4 Quick ways to refresh your face without Surgery

"Wisdom comes with age" Unfortunately, so do wrinkles! Life's experiences become the laugh lines around your eyes and mouth, and wrinkles around your forehead. In the 21st century people are living longer and are healthier, but they want their skin to look younger as well. Although we cannot turn back the clock and make them younger, we can surely make them look vibrant and vivacious. There used to be very few options for turning back the clock without going under the knife. But today, you can soften the signs of aging with a wide range of non-surgical procedures for the face

1.       Botox:

If forehead creases, Crow's feet, frown lines are bringing you down; Botox injections can provide a temporary fix. Botox is a purified protein which relaxes wrinkle causing muscles and gives you a fresher, youthful & rejuvenated look. The injections take only a few minutes and cause minimal discomfort. Botox injections usually take three to seven days to reach their full effect. The result is a smoother skin in the treated area. As the muscles slowly regain the ability to contract, lines and wrinkles reappear. To maintain the desired effect, injections must be repeated every four to six months.

2.       Chemical Peels:

 Chemical peels use an acid solution to exfoliate the outer layers of skin. The solution often contains a combination of glycolic acid, lactic acid, salicylic acid, or trichloroacetic acid (T CA). Over the next few days, the upper layers of skin will peel, revealing newer, younger and smoother looking skin.

3.       Hydraderm abrasion:

 It is a pain free procedure that gently sloughs dead skin cells ,removes skin impurities & simultaneously hydrates new cells with a nourishing fluid as they are exposed.

4.       Skin Lightening:

Radio frequency energy uses heat to tighten saggy, crepe-like skin by stimulating collagen  production.

It's the Time to Glow

Diwali! Firecrackers! Weddings! Sweets! Christmas Parties! For the next few months until we move into the new year, your skin has to look just right when meeting new people and old friends. The weeks are full of late nights, less sleep, daily make up, clogged pores, wrong food and to top it all, alcohol and sweets.

While in the long term, the best fix is to address our lifestyle choices, we are faced with reality in the short term. Of course, some of us are just born with great skin that doesn’t tarnish even under the harshest of conditions, but for the rest of us mortals, here are a few quick skin treatments for the short term:

Make-up, Make-up!

 Constant use of make-up for 4-5 nights continuously can cause your skin pores to get clogged, and may lead to breakouts.

-          Make it a routine to cleanse thoroughly at night – even though you’re tempted to drop dead.

-          Cleansing wipes, or cotton ball soaked in cleansing lotion, or Bioderma’s H2O are good alternatives.

-          At night, apply topical antioxidants like Vitamin C. If you’re Acne prone, then Vitamin A

-          Your morning routine should include cleansing with moisturizers with Hyaluronic Acid or Matrixyl

Late Nights:

With all the lack of sleep, we’re giving lesser time for our skin to recover and rejuvenate. During a proper eight hour sleep, our body releases growth hormones which rejuvenate the skin. (Hence called ‘Beauty Sleep’) Hydra facials have shown excellent results in rejuvenation. Such treatments during busy times can help facilitate our return to good skin.

Alcohol and Wine:

Those spirits are known to dehydrate the skin and while it is best if you can avoid them, social situations might require us to consume a glass or two. If that is the case, use these tricks to reduce their impact on your skin:

-          Drink on a full stomach. That way absorption of alcohol decreases.

-          Drink plenty of water so that your skin is constantly rehydrated. The first step to a smooth natural looking skin is good hydration.

-          Alcohol causes flushing of the skin the next morning – so apply a clay mash at home. This will help calm and soothe the irritated skin

Unhealthy Food:

Another hazard of today’s socializing – we are often forced to expose ourselves to sugars, caffeine and refined foods. These types of foods trigger inflammatory reactions in the body leading to increased insulin production. This further ripples out into hormonal imbalances and leads to acne breakouts, wrinkles and dry skin.

Follow the three tier program to address an incorrect diet:

-          Firstly, stay aware of what you eat, and fill your stomach with healthy salads

-          Use anti-oxidant supplements to help cleanse the body

-          Topical agents that help fight inflammation.

In addition, a visit to your regular Dermatologist’s clinic is always a good idea. Treatments like those mentioned below can go a long way in protecting your skin from the festive assaults. Remember that it is imperative that they are administered by a trained doctor.

