The Surgery-Free Makeover: All You Need to Know for Great Skin and a Younger Face

305 Pages·2008·0.5 MB·English

by  Brandith Irwin

The Surgery-Free
M A K E O V E R
all you need to know for
great skin and a younger face
B R A N D I T H I R W I N , M D
THE SURGERY-FREE
MAKEOVER

THE SURGERY-FREE
MAKEOVER
All You Need to Know for Great Skin
and a Younger Face
BRANDITH IRWIN, M.D.
A MEMBER OF THE PERSEUS BOOKS GROUP
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Copyright © 2008 by Brandith Irwin, MD
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Irwin, Brandith, 1952–
The surgery-free makeover : all you need to know for great skin and a younger face /
Brandith Irwin. — 1st Da Capo Press ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7382-1118-3 (alk. paper)
1. Skin—Care and hygiene. 2. Beauty, Personal. 3. Women—Health and hygiene. I. Title.
RL87.I793 2008
646.7'2—dc22
2008014602
First Da Capo Press edition 2008
Published by Da Capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
www.dacapopress.com
Note: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. This book is
intended only as an informative guide for those wishing to know more about health issues. In no way
is this book intended to replace, countermand, or conflict with the advice given to you by your own
physician. The ultimate decision concerning care should be made between you and your doctor. We
strongly recommend you follow his or her advice. Information in this book is general and is offered
with no guarantees on the part of the authors or Da Capo Press. The authors and publisher disclaim
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Introduction 1
PART I: AN OVERVIEW: PRODUCTS, PROCEDURES, AND MORE
1 Wonderfully Scented, Ever-Tempting Products 9
2 Beyond the Creams: Your Quick Guide to Botox, Fillers,
Lasers, and Other Cosmetic Treatments 27
PART II: YOUR PERSONAL SKIN CONSULTATION
3 Your Forehead 39
4 Your Eyes 57
5 Your Lips and the Area Around Them 77
6 Your Cheeks 95
7 Your Jawline and Chin 113
8 Your Neck and Chest 125
PART III: FOCUS ON TEXTURE AND COLOR
9 Brown Spots, Age Spots, and Too Red? 143
10 Unwanted Hair, Bumps, Moles, and Scars on the Face 163
PART IV: FOCUS ON TIME AND MONEY
11 Help Me! I Have a Big Event! 179
12 Help Me! I’m on a Budget! 195
PART V: FOCUS ON LIFESTYLE AND YOUR SKIN’S HEALTH
13 The Food, Lifestyle, and Skin Connection 211
14 Menopause and Your Skin 219
v
vi Contents
PART VI: FOCUS ON THE FUTURE
15 An Effective Maintenance Schedule—Here’s How
and Why 231
16 Finding a Good Cosmetic Dermatologist and Laser Center 237
17 New and Emerging Technologies 251
18 Knowledge Is Power 261
Resources: A Regional Guide to Cosmetic Dermatologists 263
References 279
Index 289
INTRODUCTION
The calendar and the mirror may say forty or fifty, but the spirit inside
you says thirty, maybe thirty-five. Should you accept the changes in your
face and accept that one day you’ll look like your mother? Not the
women I know. How about plastic surgery? Too risky, too expensive, and
you’re too young anyway. Maybe when you’re sixty.
I’m convinced that almost every woman on the other side of forty has
three or four things she’d like to change about her face. But how can you
do it safely, effectively, and economically? What if you have a class re-
union coming up? A wedding? An important work event? What if you’re
on a budget? How can you make the best decisions for your skin, your
face, your time, and your budget?
Women in their forties, fifties, and sixties know we can’t get away
with doing nothing anymore. And we also know that the creams that
promise so much aren’t really going to repair the problems we see. Per-
haps you’re bothered by frown lines, upper-lip lines, crow’s feet, lines
around the mouth, baggy eyelid skin, loose skin around the jawline, or
sun damage on your chest. If you need a plan to get your youngest face,
read on. This book will give you the tools to look your vibrant best.
In my practice, nearly every woman (or man) I talk to about her (or
his) skin is overwhelmed by the number of products and the wealth of in-
formation available. Today thousands of skin-care products and dozens
of lasers, peels, and injectables are easily at hand, while cosmetic compa-
nies, laser, and injectable manufacturers spend millions of dollars to pro-
