Act Your Age, but Don’t Look Your Age
Women are always reminded by the media and manipulative marketing campaigns to fear the inevitable: Aging. Everywhere we look, there is promise in some new product, food, or activity for its anti-aging benefits. And who doesn’t want to look young? But for many, a conscious diet and meticulous skincare regimen are not enough. Here are some popular new age, non-invasive anti-aging alternatives to defy time.
The following alternatives are outpatient, non-surgical procedures that offer the lifted, toned, and tightened effect without going under the knife.
- LED
Light-emitting diode (LED) therapy is a non-invasive procedure that uses a variety of different coloured lights to targets different parts of the face, treating acne, fine lines and wrinkles, pigmentation, acne scarring, and rosacea. It also targets redness and inflammation. This procedure, however, must be repeated some 24 times before significant results are seen.
Intense Pulsed Light therapy is a similar facial treatment that works well for brown pigmentation, red vessels, and sun damage. The procedure involves a broadband light device that delivers a spectrum of wavelengths. Its effects are seen more noticeably than that of LED therapy– after about six sessions.
- Botox
Botox has evolved into the coined term we use to call out any newly wrinkle-free face we see. Botox is so common in the showbiz world; it is hard to find one person who doesn’t do it. Botox injections use neurotoxins to paralyze muscle activity temporarily. Botox ultimately diminishes the appearance of wrinkles and takes about 24-72 hours to take effect.
- Thermage
Thermage is a radiofrequency cosmetic treatment that helps to improve and smoothen skin by tightening existing collagen and encouraging the production of new collagen. It is used to treat fine lines and wrinkles as well as cellulite and dimpled skin. It also lifts the cheeks, brows, and jawline.
- Ultherapy
This non-invasive treatment uses ultrasound to heat targeted tissue below the surface of the skin, which triggers the natural production of collagen. Ultimately, Ultherapy counteracts the effects of gravity and time on the skin.
- Filler
Unlike Botox, which relaxes the muscles under a wrinkle, injectable dermal fillers fill the line, crease, or general area for a smoother and tighter look. Fillers can also be used as “volumizers”, lifting and plumping the jawline, cheeks, and temple.
The most popular among dermal fillers is hyaluronic acid, which stimulates the body’s own natural production of collagen.
- Laser Skin Resurfacing
Laser skin resurfacing works to give you younger-looking, clearer facial skin by sloughing off flawed skin, layer by layer, with precision. This means you can reduce the appearance of blotches, scars, wrinkles, or acne scars. A full treatment for the face takes up to 2 hours. After about a week, your skin will start to dry and peel, and it will take another 5-10 days for the skin to heal fully.
- Thread Lift
Thread Lifts are the new “it” non-invasive facelift option. The facelift treatment can be performed under 2 hours and involves a licensed aesthetic doctor inserting thin threads into the face through tiny cuts made in the targeted area. The threads attach to the skin tissues and then are pulled back to lift and smoothen the face. The ends of the threads are concealed, and the results of the lift are seen almost instantly. The effects last about a year and a half, at which point the threads biodegrade and are absorbed by the body.
- Coolsculpt
As we age, our metabolism slows down, and makes it easier for us to gain unwanted weight. While liposuction was once the go-to remedy for quick weight loss, modern advancements paved the way for non-invasive procedures, like Coolsculpt, to get rid of unwanted body fat.
CoolSculpting utilizes very cold temperatures to freeze fat cells without having to use any anesthesia or needles and without having to make incisions. In fact, the entire treatment is done on the surface of your skin. While CoolSculpting will not destroy all of your fat cells in a single area, it can destroy up to 30 per cent of the fat cells in a single treatment. With two treatments, you may even be able to destroy up to 50 per cent of an area’s fat cells. This makes CoolSculpting an efficient way to tone and slim your body, revealing muscles long hidden beneath layers of fat.
