DEAR DIARY " DOES THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH REALLY EXIST?"

Anyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with the concept of eternal youth. I certainly haven't found a magic fountain yet but I have found some amazing options to stay looking young without having to go under the knife. My philosophy is all about prevention vs. surgery. I have been getting skin treatments done for over 10 years. I started noticing changes in my skin around 25. I was still going in the sun and I was a smoker. I started with microdermabrasion, ligth chemical peels and Smoothbeam laser which has kept my skin in great shape. I don't have any wrinkles or lines and my skin in still tight. However, I have noticed lately some hyper-pigmentaion starting to show and I have several broken capillaries around my nose and some veins showing around my eyes.I have been researching my options and have found some more advanced laser options.

The first option is the IPL Photo Facial. The IPL stands for intense pulsed light. It is non-ablative, meaning that it does not damage the surface of the skin. The are several types of IPL. The PhotoDerm VL tragets vascular lesions such as spider veins and birthmarks and the PhotoDerm PL is for melasma and dark spots. The third kind of IPL is used for hair removal. The treatments take about 30-45 minutes and there is next to no downtime. There are some disadvantages. There can be some redness and brown spots will come to the surface and get darker first and peel for 7 to 14 days. The cost of each treatment can range from $300-$600 depending on the area. The photo facial can treat redness, acne, hyperpigmentation, facial veins, fine lines and wrinkles and even rosacea. The IPL is great for most skin types however very dark or very tanned complexions can not use IPL. It is also important to remember depending on how much damage there is to the skin will determine the number of treatments needed. It is also important to be very careful with sun exposure after IPL treatments. I plan to do several treatments in the Fall and Winter.

I have also noticed that my neck is showing some signs of aging. I've noticed some more lines and some slight sagging. Stay tuned for more information on Microcurrent Facials and Thermage as well as some information on the latest fillers to help combat "the aging neck"