Skin Care Tips, Notes & More

Imagine waking up one morning and not seeing yourself in the reflection in the mirror. Instead you see an older woman who resembles you, lines wrinkles and crows feet have stolen your youth. You decide it is time to take it back.

There are so many anti wrinkle treatments out there today, how do you know which one to choose? First you need to be honest with yourself about the severity of your wrinkles and the results you expect to see at the end of your treatment. You also need to look at your budget and decide how far you are willing to go to recapture your youth.

Skin Resurfacing

This is a process in which a minor surgical procedure such as dermabrasion, chemical peel or laser is preformed on the skin to reduce the appearance of wrinkles. With this method wrinkles become less visible because the skins level is actually lowered closer to the level of the wrinkle, resulting in the shadow effect wrinkles cause to be less visible. (The shadow effect is due to the fact that a wrinkle is an area of skin that has sunk lower than the overall skin level. This causes the wrinkles to be more visible since light creates a shadow to form in the lowered area exposing the flaw.) These procedures can be painful and do require some recuperation time. tenderness adn redenning may appear afterwards, but this should heal quickly. Other side effects may include; scarring, acne, infection, irregular pigmentation and hypopigmentation. Skin resurfacing is not an anti wrinkle miracle and is most effective on fine lines and acne scars. These treatments costs vary, but are always expensive.

Collagen Injections

These types of procedures are designed to raise the wrinkles closer to the surrounding skins area; this is another way to lessen the "shadow effect". To accomplish this a filler is injected directly into each individual wrinkle. The only pain occurs at the point of the injection just as it would with any type of needle in the skin. There is no down time with these types of anti wrinkle treatments and you can immediately go about your normal skin care routine. There are a few options with injections. You can choose to use bovine collagen. Bovine collagen is derived from the skin tissue of cows. It is sterilized, purified and processed and then injected into the skin. Autologen collagen is from your own skin that was gathered during a previous procedure. Isolagen collagen comes from your own skin as well but it is then cloned in a laboratory before being processed into liquid collagen. Dermalogen is gathered from skin donated from a cadaver. It is sterilized, purified and processed before being used. Botox, Radiance, Restylane, and Hyalaform are all injectable materials that some people feel give better and longer lasting results. Collagen injections cost between $300.00 and $1,500.00 per session and usually take a few sessions to obtain desired effects. In addition future maintenance injections may be necessary.

Face Lifts

This is the most drastic anti wrinkle treatment. It is a surgical procedure in which the skin it actually pulled tighter by the surgeon. Incisions are made into the skin; their locations depend on the type of facelift you choose to undergo. Four types of face lift surgeries are available; lower facelift (standard), mid face lift, mini face lift (weekend face lift), and thread face lift. Each one offers different results, tightens a different face part and has different recovery times. Face lifts generally cost about $6,000.00 for the surgery alone. This does not include any of the other incidentals that are part of the face lift procedure.

Wrinkle Creams

This option is often overlooked by people. They feel that their wrinkles could not possibly be lessened by a mere cream, they would however be wrong. It is true that many of the face creams on the market do not have the capability to do much for your skin. Yet there are some options out there that can. The best anti aging wrinkle cream is made of natural ingredients. Plant oils, glycerin, plant extracts, vitamins, minerals, witch hazel and seaweed are all good ingredients. Choosing a cream that is not all natural can cause unwanted effects. Parabens, mineral oils and fillers (such as animal fat) can be used in some creams and some of these have been known to cancer, depressive disorders, and stress disorders. Choosing skin care products that have antioxidant ingredients can help reduce the damages caused by free radicals. The antioxidants join damaged cells and then go to work to prevent further damage and repair the damage that has already been done. The advantage of the creams is not only reversing signs of skin damage due to aging, but also their no-pain, no-risk application at a fraction of the cost of other methods .

Cosmetic procedures have become immensely popular throughout the US. The most sought is Botox - even more so than the traditional favorite, face lift - with California being the state with the highest number of Botox injections per capita.

Botox was first introduced in the late 1980's and was used at the time as a way to treat eye muscle disorders. Today, the drug is injected to prevent wrinkle formation while making patients appear younger.

How Botox Works

Every time you make a facial expression or move your facial muscles, those muscles release a chemical known as acetylcholine. Essentially, Botox is injected into the facial muscle and inhibits the release of acetylcholine, therefore paralyzing the muscle and stopping the contraction.

How Well Botox Actually Works

After Botox injections, patients usually see about an 80 percent improvement in the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. The drug has also been independently tested and approved by the FDA as an effective wrinkle treatment, meaning it works. However, it's not permanent and will only last for up to 5 months, and perhaps only 3.

Step-By-Step Guide to Getting Botox Injections

Botox is injected while in your doctor's office, so there is no need to visit a hospital or receive any in-patient treatment. The drug is typically administered without anesthesia, though some physicians may apply a small amount of topical numbing cream to the treatment area.

Your Botox treatment will start once your doctor begins to locate each injection point and marking them with a pen. After this, the physician will disinfect the treatment area and obtain the needed amount of the Botox drug to administer the treatment.

Following your doctor's preparation, he or she will then inject the Botox, or Botulinum Toxin Type A, into your skin. At this point, the toxins attach themselves to your muscles' nerve endings, eventually stopping the muscle contractions that cause wrinkles.

Actual Botox Treatment Procedure Length

For Botox, users can typically expect their treatments to last anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes, depending on the amount of preparation required and the size of the treatment area. Typically though, it's not a lengthy procedure.

After Care for Botox Injections

After a full treatment of Botox, patients can normally go about their day-to-day activities. However, they should avoid extended sun exposure or laying down for at least a few hours. Some individuals may experience mild bruising at their injection sites, but this will go away in a few hours.

Expense of Botox

Costs for Botox treatments will vary significantly, depending on the size of the area to be covered, your region and of course the doctor. The average cost for Botox injections are about $150 to $400 per treatment - California having some of the highest rates in the country. Don't count on your medical plan covering the procedure.

Finding a Certified Doctor

If you're looking for a certified doctor who can provide injections of Botox, you should try either the American Academy of Dermatology (aad.org) or the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (plasticsurgery.org).

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.

In our present society, vibrancy and beauty are more long for than before. Nobody wants their true age to show on their skin. To this end, many of us have made skin care treatment a part of our daily regimen.

The quest for youth spans all cultural boundaries. Simply put, we want to stay young forever. Even though we know we will age someday, we want to delay that inevitability for as long a possible.

Wrinkle treatment products can minimize or even reverse the signs of aging that gather on our faces as we grow older. And time isn't the only thing to blame for our wrinkles; our skin can age prematurely due to sun damage or excessive dryness. Whatever the cause, there are plenty of Wrinkle treatment products that can combat its effects.