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New Jersey Spa – Frugal Face Lifts

Injections, peels, and laser resurfacing gain popularity

Plastic surgery.

Just say the words and you think of Joan Rivers’ freakish mug or the Hollywood divas with “trout pouts,” those scary swollen kissers.

You’d never do it. Not a chance.

But you notice that the eye cream isn’t hiding the crow’s feet anymore. Those lines that run from your nose to your mouth seem more pronounced, even after a good night’s sleep. Those creases in your forehead, the ones you tried to hide behind the bangs, are morphing into Goodyear radials.

Psssst. There are options. And you don’t have to have surgery. Or spend thousands.

For $750 or less for most procedures, plastic surgeons can erase or shrink these common trouble spots.

Think of it as the frugal woman’s nip and tuck.

And think well beyond Botox ® Cosmetic.

With a quick injection of Restylane, for example, tired folds along the cheeks and nose plump out, leaving a more youthful look. Lines around the mouth soften markedly in just minutes. It costs from $500 to $750.

An array of similar wrinkle fillers, laser treatments and chemical peels are helping women – and some men – repair aged skin. In some cases, all it takes is a quick injection in a physician’s office to erase the years, a definite plus if you are:

1. The family chauffeur/chef/laundress/homework czar and can’t disappear for a week.
2. Afraid nosy girlfriends/mother-in-law won’t buy your story about a solo vacation.
3. Freaked out about looking older than peers at a pending reunion/wedding/bar mitzvah.

“A lot of strides have been made in non-surgical options in the past few years,” said Dr. Paul Parker, a Paramus plastic surgeon. He owns the Parker Center, a temple of anti-aging therapy with a spa, fitness center, and surgical suite.

Procedures on the Rise

Parker has witnessed the shift in his business away from the dramatic retooling for middle-aged women toward more subtle fixes for increasingly younger patients.

Across the nation, more than 7.5 million procedures including Botox ® Cosmetic injections, chemical peels and laser skin resurfacing were preformed last year – a six-fold increase in non-surgical procedures since 1997, according to the American Society for aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

The benefits of these newer treatments aren’t just in the price and the minimal recovery time. Physicians say that some of these techniques actually expand collagen deep in the skin to increase fullness and elasticity.

Wrinkle fillers such as Restylane, Hydraform and other hyaluronic acid treatments are hot tools in the anti-aging arsenal. Just last year, the industry reported a 35 percent increase from 2004 in the number of these facial injections.

The treatment lasts for about nine months – twice as long as collagen. Doctors say it also produces far fewer allergic reactions than collagen, which is made from cow protein. They work best for lines around the mouth and cheeks.

Just how good is this stuff?

“You can see the lines disappear, then it just keeps getting better and better,” said a 45-year-old Morris County mother of three who has undergone two injections of Restylane over the last 18 months at Baxt Cosmedical in Paramus.

“It just filled out the lines like a miracle,” she said. “The laugh lines were so bad on my face they made me look 10 years older than I was.”

“It’s one of the most enjoyable procedures to do,” said Dr. Barry DiBernardo, a plastic surgeon with offices in Montclair and Paramus.

“I sit them down, hand them a mirror, and say, ‘Remember what this looks like.’ They look again after the injection and it’s like ‘Whoa,’” said DiBernardo, immediate past president of the New Jersey chapter of the American Society for aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

DiBernardo and other surgeons are also having luck with sculpting products such as Radiesse, which are calcium based and more expensive – at $1,000 and up per treatment. But since the effects last longer than Restylane, some patients see them as the better buy among the injections. For especially pronounced lines around the nasal-labial folds, the lines from the cheeks to the mouth, Radiesse is the more effective filler, DiBernardo said.

Even though these are non-surgical procedures, they do have some risks, DiBernardo warns.

A physician who doesn’t have experience operating on eye tissue, for example, may not be the best choice for injection tissue filler around the eye to eliminate wrinkles. Or in the case of administering Botox ® Cosmetic, DiBernardo says, “This is something that will shut down the muscles to create an aesthetic result. You want someone who has the medical and anatomic knowledge of where those muscles are to ensure the proper result,” he said.

Smoothing the lines

Patients should carefully choose a board-certified plastic surgeon or dermatologist, he says.

For many patients seeking immediate improvement without surgery, Botox ® Cosmetic is still the savior of choice. With 3.3 million procedures performed in 2005, it’s the most popular form of plastic treatment.

For $350 to $600 and a 10-minute visit with a plastic surgeon, you can erase forehead creases or scowling lines between brows with this muscle relaxant. But be patient. It takes up to a week to see change and up to a month for full results. And you need to have the procedure three or four times a year to keep your secret safe.

Imperfections in pigmentation and lines caused by sun damage and aging can be minimized or erased through chemical peels and laser treatments, which change the texture of the skin. Think youthful and dewy.

