There's a good reason "lunchtime lifts" are on the rise; noninvasive procedures are quicker and more cost-effective than surgery, but still help erase years from your appearance. With new options appearing almost every month, you have plenty of choices -- but for results that work, consider these:
1. BOTOX® Cosmetic
The "liquid gold" of noninvasive aesthetics, BOTOX® Cosmetic sets the standard for smoothing out movement-related wrinkles without surgery. Injections take under half an hour; results appear within days and usually last around six months.
2. Dermal Fillers
Like BOTOX, facial fillers have a strong appeal because while the treatment is fast, the results tend to hit the perfect balance between "subtle and very natural" and "noticeably younger." Depending on your skin quality and treatment choice, the right dermal filler may restore volume and smoothness to your face for up to a year.
3. Chemical Peels
"One a week" facials are out; longer-lasting chemical peels are in. These treatments gently destroy dead surface cells and help clarify and refresh skin by stimulating natural tissue renewal. Peels can be mild, moderate, or intensive, with results to match, but the right peels for you will depend on your goals and skin type.
4. Laser Hair Removal
The same new technologies that make these treatments faster and more comfortable than ever before also make them much more thorough, making permanent hair removal much easier even for patients with darker skin. The typical treatment package requires 3-6 sessions, each about 20 minutes.
5. Microdermabrasion
This intensive treatment takes exfoliation to a new level, gently polishing away dead and damaged skin cells to reveal healthier, younger-looking skin. As with chemical peels, results can take a few weeks to appear fully, but the treatment itself is very fast.
6. Laser Skin Resurfacing
Like microdermabrasion, laser skin resurfacing quickly stimulates healthy new tissue by destroying the thin top layer of damaged, old-looking skin. However, new, non-ablative options like Fraxel® allow for even deeper and more intensive improvements because they target only specific points of skin. This process stimulates better collagen remodeling while significantly limiting damage to nearby tissues.
7. Spider Vein Treatments
Spider veins and varicose veins can be embarrassing and even painful, but fortunately a whole host of new laser treatments can correct this problem quickly. Note that larger varices might instead require sclerotherapy, injections of a solution that gently collapses and destroys the problem vein from the inside.
8. Collagen Injections
This natural skin-firming protein is an a good "fallback" for patients who are sensitive to newer options, but in general most aesthetic experts regard collagen injections as less effective than dermal fillers. JUVÉDERM® and Restylane®, for example, not only stimulate collagen remodeling but also tend to last longer.
9. Fat Grafting
As a follow-up to surgical liposuction, this short procedure lets you use your own fat taken from areas where you don't want it, then purified, to plump up and smooth out small areas. Popular treatment areas: the lips, upper cheeks, "tear troughs," "parenthesis lines," and buttocks.
10. Cellulite Treatment
The causes of cellulite are still difficult to pinpoint, but a handful of new systems seem to correct the problem nicely. Smoothshapes® and similar treatments use a combination of laser and light energy along with lymphatic-stimulating massage to loosen the tightened tissue fibers that pull fat into those "cottage cheese" lumps.
1. BOTOX® Cosmetic
The "liquid gold" of noninvasive aesthetics, BOTOX® Cosmetic sets the standard for smoothing out movement-related wrinkles without surgery. Injections take under half an hour; results appear within days and usually last around six months.
2. Dermal Fillers
Like BOTOX, facial fillers have a strong appeal because while the treatment is fast, the results tend to hit the perfect balance between "subtle and very natural" and "noticeably younger." Depending on your skin quality and treatment choice, the right dermal filler may restore volume and smoothness to your face for up to a year.
3. Chemical Peels
"One a week" facials are out; longer-lasting chemical peels are in. These treatments gently destroy dead surface cells and help clarify and refresh skin by stimulating natural tissue renewal. Peels can be mild, moderate, or intensive, with results to match, but the right peels for you will depend on your goals and skin type.
4. Laser Hair Removal
The same new technologies that make these treatments faster and more comfortable than ever before also make them much more thorough, making permanent hair removal much easier even for patients with darker skin. The typical treatment package requires 3-6 sessions, each about 20 minutes.
5. Microdermabrasion
This intensive treatment takes exfoliation to a new level, gently polishing away dead and damaged skin cells to reveal healthier, younger-looking skin. As with chemical peels, results can take a few weeks to appear fully, but the treatment itself is very fast.
6. Laser Skin Resurfacing
Like microdermabrasion, laser skin resurfacing quickly stimulates healthy new tissue by destroying the thin top layer of damaged, old-looking skin. However, new, non-ablative options like Fraxel® allow for even deeper and more intensive improvements because they target only specific points of skin. This process stimulates better collagen remodeling while significantly limiting damage to nearby tissues.
7. Spider Vein Treatments
Spider veins and varicose veins can be embarrassing and even painful, but fortunately a whole host of new laser treatments can correct this problem quickly. Note that larger varices might instead require sclerotherapy, injections of a solution that gently collapses and destroys the problem vein from the inside.
8. Collagen Injections
This natural skin-firming protein is an a good "fallback" for patients who are sensitive to newer options, but in general most aesthetic experts regard collagen injections as less effective than dermal fillers. JUVÉDERM® and Restylane®, for example, not only stimulate collagen remodeling but also tend to last longer.
9. Fat Grafting
As a follow-up to surgical liposuction, this short procedure lets you use your own fat taken from areas where you don't want it, then purified, to plump up and smooth out small areas. Popular treatment areas: the lips, upper cheeks, "tear troughs," "parenthesis lines," and buttocks.
10. Cellulite Treatment
The causes of cellulite are still difficult to pinpoint, but a handful of new systems seem to correct the problem nicely. Smoothshapes® and similar treatments use a combination of laser and light energy along with lymphatic-stimulating massage to loosen the tightened tissue fibers that pull fat into those "cottage cheese" lumps.
