Skin Care Tips, Notes & More

Does looking young mean going under the knife or subjecting yourself to injections of toxins into your face? While it's not as simple as buying the latest and greatest anti wrinkle cream, there are some basic ways to look and feel younger without resorting to invasive procedures.

Hollywood celebrities are notorious for turning to plastic surgery or expensive cosmetic procedures to look younger, but they wouldn't need to if they practiced better health habits in most cases. Unfortunately, if money is not an issue there's not always an incentive to look for other anti aging treatment alternatives.

Can Healthy Habits Result In Younger Looking Skin?

Why does practicing good health result in a more youthful appearance? There are many reasons but generally speaking, your skin is a reflection of what's going on inside your body. If you suffer from poor health for any reason, it almost always shows up on your skin. Even temporary problems such as lack of sleep or stress make your skin look tired and aged.

While it takes some work and dedication, establishing and following a set of positive habits is the best investment you can make in your appearance. Of course, your overall health will benefit as well.

Looking Your Best Without Dozens Of Creams

Effective skin care products are important to your appearance too. In fact, if you choose them wisely, you can look years younger and never undergo cosmetic surgery of any kind. You just need to have a good regimen based on an effective product and be consistent with using it.

Facial cleansing is important for everyone. You should wash your face each morning and every night before bed without fail. Use a cleanser designed for your skin type and avoid harsh soaps or detergents. Cleansers intended specifically for the face should be used.

For younger skin, a light sunscreen and moisturizer is likely the only other treatment necessary. Oily skin types may need specialized formulas depending on their tendency to develop acne. However, once you've reached your thirties, anti aging skin care should be your primary concern. And you'll find, if you haven't already, there are hundreds of products and formulas designed to tackle a number of aging skin concerns.

If you'd like to avoid using multiple skin care products and save a lot of money too, you may want to consider a unique skin treatment known as LifeCell. Developed by South Beach Skincare in Florida, this cream is an all-in-one anti-aging skin treatment designed to address every sign of aging. In fact, other products just don't measure up. With just one amazing cream you can take care of fine lines, wrinkles, crow's feet, sagging skin, age spots, thinning lips and more. It's both a time and money saver!

For most skin care, Dallas residents prefer non-invasive, non-surgical treatments that are significantly more effective than over-the-counter or spa methods. The most popular skin care procedures in Dallas - even more than traditional plastic surgery - are Botox injections, laser skin rejuvenation, chemical facial peels and in-office microdermabrasion.

If you're a Dallas resident and looking for more information on these five popular skin care treatments, read on for an overview of each procedure. You'll also find tips on identifying a qualified skin care professional.

Chemical Peel Procedures

In the state of Texas, a chemical peel may only be done by a dermatologist, registered nurse or specially certified esthetician operating under the guidance of a dermatologist.

Though a typical chemical peel treatment is brief, the procedure involves peeling away extremely thin layers of skin. Because of this, the treatment can be somewhat painful and clients are often prescribed a mild pain killer as part of their after-care.

Once your chemical peel is complete and you're cleared to leave your doctor's office, you're advised to stay away from the sun or possible skin irritants. Patients should pack a sun hat and SPF sunscreen formulated for sensitive skin.

Skin Rejuvenation with Laser Light Technology

When it comes to laser skin care, Dallas is leading the way with a large number of state-of-the-art laser skin resurfacing and laser skin care facilities. The procedure can cause minor scabbing, but final results - which include reversal of sun damage and diminished fine lines - can typically be seen within 10 days at the most.

The cost of laser light skin resurfacing can vary wildly depending on the size of the area to be covered, the nature of the treatment and the extent of your treatment plan. However, the average cost for a single laser skin resurfacing treatment is roughly just over $2400.

Microdermabrasion Procedure

Microdermabrasion serves two purposes - it reverses existing sun damage, fine lines and skin discoloration, while also encouraging rejuvenated and more rapid new skin cell growth. The result? Younger, fresher-looking skin.

While a dermatologist can perform microdermabrasion, this procedure is usually taken care of by a licensed esthetician or registered nurse working under the guidance and supervision of a dermatologist.

Botox Injections

Essentially, Botox is a toxic poison that actually paralyzes muscles in the face, taking away their ability to contract and permit facial expressions. However, these facial expressions not only emphasize existing wrinkles, but also create them. Therefore, Botox both prevents and treats wrinkles.

Most patients see an 80 percent reduction in the appearance of their wrinkles, but the results typically only last from between 3 and 5 months.