The trend in skin resurfacing started after physicians observed how patients who suffered from acne and underwent peels and laser treatment seemed to age with fewer wrinkles than those who didn’t have the treatment, said Sada Baxt, a plastic surgeons, and their physician daughter at Baxt Cosmedical.

“It not only worked to control clogged pores but to control the quality of the skin and encourage collagen buildup to make the face look better,” she said. “We all wised up and started using it.”

Laser resurfacing is increasingly popular, especially after Oprah touted one treatment on her show, Thermage, which uses radio waves to heat and expand collagen beneath the skin’s surface.

However, laser resurfacing is also among the most expensive non-surgical procedures, ranging from $500 to $2,500. While plastic surgeons say it can yield excellent results, patients are also at greater risk of severe burns and injury.

Peels vary in intensity

The lightest peel or “lunch peel” removes dead skin cells with glycolic or beta hydroxy acid and allows you to head right back to work. You need several treatments – one every month to match the skin cell turnover rate of the skin – before fine lines look better, Baxt said. At $70 to $180, they’re the most affordable option among peels.

Deeper peels offer more dramatic results, but are more expensive and painful and can require recovery time of a few days or longer, depending upon the depth of the peel.

Parker often recommends a common tricholoracetic acid, or TCA peel. A product he himself uses, the Obagi Blue Peel, removes thin surface layers of aged and damaged skin. They’re replaced by healthier cells, which lead to tighter skin, he said. Because the peel relies on slow-acting acid, it enables physicians to control the peel process and depth. This helps plastic surgeons tailor the treatment to the problem that needs correcting: wrinkles, scars, or other issues.

Patients pay between $400 and $800, depending on the layer, and must undergo a two-month daily regimen of skin products to prepare the skin. Parker said he also stresses fitness, healthy diet and a holistic approach to aging that isn’t just about zapping wrinkles.

“Baby boomers are changing the meaning of aging,” said Parker. “What you really need to do is adopt a healthy lifestyle. You’ll feel better.”

Fewer wrinkles help, too.

Non-surgical options

People who want to look younger but don’t need or want a face-lift have an array of non-surgical options. At $750 or less per treatment, they are affordable alternatives to the scalpel.

Botox ® Cosmetic Injections

Cost: $300 to $575 per injection.
Pro: Great for scowl lines between eyebrows, forehead creases and wrinkles around the eyes.
Con: Typically lasts for three months. Results take up to a week.
What to expect: This 10-minute treatment can feel like a bee sting. It relaxes muscles to remove or lessen the impact of creases and wrinkles.
Side effects: Skin rash, allergic reaction, localized pain, inflammation and tenderness and/or bruising at the injection site. Drooping may also occur but corrects within a few days.

Light Chemical Peels (glycolic or beta hydroxy acids)

Cost: $70 to $180
Pro: Fine lines will look better. Freckling will improve.
Con: It takes multiple treatments, typically one every month to six weeks, to see improvement.
What to expect: This procedure uses acids that keep the integrity of the skin intact. You can return to work after the half-hour procedure. Makeup will cover any redness.
Side effects: The two major side effects of alpha hydroxy acids are irritation and sun sensitivity, with symptoms that include redness, burning, itching, pain, and possibly scarring. However, these problems normally subside within a few hours to a few days, depending on the individual’s skin condition and healing process. Beta hydroxy acids have fewer side effects.

Medium Chemical Peels (Tricholoracetic acid or TCA)

Cost: $400 to $800
Pro: By using slow-acting TCA, instead of glycolic acid, the treatment allows physicians to control the depth of the peel.
Con: It takes two months to prep the skin for this procedure. You’ll miss a few days of work after treatment.
What to expect: In most cases, the procedure takes 25 to 30 minutes. You’ll experience a mild burning sensation that lasts two to three minutes at each level. A bluish tint may remain on your skin and usually washes off in 12 to 24 hours. Skin will peel within two to three days and should be healed in an average of 7 to 10 days. You’re also sun sensitive for weeks after a peel, so avoid direct sunlight.

Soft Tissue Filler (Restylane, Cosmaderm)

Cost: $500 to $750
Pro: Immediate results in lessening wrinkles and creases, especially nose-to-mouth lines, lip wrinkles, and crow’s feet.
Con: lasts three to nine months, not as long as pricier calcium-based fillers.
What to expect: Treatment typically lasts 15 to 30 minutes.
Side effects: A small number of patients have bruising, redness, and pain at the sit of the injection.

Laser Resurfacing

Cost: $600 to $2,500
Pro: Fine lines and freckling are corrected. Collagen expands beneath skin surface.
Con: Sedation may be required. Recovery can take up to two weeks.
What to expect: Lasers destroy damaged skin cells to create an overall smoother complexion. Fine lines are reduced. Treatment can take a few minutes to an hour. Expect to return to work within two weeks.
Side Effects: Burning, other skin injuries, scarring.

You may call the Beaura Spa directly at 201-967-1756.

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