Preventive Fixes:

 -          Exfoliation

-          Vitamin Mesotherapy with Dermarollers or injections: Give the glow before important dates. When a Dermaroller is passed onto the skin, it creates microchannels whereby the ingredients enter the skin directly. These nutrients can also be injected directly intradermally by an expert Dermatologist.

-          Fillers

-          Botox

During the Festive Season:

 -          Chemical Peels: Using alpha hydroxyl acits like Lactic Acid or Glycolic Acid, which at low concentrations are great moisturizers

-          Mesotherapy with Dermarollers: This involves applying Vitamins and Hyaluronic acid, directly on the skin. 

 Joyous Holidays! :)

~ ~ ~

Skin Specials: A Cooking Series with Sanjeev Kapoor

A few weeks ago, a dear friend and renowned chef - Sanjeev Kapoor suggested that we do a series dedicated to 'Skin'. Here's are some videos from our experimental attempt at sharing cooking techniques for a better complexion :)

Dedicated to Women

A woman dons many hats in her lifetime - a career woman, boss, mother, wife, daughter in law, daughter, and above all a home maker! All very successfully rolled into one!

But the stress and strain of such a multi-faceted lifestyle sometimes plays havoc with her health, skin and hair – sagging skin, lines & wrinkles, hair loss, thinning lips, cellulite, stretch marks, under-eye dark circles, wrinkly veiny hands - all of which leads to a search for solutions.

The most common queries raised by women are:

 How Do I Get Rid of Cellulite?

Cellulite is compacted pockets of fat that can create dimpled skin on the buttocks, hips, and thighs. Any amount of dieting or exercise does not reduce it. Cellulite creams with caffeine may offer short- term questionable improvements. Some cosmetic procedures like the Triactive laser, mesotherapy injections offer promising results in decreasing cellulite.

 Can Stretch Marks be reduced?

The skin gets stretched by pregnancy, weight gain, or extreme muscle bulking. Collagen and elastin fibres in the dermis tear and cause the scarring. Fresh stretch marks are usually red or purple, which fade with time to a glossy white. They generally occur on the belly, thighs, hips, breasts, or lower back. The marks can be reduced with chemical peels, laser and creams containing retinoids.

 Why Do My Nails Split and Fray?

If your hands are often exposed to water or strong soap, your nails may tend to split, peel, or become brittle. Using a moisturizer and protecting your hands from water may help. Biotin supplements are also good for nail health.

 Why Do I Sweat So Much?

The purpose of sweat is to cool your body. If you tend to sweat when that's not necessary – for example, while sitting calmly in a cool room -- you may have hyperhidrosis. This condition causes annoying but harmless excessive sweating under the arms and on the palms and soles of the feet. Injections of Botulinum toxin in the palms and underarms is a safe and an excellent treatment for embarrassing problems of excessive sweating.

 Why Am I losing My Hair?

The most common causes of hair fall are anaemia, thyroid problems, post-pregnancy, certain medications, hormonal imbalances and nutritional deficiencies. Severe hair loss may be treated with topical solutions to stimulate hair growth along with vitamin and nutritional supplements.

Antiandrogens can also be used in women if a hormonal cause is identified.

How Can I Regain My Youthful Looking Hands So I Can Wear My Rings Again?

With advancing age, fat gets depleted from certain specific areas of the body like cheeks and hands, which leads to sunken cheeks, crepy, veiny , and old looking hands. Moisturise your hands with shea butter or petroleum jelly at least twice daily. Injectable Fillers containing hyaluronic acid or calcium hydroxyapatite are excellent for volumising aging hands.

How Can I Tighten Up My Double Chin and Sagging Jawline?

Machines using Radiofrequency energy generate heat in the dermis to stimulate collagen production, which helps tighten the sagging skin.

How Do I Make My Thinned Lips Plumper?

The temporary lip plumpers containing cinnamon or wintergreen, which when applied externally to the lips cause an irritation of the skin which then causes a swelling, thereby temporary plumping the lips. Injectable fillers containing hyaluronic acid are an excellent option to plump up lips and define the lip margins for a more sensuous “look”.

These are some suggestions for the time being. Based on individual cases, solutions can differ. But remember that the only long term solution is to allow the inner beauty to surface.