How to Look Your Best This Christmas 2013

Christmas is here again! Before we say goodbye to 2013, many of us will be saying hello to the fun parties, gatherings, and glorious food. Be careful though, it is easy to go overboard with all the festivities, which can take a toll on your skin and waistline.

It is also the time of the year when many patients come to me asking how they can ‘freshen up’ before the events begin in full force, mid December. While time is running short, there is still time to look your best. I always tell my patients that aesthetic treatments are best done early – so as to let the skin settle down and reap the best benefits from the treatment.

Dramatic improvements in a short time can be challenging – but not impossible though. With modern technology and improved techniques, you will be surprised at the magic which can happen. Beauty trends and aesthetic treatments are constantly evolving. But this year, if you have one month left, my top picks to look a million dollars, leading up to the festivities, are:

Mixto Light is a Carbon Dioxide Fractional Laser Resurfacing treatment, which introduces microscopic zones of ablation onto the skin, allowing new skin to grow – along with improved skin tone, smaller pores, reduced fine lines, and better skin texture. Because skin is literally burned away, your skin is renewed and refreshed. But because it is a ‘lite’ treatment, with only a percentage of the skin being ablated, there is very little downtime – only redness for a day, making it very suitable for busy men and women.

Mixto Laser has the amazing property of revealing radiant, smooth skin once the micro crusts fall off in 3-5 days – and this radiance peaks at about 3 weeks after the treatment, hence it is best done 3-4 weeks before important events.

I write often about Hyaluronic Acid Fillers, because I love performing the treatment so much – they anti-age the skin in a way nothing else can. Fillers replace the lost volume from skin ageing, restoring youthfulness. In addition, by introducing just the right amount of fillers in the right places, a lift is created – the Liquid Facelift.

The best part is, any part of the face can be rejuvenated – the forehead, temples, undereye area, upper eyelid, cheeks, lips, and lower face- including the jowls. With improved techniques, results are looking better and better as well. The key, I always tell my patients – so using just the right amount of fillers, and not overdoing it. The treatment is best done 2-3 weeks before as mild bruising can occur due to the injections. These are temporary and take about 5 days to subside if they occur.

Hyaluronic Acid fillers are amazing. Besides replacing lost volume, a lesser known effect is how they quickly make the skin appear brighter & smoother, with less fine lines. The fillers used to treat places like the cheeks and chin have a thicker consistency – Restylane Perlane is my lifting filler of choice. But with the softer fillers – like Restylane Vital, the effect is entirely different. Vital hydrates the skin from within, plumbing up fine lines, making the skin more radiant, and stimulating the skin to produce collagen. It does wonders for the undereye area – lightening dark eye circles and reducing fine lines in a delicate area which is otherwise very difficult to treat.

Similarly, it works very well for forehead lines. In the past, we used to treat these wrinkles with BOTOX. Unfortunately, too much of it can cause the eyebrows to droop and look unnatural. Hence these days, I often use Revitalift instead (combined with tiny drops of Botox if needed) to give a natural result, preserving the movement of the muscles of facial expression while reducing the lines at the same time.

Revitalift is my treatment of choice for the undereye area, forehead, nasolabial lines, and pretty much anywhere with fine lines on the face, hands and body. Again, because it is a injection treatment, bruising can occur after the treatment, which takes 5 days to resolve, hence, it is best to be done 1-2 weeks before the important event!

I know I sound like a nag, but adequate sleep, lots of water and exercise, plenty of fruits/ vegetables are essential if you want your skin to look good. Smoking is a killer- something you need to avoid, along with too much alcohol (which, unfortunately, may of us indulge in during this season) as it robs your skin of vital moisture and also causes us to pile on the pounds. When we were younger, we seemed to be able to party on and on, but as we age, our body’s metabolism unfortunately slows down, needing more time to recharge in between. Remember to always listen to your body, resting if you need to, and to take good care of it. This way, you will always look your freshest, whether or not it is the festive season.

Happy Holidays!