Cosmetic News from Medicetics

Can ears age you? Apparently yes, according to the Daily Mirror’s writer Kay Goddard. And fashionistas better watch out, says Goddard, because not since Corrie’s Bet Lynch was setting the trends with her oversized chandeliers earrings, has hefty ear adornment been so in. Whether Bet Lynch was ever a trend-setting style maven must is open to question, but either way Goddard is right in one respect, over-sized earrings can and do cause unsightly lobe droop and stretched holes.

The reason why this is so aging is because elongated earlobes are part and parcel of the natural aging process. Just as the jawline droops as we age, so does the tissue in the earlobes, making them longer.

The best way to avoid ‘granny ears’ is to forego weighty ear appendages. But what if the damage is done?

Earlobe reconstruction is gaining in popularity, says Goddard. Younger women in their thirties can have fillers in the lobe which can make an overstretched piercing smaller, older women can opt for an ‘ear lift’ to remove excess skin and flesh, resizing the lobes to a more youthful length. Goddard says the op she had ‘took years off’ her ears and  she was delighted with the results.

Either way we’d recommend giving this seasons dangly earrings a wide berth and sticking to studs.

To see a larger image, please click on one of the images below.

To see a larger image, please click on one of the images below.

Can Botox in your twenties prevent wrinkles later along the road? That is the hot topic under discussion according to The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, August 2^nd 2011, in the feature, “Botox for wrinkle prevention: sense or nonsense?”

In “Straight Talk About Cosmetic Surgery,” plastic surgeon Arthur Perry told the society, “The concept of trying to prevent future wrinkles is nutty. You don’t want to use a drug unless you need the drug, and Botox is a drug.”

Some aestheticians however argue that for some women there is a case for starting Botox earlier. Primarily for those women with very active facial muscles, whose expressions are already starting to become etched onto their skin and are apparent even when the face is at rest.  Regular Botox can atrophy muscles making wrinkle formation less likely, they argue.

At Medicetics we generally don’t treat patients with Botox before their thirties, although we have noticed that among our US patients who have started treatment typically much earlier, anecdotally at least, Botox does seem to be playing a preventive role, since those patients show fewer signs of mechanically induced – as opposed to sun damage induced – wrinkles in their thirties and forties.

One strong argument against early treatment, as the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery noted, is the sheer cost involved. They estimated that by starting in your twenties you could spend $30,000 on Botox alone by the time you’d hit your forties. Not something most people can afford.

Either way it’s clear that the age for starting Botox is starting to creep lower with the number of twenty-something patients rising sharply every year. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 370,597 people between the ages of 19 and 34 got Botox injections in 2010, which is 15.2% of the total population.

The California based psychologist quoted in the story attributed the trend to peer group pressure and the rise of social media, since your photograph is the first thing most people learn about you.

While there are signs that the UK is following suit, we generally don’t find UK clients to be as self-conscious as their US counterparts. It is still far from the norm to request Botox before your thirtieth birthday which, on a balance, I think, is a good thing.

Liz Jones’s brutally honest account of her facelift, in You magazine last Sunday prompted a tidal wave of comments across the internet with both newspaper columnists and the Twitterati furiously debating her decision.

Many thought a facelift too drastic-a-step. Others asked ‘What’s wrong with aging?’ A rare few applauded her honesty with Guardian columnist Tanya Gold defending Jones’s decision to brave the critics and come clean.

Whether you agree with Liz Jones confessional style of journalism, or not, it certainly makes for gripping reading. But did she need to go the whole hog and go under the knife? There are plenty of less invasive treatments, which can shave years off the average face.

One of two sessions of Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) or a ‘photo facial‘ can be used to clear red veins and pigmentation caused by hormones and the sun, giving a clear, even complexion; desirable because women with an even skin tone are thought to  look years younger – by as much as ten years – and are also rated as more attractive in studies. (In fact Jones did try this treatment as a supplement to the face ift, along with Botox and fillers around her mouth).

One of the main reasons we look older isn’t just wrinkles, but loss of fat and fat slippage. Jones calls it ‘ the slip of disappointment’.   This too can be dealt with using less invasive tricks.

Voluma is a new hyaluronic acid filler, which is much softer and easier to mould than first-generation products. It can be used to replace volume in the cheeks, lifting the face and downturned mouth, while giving model cheekbones for a pretty and natural look without the danger of a bunched ‘pillow face’.  Voluma has the added advantage of lasting up to two years –  nearly twice as long as older fillers – and  is good for nervous clients because it can be easily dispersed.

Then there’s the ‘non-surgical facelift’: Pellevé. This is a new skin-tightening therapy, which is particularly good for tackling the jowls and ‘turkey neck’ Jones complained of, as well as tightening skin around the eyes and smoothing the forehead. The system works by heating the deep layers of skin using radiowave technology. The heat causes the collagen in your skin to immediately contract and tighten. After the treatment, your skin will also start to produce new collagen. It’s virtually painless and has no side-effects. The results are immediate, with a boost in cell turnover peaking six months after the treatment and lasting up to two years.  It only takes two sessions and there’s no recovery time needed, so you can be treated that day and at a party that night. Not something you can say of a facelift.

Medicetics own just one of three machines in London and are hosting a series of Pellevé evenings to demonstrate the benefits to our clients. The next demonstration session will take place next month. Just call the clinic to book a place if you are interested.

We’ll even have a top make-up artist, to hand,  who’ll be showing you the best way to create a youthful glow with make-up. Plenty of ways, in other words, to turn back the clock, without going under the knife.

To book a consultation visit Medicetics website or call +44 (0)203 432 2616