mote the latest new cream or technology. It’s no wonder today’s woman
has trouble figuring out what works.
In this book, I’ll give you the key information you’ll need to “fix your
face.” We’ll take a tour of your face, and I’ll show you along the way what
1
2 Surgery-Free Makeover
you can fix and how. I’ll give you timelines for events and different skin
plans for different budgets. Most important, I’ll help you set up a realistic
plan.
If you’re anything like the patients I’ve treated over the past fifteen
years, you expect treatments to be a good value for your money, whether
that’s three hundred dollars or ten thousand dollars. You also expect your
treatments to be safe and hope they’ll require minimum time out of your
busy schedule. Moreover, you want products that’ll work for you.The av-
erage woman has dozens of products cluttering her bathroom drawers.
Just think of how many expensive products you’ve purchased in the past
five years that promised to work miracles but didn’t? How many have
given you allergic or irritant reactions? Let’s be honest: it’s an awful lot of
time and trouble to return those ineffective products for a refund.
After reading this book, you should feel as though you’ve had a per-
sonal skin consultation that helps you to focus on the areas of your face that
you’d most like to improve. You should also feel better armed to discuss
with your own doctor, nurse, or aesthetician the treatments or products
that will help you. Finding the right doctor, and having a good relationship
with him or her, can make all the difference in developing your own skin
plan for the future.
GETTING STARTED—YOUR SKIN PLAN
When my patients come in for a consultation, they generally want to
leave with a planfor their makeover. Usually they know exactly what’s
bothering them, whether it’s frown lines, crow’s feet, lines around the
mouth, or some sagging at the jawline. But often they don’t know how to
get from where they are to where they want to be.That’s where cosmetic
dermatologists like myself come in.
My goal is to help you figure out how to get from A to B with a plan
that covers the areas you want to fix within your budget and your time
frame. From products that help prevent problems in the first place, to
Introduction 3
Botox and fillers, to lasers and radiofrequency, to maintaining your skin,
you can create your own skin makeover.
Our skin is a part of us. That may sound obvious, but if we’re not
healthy and vibrant, our skin won’t be. I don’t believe in aging grace-
fully—I believe in aging vigorously—in other words—with intention, vi-
tality, and vigor. Much of aging is just disuse and misuse, whether it’s
sun-damaged skin, an alcohol-damaged liver, or deteriorating joints from
too much or too little exercise.
In four simple steps, you can use the chapters in this book to help
you. First, as with most of my patients, I’d encourage you to think about
the three things that you’d most like to change about your face. They
might be frown lines, lines on your upper lip, brown spots or age spots,
lines from the nose to mouth, or sagging at the jawline.
Second, as you read through, keep a working list of what can be done
about each individual problem as you come across it. For instance, you
might be worrying about wrinkles around the eyes. We’ll discuss the vari-
ous products and procedures, from eye creams to Botox to CosmoDerm,
as potential solutions.
If you’re worried that you don’t have deep pockets for expensive pro-
cedures, know that many of the plans and procedures suggested in this
book are affordable, even on a strict budget. Sometimes it’s simply a mat-
ter of rechanneling money you might otherwise spend on worthless
products or unhelpful procedures onto procedures appropriate for your
skin. When possible, I’ve outlined a range of prices for various cosmetic
services. Please bear in mind, though, that costs vary from place to place.
You’ll likely pay more in New York or Los Angeles, for instance, for the
same procedure in Omaha or Portland.
Third, keep track of what it will cost you to correct each problem with its
accompanying solution: for instance, you might note that you want to fix
your crow’s feet. With a better moisturizer, you’ll pay around sixty dollars; if
you go for Botox, your out-of-pocket expense will more likely be around four
hundred dollars. What’s more feasible for your budget?