April 2011 Dr. Rodan Quotes

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FOR WOMEN OF STYLE & SUBSTANCE

Transcript of April 2011 Dr. Rodan Quotes

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FOR WOMEN OF STYLE & SUBSTANCE

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THENEWFACE-LIFTFILLERUPI

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FORGET THEDRASTIC PLASTIC

SURGERY OF OLD-THAT WINDSWEPT,CATWOMAN LOOK

NOW MAINTENANCEIS THE MAIN EVENT:

NONINVASIVEPROCEDURES THAT

ACTUALLY SLOWTHE AGING PROCESS.

(AND IF YOU DO DECIDEON SURGERY DOWNTHE ROAD, YOU'LL

FIND A NEW; GENTLERAPPROACH.) HERE,

THE ULTIMATE PROS-AND-CONS GUIDE

TO THE LATESTTREATMENTS AND

PROCEDURES: WHATYOU NEED TO DO(AND WHEN, AND

WHERE) NO MATTERWHAT YOUR AGE

BYJENNIFERSCRUBY

PHOTOGRAPHED BY KENJI AOKI

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GLOSSARY OFIN-OFFICEPROCEDURES11 NEUROMODULATORSDiluted injections of purifiedbotulinum toxin type A (re-lated to the bacteria thatcause botulism). The shotsprevent muscles from contract-ing into wrinkles. Examples:Botox, Dysport.

BEST FOR: Relaxing foreheadwrinkles or frown lines and-in the right hands-softeningcords in the neck and giv-ing a subtle lift to brows and/or the corners of the mouth.Key for softening the cob-blestoning (excess dimpling)of the chin, crow's-feet andsmoker's lines around themouth. Also used to reduceenlarged jaw muscles,which can result from yearsof teeth clenching.

COST: $125 to $400 per treat-ment area.

FULL EFFECT: In 2 days for Dys-port, 3 to 5 days for Botox.

RESULTS LAST: 3 to 4 months.

21 REVERSIBLE FILLERSInjectable volumizers madefrom hyaluronic acid, a sub-stance that occurs naturally inyour skin. If you don't like yourresults, a doctor can undothem right away by injectingan antidote. Examples: Re-stylane, Perlane, Hylaform,Juvederrn and Juvederrn XC.

BEST FOR: Plumping lips andsuperficial fine lines around theeyes and mouth; filling outtear troughs and under-eyecircles; and filling chins, nasola-bial folds and marionette lines.

COST: $350 to $800 persyringe (1 to 6 syringes, de-pending on the condition ofthe patient's skin).

FULL EFFECT: In 3 to 5 days.

RESULTS LAST: 3 to 12 months.

31 RADIESSEA long-lasting filler made upof calcium hydroxylapatitecrystals, a compound found inbones and tooth enamel. »

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a recentchilly afternoon in Los Angeles, during ababy shower at the Chateau Marmont ho-tel, makeup artist Amy Holiber picked upa glass of Champagne and gazed aroundthe penthouse suite. "There were aboutthree dozen women there, all of themforty-something mothers, from differentbackgrounds and income levels," recallsHoliber, 43. "I was just thinking how youngeveryone looked when a friend of mine-aphysician'S assistant who works in a der-matologist's office-walked up. 'There areonly two people in this room who haven'ttouched their faces,' she whispered."Once she pointed out those women, I

noticed the difference in their faces," Ho-liber says. "The weird thing was that Icouldn't detect that the others had hadwork done. They just looked really good."

Want your face to look younger withoutthe world taking insta-note'? Your odds ofsuccess have never been better. Right nowthe world of facial reshaping (the pre-ferred term of industry professionals) isundergoing a revolution, says Manhattanplastic surgeon Scott Wells.

For starters, many current treatmentsresult not just in cosmetic changes to yourface but also in long-term improvementsin your skin, with the result that it agesmore slowly. Here's how it works: Fill-ers like Restylane, Juvederm, Radiesseand Perlane soften lines, restore lost vol-ume and put pressure on fibroblasts in theskin to stimulate collagen production. La-sers and noninvasive treatments like Ul-thera (which heats the deeper layers ofthe skin using focused ultrasound) andThermage (which uses radio-frequencywaves but doesn't go as far down) alsospur new collagen. Botox injections,which freeze wrinkles, can stop stronglines from ever forming. The result'?Many women aren't signing up for face-lifts at 50 anymore; instead, they're focus-ing on maintenance through less invasivetreatments, starting in their thirties andforties. "Now you do surgery when ev-erything else doesn't work," says Fredric

Brandt, MD, a dermatologist with prac-tices in Manhattan and Miami.

