Head-to-Toe Improvements
Face
Fine lines and wrinkles, along with age spots, can dull your complexion and age you beyond your years. Fortunately, there are several non-surgical options to help revitalize your appearance and foster a more youthful glow.
“Botox continues to be one of the best things you can do to improve ‘movement wrinkles’ on your face, which can really smooth the affected area,” says Kristen Rice, MD, a board-certified dermatologist with Utica Square Skin Care in Tulsa. “More mild treatments that give a boost to the complexion include Hydrafacial, dermaplaning, chemical peels, and Clear + Brilliant. More substantial treatments that can accomplish this are BBL (broad band light) and resurfacing treatments such as microneedling and Fraxel Dual. BBL helps to improve skin texture, brown spots and red discoloration, so it is a very popular option, as it takes care of all three issues with a single treatment.”
She says fillers, when placed correctly in appropriate amounts, can also help restore a more youthful contour to an aging face, and smooth out wrinkles in areas such as the cheeks, around the mouth, chin, and the nasolabial folds.
Melody Hawkins, practice manager for BA Med Spa and Weight Loss Center in Broken Arrow, says two great options to achieve younger and more smooth-looking skin are Intense Pulse Light therapy (IPL) and HydraFacialMD.
“IPL therapy is used to treat wrinkles, fine lines, hyperpigmentation or sunspots and tighten pores,” says Hawkins. “It also is great for those looking to remove age spots, freckles or varicose veins. This treatment can be done in a quick, 30-minute appointment, usually in three to five treatments. HydraFacialMD, on the other hand, is a medical facial that cleanses, extracts and hydrates the skin while simultaneously infusing it with medical-grade serums, tailored to your specific skin’s needs. A HydraFacial treatment generally takes about one hour and can be used as a one-time treatment for a special event or as often as once a month, as part of a regular skin care regimen.”
There are a variety of other choices to improve the appearance of the face, whether you’re trying to slow down or reverse the effects of aging. Along with a good skin care routine, hydrafacials and light chemical peels can help keep skin smooth and fresh. Botox and fillers come into play when lines and wrinkles are more than superficial.
FaceTite, a radio frequency treatment of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, can tighten skin 25 to 30% and delay the need for a facelift by five to seven years.
Surgical face-lifts are also a common request for those looking for a more extensive approach.
Neck and Chest
As you age, your skin loses some of its elasticity. Rice says loose skin around the neck area, often called ‘turkey neck,’ can be targeted in several ways.
“If there is excess fat causing fullness in this region, Coolsculpting or Kybella are great options,” she says. “Sagging skin under the chin can be improved by tightening procedures such as Thermage, occasionally by use of fillers along the jawline and cheeks, but often is best treated by surgical correction.”
For the chest area, regular sun exposure can cause a speckled appearance.
“A ‘speckled chest’ is very satisfying to treat,” says Rice. “My favorite treatment is BBL HERO – Scition’s newest IPL technology – which can target brown spots that are commonly found on the chest, and can also target redness on the neck and chest – the medical term is poikiloderma – in the same treatment session.”
Hawkins recommends combining treatments, specifically Ultherapy for laxed skin and Kybella for unwanted fat.
“Ultherapy is an ultrasound-based technology and is the only FDA-approved procedure to lighten, tone and tighten skin,” says Hawkins. “As for the unwanted fat, Kybella is the gold-standard in treating submental fullness, more commonly referred to as a double chin. Kybella is a small injection that actually destroys fat cells in the treated area, giving a person permanent results.”
Stomach,
Legs & Buttocks
Rice says common complaints in the areas of the stomach, legs and buttocks include cellulite, excess fat, skin laxity and lack of muscle tone.
“There are devices that target each of these areas,” says Rice. “Some work better than others, depending on the patient and the specific problem area. For example, Thermage can be beneficial for skin laxity, but some patients need surgical correction to meet their expectations.”
For those seeking minimally invasive procedures for these problem areas, Tim R. Love, MD, board-certified plastic surgeon at Tim R. Love Plastic Surgery and Aesthetics in Oklahoma City, offers BodyTite, which uses the same radio frequency assisted liposuction as FaceTite. According to Love, BodyTite is the first FDA-approved non-surgical procedure designed to sculpt the body by removing unwanted fat while simultaneously shrinking and tightening skin. BodyTite procedures are performed with local sedation, and ideal treatment areas include the chest, abdomen, arms, breast, knees, hips, and inner and outer thighs.
What People Want
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the top five cosmetic minimally-invasive procedures are Botox, soft tissue fillers, chemical peels, laser hair removal and intense pulsed light. The top five cosmetic surgical procedures are breast augmentation, liposuction, eyelid surgery, nose reshaping and facelifts.
Mentally Preparing
for Plastic Surgery
If you decide that plastic surgery is right for you, it’s important to prepare yourself and maintain realistic expectations during recovery.
After all, one of the main reasons for patient dissatisfaction after surgery is that results do not meet sky-high hopes.
In the age of heavy photo filters and body-editing apps, it can be hard to keep your head out of the clouds. Having frank conversations with your surgeon about what to expect is key.
Prepare yourself for ample healing and recovery time, and pay attention at consultations, especially if/when your surgeon presents visual aids that most accurately depict what you’ll look like after surgery.
A Growing Field
Plastic surgery technologies continue to advance, specifically providing more nonsurgical methods that deliver major results with shorter recovery times.
The field of plastic and aesthetic medicine has changed dramatically over the last decade, says Love.
“New technologies are providing exciting opportunities, allowing us to offer our patients options far beyond traditional surgery,” says Love. “Non-surgical regenerative approaches now available include the use of a patient’s own stem cells, platelets and nanofat. The use of Inmode’s Morpheus8 radio frequency microneedling stimulates the growth of collagen like no man-made filler can do. FaceTite and BodyTite have been welcomed additions to our arsenals of non-surgical radio frequency assisted liposuction, which is able to remove unwanted fat as well as tighten.”
2021 Trends
For 2021, a variety of aesthetic upgrades remain popular.
For non-invasive choices, dermal fillers, Botox and chemical peels remain in high demand.
For surgical trends, liposuction, breast augmentation, rhinoplasty and hair transplants are 2021 hot ticket items.
Anti-Aging
Treatments
When should you begin to combat the signs of aging? Rice says it varies by person, and by two primary influences – genetics and lifetime environmental exposure – most notably sun exposure and smoking.
“Many people start noticing some wrinkles in their skin in their late 20s/early 30s, and by mid/late 30s to early 40s people notice sagging skin,” says Rice. “A person will benefit the most from cosmetic corrective treatments if they start shortly after they start to notice the issue. The longer you wait, the more pronounced the issue, and the more difficult to correct. I personally do not recommend starting before there is an issue for two reasons. One, if there is nothing to correct, it is likely a waste of money, and two, most of these treatments do not come without risks, so you could be creating an issue where there wasn’t one to begin with.”
