High-tech anti-aging

(Published in The Observer on Sunday, 11 March, 2012)

http://www.compasscayman.com/observer/2012/03/11/High-tech-anti-aging/

Gone are the days of simple soap, water and a dab of creamy moisturiser. Today’s it’s all about high-tech anti-aging technologies to help halt the march of time. The quest for eternal youth is nothing new and skin care specialist are constantly coming up with new treatment options that promise to roll back the years.

Here we take a look at some of the latest, as well as tried and tested anti-aging treatments, which don’t require you to go under the knife.

The liquid face-lift

For most, the prospect of going under the knife for a full face-lift is daunting, not to mention expensive too. This non-surgical face lift uses a combination of tried and tested methods to restore youth and vitality. The liquid face-lift can help roll back the years – and can even be done in a lunch hour too. Using a combination of Sculptra, Botox and fillers, such as Juverderm, this office-based procedure can eliminate forehead wrinkles, frown lines between the eyebrows and around the mouth, crow’s feet, dark circles under the eyes and folds and creases around the mouth. Current facial fillers can be used to enhance the lips, cheeks and jaw line. The results of the liquid face lift can last from months to years and is often referred to as the lunchtime lift.

Fat transfer

Many women find their faces sink and lose volume with age. This innovative procedure helps restore fullness to the face and is the perfect solution for those that would rather not use chemicals. Fat is removed from areas such as the thighs and is then injected into specific areas of your face to emphasize bone structure and reduce the appearance of sinking skin. Using the body’s own cells as filler has a number of advantages. Firstly, there is virtually no risk of allergic reaction or rejection. In addition, as the fat is living tissue the body does not reabsorb it, and so the results last longer than most other fillers provided – typically three to five years. When injected into the face there is often a secondary improvement in the quality of the skin due to a release of hormones from the donor fat and the creation of new blood vessels to supply the area.

MyCells – Autologous Platelet Rich Plasma Treatment

This technique is slightly vampirish in its method, as it uses a purified and concentrated portion of your own blood to rejuvenate your facial skin and tissues underneath. This effective part of the blood is known as Platelet Rich Plasma and is capable of naturally accelerating normal healing pathways since it is full of growth factors and cells responsible for healing and repair. Prior to treatment, the doctor will draw a small amount of blood. The concentrated blood form is then re-injected into areas of the face where there is fat loss or wrinkles where it accelerates the normal healing process by stimulating collagen formation and repair. This process brings long lasting tissue rejuvenation without side effects and can help to permanently reduce wrinkle pouches and improve skin tone. MyCells provides a gradual increase in skin thickness and vitality and results usually become apparent with 15 days of treatment, with results lasting up to two years.

Laser

Laser heats tissues to a deep level without penetrating the skin. This transfer of heat stimulates the body’s repair mechanism and increases the body’s natural production of collagen resulting in a skin tightening and lifting effect over time. A laser face lift can be done on the forehead, brow, eyes, mid and lower face and the neck to reduce wrinkles and lines. A completely non-invasive treatment, the procedure is usually done in a single session and recovery is fast and pain free. Results can be seen immediately and continue for up to six months.

The downright weird

Amongst all the anti aging treatments out there, every now and then a truly bizarre one comes to light. The new Face Slimmer anti-aging mouthpiece is one of them. Launched late 2011 in Japan, the Face Slimmer is a weird-looking rubbery thing that looks like a giant pair of lips. It supposedly helps lift sagging skin and eliminates wrinkles. Unlike most other Japanese inventions, the Face Slimmer isn’t high-tech. In fact it’s as low tech as they come, all you have to do is put it in your mouth and start exercising your face.