One reason maintenance is now themain event is that doctors have learneda lot about what time actually does to theskin. For example, they know that cer-tain parts of the face lose volume fasterthan others. Consider the area around thenose and mouth, where deflation leads todeeper nasolabial folds (from the nose tothe corners of the mouth) and marionettelines (from the corners of the mouth tothe chin). In the past, doctors compen-sated by plumping up the lips, whichsometimes left the patient with an overlyfull "trout pout," or by filling in the wrin-kles, creating a Planet of the Apes effectthat made the lower face heavier ratherthan more youthful. Today the most in-fluential dermatologists soften the na-solabial folds and lift jowls by placinginjections at the temples and the edgesof the cheeks, which pulls up the skin onthe lower half of the face, unfolding thecreases around the nose and mouth.

"That's the new trend:' explains L.A.dermatologist Karyn Grossman. "Doctorshave gotten carried away with plump-ing up the apples of the cheeks; that lookscreams injection, because it makes youreyes seem hollow. But filling in the edgesof the face gives you fullness withoutmaking you look 'done: "

The goal of the "natural" trend is aface with movement and a few age-appropriate lines. But the treatment op-tions can be dizzying, and then there arethe risks. Why do some women come outlooking like well-rested, airbrushed ver-sions of themselves, while others-manyof them smart, rich, resourceful women-appear windswept, overfilled or other-wise unartfully rearranged'? If your ideaof "natural" is the face you were bornwith, helped by good products and allthe sleep you can get, then you don'tneed answers to these questions. But ifyou think you might go down this path,now or someday, find out here how toend up looking like yourself, only better.

No. IAM I A GOOD CANDIDATE?Add this to the life-isn't-fair list: Theyounger your skin looks, the better anykind of rejuvenating treatment will work.

"The effects of long-term photoaging-

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BEST FOR: Sculpting areas likethe chin and pumping uphollow cheeks and temples.(It's not recommended for lipsor the eye area.) Radiessehas a thick, puttylike quality:It was originally used by ortho-pedic surgeons as the mainingredient in a bone paste.

COST: $850 to $1,600 persyringe (1 to 6 syringes, de-pending on the condition ofthe patient's skin).

FULL EFFECT: In a week or so.

RESULTS LAST: 1 to 2 years.

4/ SCULPTRAA thin, watery filler made upof poly-L-lactic acid, a sub-stance used in implants anddissolvable sutures.

BEST FOR: Creating overallsmoothness and volume onfaces that look gaunt or meltedaway. Wherever it's depos-ited, Sculptra prompts the skinto make and repair collagen.The result: a gradual filling-out effect.

COST: $600 to $3,500 pertreatment. Depending on yourage, degree of hollowingand response to the product,you may need 2 or 3 treat-ments over 6 months (and insome cases, quite a few more).

FULL EFFECT: After the lasttreatment.

RESULTS LAST: Up to twoyears.

5/ ULTHERA ANDTHERMAGEUlthera (focused ultrasound)and Thermage (which usesradio-frequency energy) heatup tissue deep inside theskin to tone and tighten.

BEST FOR: Firming skin on theface and neck, tightening mildjowling when you're in yourthirties or forties and creatinga subtle, nonsurgical browlift. Ulthera and Thermage godeep into skin tissue to stim-ulate it to produce collagen,so you get more lift andsmoothness over time. Ther-mage can also be used totreat eyelids. NOTE: Results vary.Some patientssee a lot oftightening; others, very little.

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large pores, laxity, irregular pigmentation,dilated blood vessels-make it hard to geta great end result," admits Manhattandermatologist Patricia Wexler. (That said,if your skin were flawless, you wouldn'tbe seeking any treatment) Women withdarker complexions tend to have an edge-they often look more youthful becausethe higher levels of melanin (pigment)in their skin offer some built-in sun pro-tection, Note to repentant sunbathers: It'snever too late to start with sunscreenand retina ids. The latter stimulate colla-gen production, which is the most cru-cial factor in preventing aging.

Other factors that work to your ad-vantage: high cheekbones, a strong jaw-line, a chubby face, a healthy, stable bodyweight (not too thin or too heavy) and-surprise-a habit of sleeping on your back.

