger appearance this holiday season. They add volume in treated areas, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, plumping lips, addressing hollowed areas of the face, and generally making thinning, aging skin look younger. Dermal fillers use varioussubstances such as non-allergenic hyaluronic acid to plump up and add volume to the skin.

IPL THERAPY

Intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy is a skin rejuvenation process that uses pulses of light to penetrate deep into the skin and diminish sun damage, rosacea, blotchiness, anddiscoloration, and to reduce large pores and fine lines. The light prompts a response from blood vessels and collagen resulting in skin that looks younger, smoother, and more supple. IPL can also be used to remove unwanted facial hair. Bruising and other minor recovery symptoms may last two days to a week.

LASER SKIN RESURFACING Laser resurfacing is highly effective in repairing sun damage and improving the appearance of aging skin, quickly diminishing uneven pigment or discoloration, brown spots or age spots, rough skin texture, redness or rosacea, large pores, scarring, fine lines, and wrinkles, as well as brightening dull skin for a healthy holiday glow. You may see immediate results or may require a series of treatments, and your aesthetician may provide creams or ointment to use post-procedure.

Schedule a consultation with an experienced aesthetician to discuss which of these exciting options can have you ready to shine this holiday season. Discuss and compare potential downtimes of different procedures and make sure you do them early, so you have plenty of time to heal before attending holiday parties and gatherings.

If you want to take things a bit further, an experienced plastic surgeon can turn back the hands of time with these surgical solutions.

FACELIFT

A facelift is a surgery to improve signs of aging on the face and neck by lifting tissue and restoring it to a more youthful appearance, removing excess skin, smoothing folds and wrinkles, and tightening underlying facial tissue and muscle. A facelift typically focuses on the bottom two-thirds of the face and areas of the neck. It generally requires two weeks of recovery before resuming normal activities and four weeks before strenuous exercise. The best facelift is one that no one knows you had, and leaves you looking like yourself, only healthy and rested.

EYELID SURGERY

Blepharoplasty is a surgical procedure used to rejuvenate upper and/or lower eyelids and restore a more youthful appearance. As we age, fat beneath our skin can begin to protrude from behind and around our eyelids, and skin may begin to droop over the tops of our eyes. Eyelid surgery can address these issues and introduce subtle changes to make you look younger and more rested. The surgery can often be performed in-office in less than an hour, and your eyelids may be swollen and bruised for up to three weeks. The appearance of your eyelids will gradually improve over the next few months.

Always closely follow your doctor’s or aesthetician’s instructions for post-procedure care and recovery.