Plastic Surgery: Anti Wrinkle Procedures
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The main alternative to at-home anti wrinkle creams is plastic surgery. Every year, plastic surgery becomes more socially acceptable and more and more Americans take advantage of the latest plastic surgery procedures and techniques. Indeed, in some cities (Miami comes to mind), the majority of people over 40 have had a plastic surgery procedure to reduce the appearance of age.
There are a wide variety of plastic surgery procedures available, and new procedures are being discovered and perfected every month. This article provides a brief overview of the different anti wrinkle procedures available through plastic surgery.
Plastic surgery: non-invasive procedures
Our definition of a non-invasive plastic surgery procedure is one that doesn't involve scalpels, injections or stitches. These are the anti wrinkle plastic surgery procedures currently in use.
Cosmetic Lasers
One common plastic surgery procedure is the use of lasers to "resurface" the skin. Lasers using either visible or non-visible light are used to literally burn off the top, dead layers of skin. This reveals the younger, living skin cells beneath. Side effects include extreme sensitivity to sunlight, swelling, pain and redness.
Thermage
This relatively new plastic surgery procedure makes the use of intense, radio-frequency waves. This energy is focused on the skin of the face and neck in short bursts, heating the collagen layer beneath the skin while protecting the top layers of the skin. While cooling, the collagen layer tightens and firms up the skin, which can reduce and even eliminate fine lines and wrinkles.
IPL (intense pulsed light)
This plastic surgery technique is similar to the use of cosmetic lasers. IPL is not coherent light, however, and is frequently used for hair removal and to treat photo-discoloration. IPL is also used as an anti wrinkle procedure.
Chemical peel
This procedure uses an acid (usually alpha-hydroxy acid)-based gel which is applied to the skin of the face and neck. The acid eats away the top layers of the skin, uncovering the younger and more vibrant skin cells below. Chemical peels generally leave fairly serious side effects including inflamed skin, peeling skin, weeping or seeping skin and extreme sensitivity to light.
A milder version of the chemical peel is found in any anti wrinkle product that uses alpha hydroxy acid or tretinoin (retinoic acid).
Plastic surgery: invasive procedures
BOTOX® injections
Everyone has heard about this plastic surgery procedure. BOTOX® serum, a neurotoxic substance, is injected into the face to paralyze some facial muscles that cause wrinkles. The BOTOX® treatment must be renewed periodically because they wear off. Also, the FDA has only approved the use of this plastic surgery technique on a small portion of the face.
Acetyl hexapeptide-3 has been found to have a similar, muscle-relaxing effect when applied topically.
Facelift
The facelift, the most dramatic of invasive plastic surgery procedures, has come a long way in recent years. No longer are people who go through this procedure left looking like a plastic doll. Micro facelifts are available for limited areas of the face.
The skin of the face is literally pulled tight and stitched into place, thus taking up the slack skin that has formed wrinkles. Recovery time after this procedure can last several weeks.
Alternatives to plastic surgery
Anti wrinkle skin care products are an excellent alternative to plastic surgery. An effective product does not produce changes overnight, but instead slowly eliminates wrinkles and rejuvenates the skin. This can be an advantage - if your appearance changes slowly, over time, rather than radically, it excites less comment and therefore you have less explaining to do.
The key is to choose an effective anti wrinkle cream. Take a look at our reviews and choose the best anti wrinkle product you can - it will save you time, money and even the pain and suffering of plastic surgery.
BOTOX® is a registered trademark of Allergan, Inc.
Thermage® is a registered trademark of Thermage, Inc.
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