"Most dermatologists can tell which sideyou sleep on just by looking at your face,"says San Francisco dermatologist KatieRodan. "The lines become deeper on theside that's carrying the weight; your facecan even become flatter on that side,"

Another important issue: Are you sink-ing or sagging as you age? Some facessag more than they hollow out, and viceversa. If you're a dramatic hollower, youmay never feel the need for a face-lift. Ifyou're a significant sagger, you may con-sider surgery early on. "Going to a doctorwho knows the difference is key," saysGrossman. "If the MD tries to fix veryloose, droopy skin using only filler, youcould wind up looking like a stuffed sau-sage. And if he tries to fix a hollow facewith just surgery, you get a tight, wind-tunnel effect or even more hollowing."

What a face-lift can really deliver is animproved neck and jawline. Decide howmuch help you need in those areas, Mostwomen, for example, never develop aturkey-wattle neck. So if you can tacklethe jawline and other problem areas asthey begin to deteriorate, you may beable to forgo a face-lift indefinitely.

On the other hand, if you do have sag-ging skin and muscles that can't be fixedby less invasive methods, then it's bestto take action sooner rather than later,

"The perfect time for surgery is whenyour skin is still healthy, and the colla-gen and elastin are good," says New Yorkplastic surgeon David Rosenberg. Con-curs Wexler: "If you're open to the ideaof a scalpel procedure, early interventionis better, The golden window can be any-

where from 45 to 60, though some peo-ple can stretch that a bit if they've takencare of their skin. There's a saying: If youdo it in your forties, you're thrilled; inyour fifties, you say,Why did I wait?; andin your sixties, Why did I bother?"

In terms of what treatments to try andwhen, you might consider looking to Hol-lywood for guidance. Don't Women whohave access to everything sometimes blowit, says Ramtin Kassir, MD, a New YorkCity plastic surgeon. "There's a tendencyfor celebrities to try trendy proceduresand overdo it;' he observes. Rodan of-fers an interesting insight: "I think whathappens in the case of some stars-theones who look like they've gone into thewitness-protection program-is that theydo things that look good on camera and inmagazines, But in real life, their eyebrowsare in the middle of their foreheads."

In the end, what will save you from adisastrous, exaggerated look is keepingyour adult perspective-meaning, don't letyour doctor push you into a procedure anddon't try to push your doctor. "Patientsconstantly tell me, 'I like how you did mylips last time, but now I really want themlarger;" says New York City dermatolo-gist Doris Day, author ofForget the Facelift."The same thing with Botox-they onlywant a tiny bit at first, and then they comeback and want more. I always say, 'No, youlook beautiful; it is time to stop.' But it'seasy for doctors to lose track of what nor-mal looks like, and trying to please a pa-tient can override their good judgment"

No..2WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?FILLERS

WHAT'S NEW Temples have become thehottest new area to treat. "If you workout and are thin, your temples start toget really sunken," says Brandt, "It's in-credible what a difference it makes tofill them in a bit-it balances everythingout." At the same time, doctors are in-jecting volumizers much deeper, closerto the bone, to make the complexion ex-tra smooth. "In the eye and cheek area,the skin is pretty thin," Rodan explains.

"Fillers have a tendency to migrate orcreate a bump there if they're placed tooclose to the surface."

And most women are asking for sub-tler lip injections, if any. (That's good:The experts agree that lips are where

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things can start to go off the rails.)There's also buzz about stem-cell face-lifts-injecting your face with fat fromyour own body. Why would this help?Fat is rich in active cells that can pro-mote tissue repair, cell growth and newcollagen. Little research has been con-ducted so far to back the regenerationtheory, "but that's where we're headed;'says Wells. "The potential for engineer-ing tissue with stem cells is huge."_ WHAT GOES RIGHT Opting for subtle main-tenance with volumizers rather than a to-tal overhaul with fillers. "The whole keyis doing subtle, incremental things thatkeep up with the aging process ratherthan going out for a home run," says Man-hattan plastic surgeon Alan Matarasso. Inother words, people who demand a dras-tic change don't end up looking the best._ WHAT CAN GO WRONG Beyond overinflat-ing, the real minefield is assuming that allproblems can be fixed with a filler. "Theamount of volume you had in your facewhen you were 20 will look weird on youwhen you're 55;' says Haideh Hirrnand,MD, another New York plastic surgeon.

