Skin Care Treatment

There are many different procedures that plastic surgeons can use to restore and rejuvenate the human face. Facelifts, Botox injections, brow lifts and others can all be used to create a more youthful and smooth appearance. Of this group, collagen is undisputedly one of the more popular options for enhancing facial areas.

Collagen is a natural substance produced in the human body that helps to form connective tissue. It also provides hydration and strength for the skin. Collagen is made in less quantity as we age. This reduction results in skin losing its elasticity, softness and tightness. Typical effects include sagging skin, wrinkles on flat plains of the face, as well as deep creases on the forehead and the neck. Both collagen and fat harvested from your own body can be used to plump up these areas that are sagging and creased. Collagen can also be used to plump up thin lips, a personal favorite of many celebrities as you no doubt have noticed!

Collagen is made using collagen harvested from animals, so there is a slight chance that your body may react to it. Also, collagen enhancements are not permanent. You will need to have repeat injections later on to maintain the look that you want. Besides collagen, other materials such as Alloderm and Goretex can be used to create the desired look without any cutting or major surgery. Recovery time is slight and the procedure is much less expensive than traditional surgery. No general anesthesia or operating room is involved. In fact, you can be in and out of most procedures in under an hour.

Side effects from collagen enhancements are rare, but there is always a chance they can occur. Side effects include bruising, swelling and allergic reactions. Some people also have allergic reactions to the local anesthetic used to numb the site. As the materials used are foreign to your body, you should discuss any medications you are taking and things you are allergic to with your plastic surgeon. To avoid reactions, of course, you can always choose to have the material drawn from your own body. Hips and buttocks are the most typical harvesting areas.

With collagen, there is a temptation to shop by price. Don’t do it! We are talking about modifications to your face. It is strongly suggested that you use a board certified plastic surgeon that can show you before and after pictures of his or her previous patients. This will allow you to understand the possible results and get the best care.

Need A Boost of Youthfulness? Consider A Brow Lift!

Your eyebrows frame the most important feature on your face. After all, your eyes are the window to your soul, and people connect with you through them! All eyes are beautiful, but sagging skin or abnormalities can detract from their beauty.

A brow lift is a simple procedure that can make a dramatic difference in the entire look of your face. It can be one of the easiest ways to correct the facial problems that prevent you from putting your best face forward!

What Can a Brow Lift Do For Me?

• Do you have eyelid bags, excess or sagging tissue around the brow and upper eyelid that hangs down over the lower lid, making you look tired or sad? A brow lift can lift the sagging tissue, bring your eyes out of hiding, and make your eyes appear larger and more open.
• If you have frown wrinkles between your eyes, a brow lift can eliminate them.

• If you have an eyebrow deformity, a brow lift can correct it.
• Do you wish your brows had more of an arch or a different shape? This can usually be accomplished with a brow lift.
• If you wish your brows were better positioned on your face, a brow lift can create a more symmetrical and natural look. By lifting your brows upward, you will appear fresher and more energetic.

What Happens in a Brow Lift Operation?

You are given a general anesthetic so that you are asleep for the entire operation. Five incisions are required for a brow lift, but they are so tiny that your hair need not be trimmed. Three are placed on your scalp above your forehead hidden by your hair, and the other two are made within the hair next to your temples.

The surgeon then lifts the tissue upward and repositions it based on your desired results. This procedure lifts any sagging skin and reduces wrinkles.

Scars generally heal very well and are hidden by your hair. You may even shampoo the day after the operation.

This procedure is called an endoscopic brow lift. Sometimes an endoscopic brow lift is performed along with eyelid correction surgery, which actually removes excess skin and fatty folds in the upper eyelid, creating a tiny scar in the upper eyelid that is hidden within the crease.

Alternatives to Surgery for Brow Lifts

You don’t need to go under the knife for a brow lift. In fact you can be in and out of the medi-spa’s doors in under an hour looking years younger with a skilled hand and the use of some dermal fillers. Better still you could keep the effects of your new look for a year and a half – maybe longer depending on your facial expressions and elasticity.

What Can I Expect After the Operation?

A brow lift is an outpatient procedure, so you can go home the same day. You will need someone to drive you home, however, as you might be sleepy from the anesthetic.

For two to three days following the operation, you will have some swelling, and your forehead will feel tight. Your eyelids may be bruised for about two weeks, but this can usually be covered by makeup after five to seven days. Patients generally experience less bruising with an endoscopic brow lift than with eyelid correction surgery.