Finding a Dermatology Practice or Skin Care Professional

For skin care, Dallas offers some of the country's best working professionals. To locate a quality practitioner, try either the Texas Dermatological Society (texasdermatology.org) or the Associated Skin Care Professionals (ascpskincare.com).

When it comes to plastic surgery procedures in Colorado, Botox is by far the most popular. Thanks to its low cost, non-invasiveness and rapid recovery time, the drug has quickly become a mainstay at most Colorado dermatologist and plastic surgeon offices and is a great alternative to a facelift.

Botox, also known as Botulinum Toxin Type A, was first used by ophthalmologists to treat muscles around the eye, but was then approved by the FDA in 2005 as an effective anti-wrinkle treatment.

To learn more about Botox and the injection procedure in Colorado, keep reading.

How Botox Really Works

Basically, every time you move or contract your facial muscles, the muscles release a chemical called acetylcholine that allows them to make that contraction. Unfortunately, those contractions are also the cause of most wrinkles.

Botox stops your muscles from producing and releasing acetylcholine, essentially paralyzing the treated area, preventing the contractions that deepen the appearance of existing wrinkles and preventing the formation of new ones.

Botox Has Been Proven Effective

In monitored clinical studies, most patients saw an 80 percent reduction in the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. However, Botox is not permanent, and Colorado Botox patients typically needed refresher injections once every 3 to 5 months to maintain their results.

Step-By-Step Botox Injections

The typical first appointment for a Colorado Botox patient is simply an introduction and informational discussion with their practitioner or doctor. In this first appointment, they'll talk about risks, results, costs and what to expect.

The second appointment for a Colorado Botox appointment is the actual treatment. It starts with your doctor finding and marking every injection point and then disinfecting the treatment area. Next, your plastic surgeon or dermatologist will measure out the required amount of Botox.

The Botox is then injected into the skin. Most of the time, there is no anesthesia used. However some doctors apply a moderate numbing cream to reduce discomfort for patients undergoing an extensive treatment. The Botox will then attach itself to the muscles, at which point full results become visible within 7 to 10 days.

The average Colorado Botox treatment lasts between 5 to 10 minutes, not including preparation time.

After Your Botox Treatment

After your Botox injections, you can go right back to work or your regular, everyday activities. Most doctors ask that you avoid laying down and try to stay out of the sun.

Finding a Practitioner

To locate a doctor who administers Botox, try the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' website at plasticsurgery.org. Their website offers a searchable database, allowing you to limit your search to Colorado Botox suppliers and certified doctors.

Aging is inevitable, but there are steps you can take to slow the aging process that are more natural than the use of anti-wrinkle creams, Botox, or even plastic surgery.

For five simple changes you can make to keep yourself young, keep reading.

1. Drink Lots of Water

Water helps keep our bodies hydrated, functioning and clean. It flushes out toxins, increases circulation, improves digestion, revitalizes cell growth and helps us maintain a healthy weight.

Just as our skin needs moisture to stay fresh, our bodies need water to stay young, strong and operating at prime capacity. Ideally, you should be drinking 8 glasses of water a day.

2. Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is a body's time to rejuvenate and repair itself. You know that after a night with little sleep, you have circles under your eyes, your skin looks shallow, you don't feel well and your eyes are bloodshot. Anything that can age you so quickly in a few hours can't be good in the long-term.

So, getting enough sleep every night is one of your best weapons against the aging process. Shoot for at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night and avoid drinking caffeine less than 5 hours before bedtime.

3. Eat a Well Balanced Diet

Eating a healthy diet can keep your digestive system working properly and your body well-fueled to fight off disease and aging-causing free radicals. Stock up on foods like pomegranates, blueberries, dark green vegetables, beans and legumes.

Also, foods that are high in Vitamins A and C, like citrus fruits, are great for your skin and can help boost the production of collagen, the fiber that keeps your skin smooth and soft.

4. Cut Down On Stress

Stress is a major factor in the aging process and can lead to prematurely grey hair, a depleted immune system, facial expression wrinkles and even poor skin tone. So to slow down aging, reduce your stress level by cutting back o your work hours, avoiding rush hour traffic, limiting your responsibilities, delegating tasks and taking at least ten minutes out of every day for meditation and reflection.

5. Stay on Top of Mental Exercise

Slowing down the aging process isn't just about fighting wrinkles, but it's also about maintaining a young and healthy mind.

Research has shown that individuals who did daily puzzles and mental exercises were 30 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease later in life. So, stay young with a daily book or crossword puzzle.

Aging itself is inevitable. But the appearance and effects of aging can be reduced with proper care of your body and skin.