'We have all these people now who lookoverly filled, and it's almost worse thanwhen people looked overly lifted. Pa-tients think that if they do fillers insteadof surgery, they'll by definition look morenatural. But you have to combine thingsin the right proportions to get the best re-sults and make the work look invisible."

BOTOXAND SIMILAR INJECTIONS_ WHAT'S NEW Botox recently won FDAapproval as a treatment for chronic mi-graines. (See Health News, page 156.) Butit can help you feel better in other ways,too. "A lot of people hold tension be-tween their eyebrows without realizingit. There's actually a mood-elevation ef-fect that can happen with Botox-possi-bly because frowning sends feedback toyour brain that you're feeling bad," saysAdam Scheiner, MD, a plastic surgeonin Tampa, Florida. Block the frown, thethinking goes, and you'll bring on theZen. Meanwhile, Dysport, a relativelynew neurotoxin, is gaining popularity."It's almost identical to Botox but diffusesmore easily, so it gives a slightly softer,smoother effect;' Wells notes.

WHAT GOES RIGHT Erring on the lightside. Botox is intended to smooth mildto deep-set frown lines, crow's-feet andfurrows while leaving your face capa-

ble of moving. Injected correctly (andconservatively), it does just that. An-other clever trick: Injecting the platysmalbands in the neck-the ones that standout when you grimace-can lift the cor-ners of the mouth and diminish jowling,no surgery required._ WHAT CAN GO WRONG "Adoctor has to bereally careful injecting Botox into theforehead," says New York dermatologistBrad Katchen. "If you relax that area toomuch, you can get a waxen look, andyour brows drop." Nerves connect in theface even when they're far apart-whichmeans that ifBotox is injected too deeplybetween your eyebrows, it can give you asaggy eyelid; if your crow's-feet are over-treated, you may end up with a droopy lip.

Lately there's been some blowback re-garding Botox. Much of the controversystems from an Italian study of rats, pub-lished in the Journal of Neuroscience in2008, which showed that Botox particlescould travel into the brain. The expertsMore consulted aren't concerned. "Botoxis one of the safest procedures out there,"says Brandt. "There's been so much FDAresearch on Botox, and all the studiesI've reviewed show that it binds to themuscle where it's injected, and that'swhere it stays." Scheiner agrees: "If youinject Botox in high doses, it can move.But the amounts we use are minuscule."

FACE-LIFTS_ WHAT'S NEW Moderation. Gone are thedays when doctors aimed to make facesas tight as possible. Plastic surgeons aredipping into the dermatologist's tool kit,often lifting and filling at the same timefor a more natural look. Surgery was onceyour only recourse; now, with all the gen-tler therapies, it's typically a last resort._ WHAT GOES RIGHT Some doctors believethat skin-only lifts can work well, espe-cially in younger patients. But for nat-ural, longer-lasting results, most prosrecommend the SMAS (subcutaneousmusculo-aponeurotic system) face-lift,which involves repositioning the face'sunderlying muscle and fat layer alongwith the skin. Done properly, "it will giveyou a relaxed, refreshed look with goodcheek volume, a nice jawline and mini-mal scarring;' says Kassir. Some of theyounger generation of surgeons, includ-ing Rosenberg, go even farther into theface below the SMAS layer to do what'scalled a deep-plane face-lift.»

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COST: $1 ,500 to $3,000 pertreatment area.

FULL EFFECT: In 2 to 3 months.Some patients see majorresults within 24 hours.

RESULTS LAST: A year or more.

61 FRACTIONALCO2 LASERS AND OTHERRESURFACING LASERSTreatments (such as Fraxel}in which tiny beams of lightare used to damage skin be-lowthe surface, thus triggeringnew cell growth. High-techfractional lasers spread outthe damage in microscopictreatment zones, for deeperpenetration and faster healing.

BEST FOR: Resurfacing sun-damaged skin-smoothing outfine lines and crosshatches,erasing brown spots andsome redness, refining pores,evening out tone and stimu-lating collagen for a firmer,more radiant effect. Fractionallasers can also reduce deepacne and chicken pox scars,which until now had beenhard to treat.

COST: About $1,500 eachsession for a gentler treatment(a series of 3 to 5 is recom-mended) or $4,000 to $5,000for a more intense, ablativeprocedure. (Ablative lasersvaporize the top layers ofthe skin. Translation: 1 to 2weeks for healing,a fullmonthout of the sun and more dra-matic results.)