You may experience a mild headache for the first couple of days after the surgery, for which you will receive a prescription.

Within two weeks of the procedure, your stitches will be removed, and you can return to work.

Your brows will probably be lifted slightly higher than you wish them to be in their final position. This is because they will drop somewhat as the tissues relax during the first few weeks after surgery. If your brows appear too high at first, you may compensate with makeup until they settle into their correct position.

Your eyebrows may not be perfectly matched even after surgery, but this is actually more natural. No one has eyebrows that are exactly alike, and the differences will be too slight to be noticeable.

A brow lift will not hinder your natural facial expressions at all. You will retain all of your normal eyebrow and facial movement abilities.

What Are the Risks of a Brow Lift?

While there is risk with any surgery, the risks of brow lift surgery are extremely small. You will be given written material to read, and all potential risks will be discussed with you prior to your decision to have a brow lift.

You and the doctor will evaluate and discuss the best brow position for you in order to achieve your desired results. Dr. Arthur Millman will strive to give you a natural look while correcting the problems that concern you, view before and after photos online at http://www.drmillman.net.

What is the Recovery Schedule?

* Headache and forehead tightening is usually gone within 2-3 days.
* Bruising and swelling is usually gone within 5-10 days.
* Stitches are removed, and you may return to work or other social activities within 7-14 days.
* Brows will relax into their final position, and you may resume exercise or athletic activities within 14-21 days.

In coming posts I will provide an alternative – and I swear you’ll love the option! – to Botox. Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a thing against Botox, but advancements in technology have made it less appealing as an anti-aging option.

Botox was once the darling”of the celebrity crowd has moved front and center into the business world where daring men and women go to great lengths to disguise frown lines, age lines and anything resembling Mother Nature’s wicked march across their faces.

Why?

They know their jobs require them to look fresh and healthy; old, deeply lined, tired, faces are becoming passé because ideas coming from someone wearing an out of shape, soft, sagging face can equate to old, stale ideas in the business arena. Botox, once used primarily by women is now used by more and more men as they, too, realize the importance of maintaining a more youthful appearance. Their jobs may just depend on it.

Some say Botox is a wonder drug that smoothes wrinkles and indeed it does; however there are a few drawbacks that are a concern. According to a London based newspaper (The Independant), people who have used or considered Botox are worried about possible side-effects. These may include developing fresh wrinkles as they change expressions to compensate for the paralysis in parts of their faces.”

Develop fresh wrinkles?

Dr. David Becker, professor of dermatology at Cornell Medical College, issued a caution linking Botox injections to development of new wrinkles when users recreate facial expressions. The paralyzed muscles cannot respond so nearby muscles are automatically summoned. The result? New wrinkles.

Botox has been used since the early 1990s to treat lines and wrinkles associated with the motion of underlying facial muscles. Expressions such as excessive brow movements can cause horizontal lines, eye squints produce crows feet and subtle sagging of the facial muscles can make skin drape unnaturally.

Botox cannot stop the sagging muscles. In fact Dr. Michelle Copeland, a plastic surgeon in NY said, because Botox wears off more frequent injections are required to maintain its effects or the patient’s face will return to its wrinkly state. Now this statement cased a lot of controversy and I’m not a believer – in fact what I have seen and heard is just the opposite – that fewer injections in smaller quantities are required over time. You’ll have to ask your doctor about the specifics of your skin’s elasticity, your age, and the point of injection for Botox treatments.

Is this true or just one doctor’s manner to stir up controversy?

1. Botox can result in the development of fine lines and wrinkles in other areas of the face.

2. Botox requires more painful injections to maintain results.
3. Botox is costly; treatments range from $200-$600.
4. Botox can result in undesirable side effects including allergic reactions, difficulty breathing, unusual muscle weakness, chest pain, headaches and dizziness.

What if you could avoid needles and scalpels and look younger? What if you could be in charge of the aging process and look healthier? What if you could manipulate and retrain your facial muscles to look and act younger without resorting to expensive, barbaric measures that are risky and dangerous?

Well, you can!

This is what I want to discuss with you next, so stay tuned to this website. As you’re about to see, less expensive and intrusive with longer lasting results is what has hit the rejuevenation clinics lately and I’ve seen results first hand.