yes i am a facial cosmetic surgeon and still make patients happy with eyelid and facelifts neck lifts and chemical wrinkle removal. but for those on a tighter budget cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists can now give you some real bang for your non-surgical bucks. here is my shortlist of the three best things you can do for that healthy younger and youthful look: 1. retin-a. retin-a a derivative of vitamin a should be thought of as a vitamin too. the skin’s own potent and unique vitamin if you will. take “one a day” if you will. a nighttime application of just a pea-sized amount of retin-a (available also as the generic retinoic acid) followed by application of a moisturizer (another favorite and winner; see below) will go a long way to make your skin smoother and free of minor blemishes including some of those nasty brown spots age spots. an important long-term benefit of retin-a is that it thickens the outer layer of the skin and that’s important; thicker skin resists wrinkling. retin-a is available only by prescription. it comes in various strengths. consult your dermatologist or cosmetic plastic surgeon for more information and advice on use. and remember for the optimal results use it every day; don’t quit! 2. moisturizer + sunscreen. summer’s here -- we need to get serious about sun protection. particularly if you live in southern ca south texas or south florida. in those hot spots the sun is strong and therefore not your skin’s best friend. there are many excellent moisturizer-sunscreen combinations on the market. and don’t equate cost with excellence. the pricier ones have the big ticket to pay for all the marketing and advertising. what spf (sun protection factor) number should you use? the number scale was developed to indicate potency relative to elapsed time of use. divide the spf number by four to get the number of hours the product is expected to be effective. the only problem with such a general formula is that it does not take into account how heavy the application and what factors might cause the protection to be dissipated such as by sweating or water sports. best advice: pick a mid-strength product say spf 30; reapply every 2-3 hours and you cannot go wrong. remember a little sun is ok; nature intended us to get some sun to produce the essential vitamin d. but benefits diminish and negatives begin to appear after even just 20 minutes during the summer so be conservative with your sunbathing. 3. botox cosmetic or dysport. [everyone] has heard about or has used botox. dysport is its new competition; practitioners vary in their preference but don’t worry you cannot go wrong with either. botox has long-proven its safety and value. for the vertical frown lines between the eyebrows those horizontal forehead lines and the squint or crow’s feet just aside the eyes the injections are terrific. they can also be used to gently lift droopy eyebrows. yes they are not permanent but i see that as a plus. if you don’t like the results or don’t feel the injections –- several times a year –- are worth the cost you can drop out of the program with no negatives. if you like the results and think the cost is worth it you can continue. stay tuned. i suspect medical science which never sleeps will soon be delivering longer-lasting successors to botox and dysport.
what are some cheaper alternatives to plastic surgery for youthful skin?