FULL EFFECT: 6 months after thelast treatment.

RESULTS LAST: Several years.

71 VASCULAR LASERSPulsed-dye lasers that targetredness in the skin, vaporiz-ing red pigmentation or tinybroken blood vessels.

BEST FOR: Obliterating bro-ken capillaries, red spots andport-wine stains.

COST: It varies. It might cost$150 to zap one red spot,$200 to $300 to treat thearea around the nostrils andabout $600 to address dif-fuse redness all over the face.Depending on your age and'degree of redness, you may

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Note: A face-lift doesn't affect yourwhole face. It tightens everything fromthe cheekbone to the collarbone; it doesn'taffect your eyes. If you want to give thosea lift, you need to undergo treatment en-tirely separate from the face-lift. Expectto pay $6,800 to $30,000 for a face-lift,depending on the reputation of the sur-geon and his or her location. Resultsshould last eight to 12 years.

WHAT CAN GO WRONG "Face-lifts are oper-ations. And as with other operations, un-less the patient is vetted properly, therecan be bleeding, infection, delayed heal-ing or poor scars," says New York Cityplastic surgeon Elliot Jacobs. Any pro-cedure that requires general anesthesiainvolves risks, including, rarely, heart at-tacks and strokes. Make sure you checkin with your regular doctor before youhave the surgery to be certain you're ingood enough shape for it. Other risksare aesthetic. If the doctor removes toomuch fat or pulls your skin too much,you could end up with a warped look.Other telltale signs of a face-lift goneawry: disappearing sideburns, "pixieears" (lobes stitched so tightly that theymeld into your jawline) and high-set,Mommie Dearest eyebrows.

No.3HOWDOIFIXMYTROUBLE SPOTS?CROW'S-FEET_ USE: Botox and fillers.

JOWLS AND A SAGGING NECK_ USE: Fillers and Botox if you're lookingat mild jowling or early-stage laxity inyour thirties and forties. Laser treatmentssuch as Ulthera and Thermage can toneand tighten. But if you have a lot oflooseskin and it bothers you, consider playingthe face-lift card.

FINE LINES, BROW1\" SPOTS ANDUNEVEN SKI1\"TONE_ USE: Mild chemical peels. Resurfacinglasers like Fraxel and LED abolish finelines and improve skin texture on adeeper level. And Botox can freeze wrin-kles in their tracks.

TIRED, PUFFY EYESUSE: Botox, fillers or lasers. Properly

placed injections can raise your brows afew millimeters, which can go a longway toward making you look more

rested and relaxed. Lasers can smoothand strengthen skin. If you have heavy,sagging lids and lasers don't yield the re-sults you want, consider an eye-lift.

RUDDI -ESS_ USE: A vascular laser, like Vbeam orIriderm, to obliterate broken capillariesand dilated blood vessels, at least tempo-rarily. For ideal results, you'll need threesessions and an occasional touch-up.

No.4HOWDOIFINDTHE BEST EXPERT?_ GET REFERRALS from friends, family mem-bers and physicians. Word of mouth isbest. Beware of the Internet: Docs can paysearch engines to have their names popup on "best plastic surgeon" lists._ ASK TO SEE BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS to geta sense of what your doctor thinks isbeautiful. Keep in mind that doctorsusually put up their best pictures, andthese can be altered with Photoshop.What you want to check out is your doc-tor's overall aesthetic judgment. "Everydoctor has his own brand of rejuvena-tion. They're kind of like fashion de-signers whose clothes have a certainlook," says Wells.

HEED WARNING SIGNS. Lynne McPhail, anoccupational therapist in Colorado, real-ized she was in the wrong place for aneye-lift when she noticed that the sur-geon had pictures of a very famous, veryaltered country-western singer all overhis office. "I just wanted to look a littlemore rested," McPhail says. "It's not likeI'm performing at the MGM Grand." Tryto find someone who's conservative, cau-tions Rodan: "It's hard to get back toyour old face if it's been overdone."_ INSPECT OTHER PATIENTS IN PERSON. "It'svery fair to ask the doctor if you can meetpeople who've recently had the procedureyou're considering;' says Rosenberg. Lookaround the office, too: Almost every doctorhas done work on his staff._ MAKE SURE YOUR DOCTOR SPECIALIZES IN

MORE THAN ONE TREATMENT. You need some-one who can do what's best for you, notwhat's best for him. "Agood dermatologypractice should own at least two or threelasers," says David Goldberg, MD, whopractices in New York and three otherstates. "Find out which machine the doctorplans to use on you, and then Google it."

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_ THINK WORST-CASJ SCENARIO. Find outwhat side effects and risks are in-volved. (Beware the doctor who offersonly good news.) What about compli-cations? Will the doctor be available ifanything goes wrong? Also importantto know: How much will the proce-dure cost? Are there any additional ex-penses-such as for a surgical facilityor hospital-that you should factor in?

DON'T TRUST IMAGING MACHINES THAT ARESUPPOSED TO PREDICT RESULTS. "They're ajoke," says Rosenberg. "Every one ofthem has a disclaimer: 'This drawingmay have nothing to do with your ul-timate results.''' The problem is thatthe images can overpromise what pro-cedures can deliver. "If you want apreview of face or neck surgery, theeasiest thing is to sit on the edge ofyour bed with a hand mirror, lean for-ward and jiggle your face to loosenthings up, and then lie flat on yourback and hold a mirror up over yourface," Matarasso says. Considering aneye-lift? Take a Q-tip and push in onthe upper lid to see what a smoothcrease would look like, or iron outyour lower lids with your fingertips._ EARN BONUS POINTS BY BRINGING YOUR

DOCTOR A PHOTOGRAPH OF YOURSELF FROM 10YEARS AGO. "That can help us determinewhich treatment plan would be themost appropriate for making you looklike a better, younger version of your-self, not someone else," Katchen says.

No.5C4N I SCREW UPMY RESULTS POST-TREATMENT?There's always a patient who exercisesor hops a flight too soon after surgery(causing her stitches to pop) or, worse,goes swimming (cue rusty staples andan infection)' But by and large, com-plications are incurred at the time oftreatment. Use common sense andlisten to directions. With certain fill-ers, like Sculptra, you're required tomassage your face five times a day forfive days to prevent lumps and bumps.Tanning before or after any laser treat-ment spells disaster. And don't sched-ule a massage right after getting fillers:If you lie facedown on a massage ta-ble for an hour, you move the materialinjected and mess up its placement.

No.6WHAT HAPPENSIF I DO PROCEDURESOVERAND OVER?INJECTIONSAs long as injections are done correctly,there shouldn't be a problem. In fact,to get the best results, it's wise to clus-ter your treatments-that is, to get fre-quent injections the first year (three orfour Botox treatments or two or threefiller applications) and then scale backto one or two sessions a year. "Once youget Botox multiple times, your musclestarts to forget how to contract in thatway, so you need injections much lessfrequently," Rodan says. "That oftenhappens in the area between the brows;I have patients who hardly need Botoxthere anymore. And the same goes forfillers: If you build up a founda-tion, the effects can really persist."

LASER TREATMENTSAND CHEMICAL PEELS"People think that you're thin-ning the skin with lasers andpeels," says Tina Alster, MD, adermatologist in Washington,D.C. "But actually you're do-ing the opposite. The skin thatgrows in is thicker and health-ier." Still, proceed with caution.With lasers, peels and micro-dermabrasion, too much exfoli-ation can dry out your skin andmake it more sensitive.

FACE-LIFTSCan a second or third face-liftlook as good as the first? Plasticsurgeons say yes, because they'rerepositioning muscle along withthe skin. "I just finished a casewith a 54-year-old woman-a very famous ex-model-andshe'll look better now than shedid after her first surgery," saysMatarasso. Dermatologists aren'tso sure. "In theory it-could begood, but in reality the odds arestacked against you," says NewYork dermatologist Laurie Po-lis. "You could have a beauti-ful face-lift the second or thirdtime, but it all depends on thequality of your skin and yourhealing ability. Your expecta-

tions might be a little lower whenyou're 63 than when you were 52."

Repeat face-lifts are mostly aboutloose skin in the neck (':Jowls rarely re-cur," says Wells). "It's hard to maintainresults there," admits Hirmand. "Yourneck is a complex structure that movesand stretches all the time, in all direc-tions. But if you're 50 and your neckis as tight as a sausage casing, it won'tlook good anyway. It's much better tohave a little softness." ~

JENNIFER SCRUBY,·a Miami-based free-lance writer, has a book on General George S.Patton Jr. coming out next year.

Risk averse? Go to more.com/safeplastic for some fail-safe techniques.For what's coming up in facial reshap-ing, visit more.com/futureplastic.

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