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TURN BACK THE CLOCK; Your Ultimate Guide to Cosmetic Treatments.. Part One: The Face

Posted on: Sunday, 14 January 2007, 03:00 CST

My facelift was a real eye-opener

BARBARA Hughes always thought her green eyes were her best feature. But when sales executive Barbara hit her 50s, they became hooded and puffy, so she decided to act.

In December 2005, the 56-year-old mum-of-one had a facelift. Barbara's surgeon at the Bristol Nuffield Hospital gave her blepharoplasty, a treatment which tightens and lifts droopy eyelids, and a cheek lift and brow lift - which took at least 15 years off her appearance. "The transformation has been incredible," says Barbara. "My jaw was starting to go square but now it's heart- shaped again. I enjoy applying my make-up again and being attractive to the opposite sex."

Divorcee Barbara, from Melksham, Wilts, says the pounds 8,900 treatment was worth every penny. "In my job it's very much a man's world. I saw the surgery as a way of looking the part and fitting into my environment. It's given me greater self-esteem and confidence."

COSMECEUTICAL CREAMS

Cost: pounds 28-pounds 700

COSMECEUTICAL is the new buzzword - it means moisturisers and cleansing products that have been formulated by specialist skin doctors.

Many can have an impact on superficial lines by boosting the production of new skin cells.

Lesley Reynolds, specialist skincare adviser at the Harley Street Medical Skin Clinic, says: "The difference between a cosmeceutical and a regular skin-care line is the concentration of the active ingredients. A cream you buy over the counter may contain very little of the active ingredient. A good cosmeceutical has been formulated for skin doctors."

Ingredients to look for include antioxidants, Vitamin C to improve skin tone and brightness' glycolic acid to remove dead cells' agireline to relax muscles and reduce fine lines and wrinkles' AHAs (fruit acids) to deliver the powerful ingredients to the lower skin layers' growth peptides to turbo-charge the production of new skin and DMAE from fish oils to tighten.

TRY THESE -DERMATOLOGIC Cosmetic Laboratories - US range with excellent clinical trials behind their anti-ageing claims. COST From pounds 25-85. Call 0845 634 0510 for your nearest clinic.

MEDIK8'S Pretox 3HTP Muscle Relaxant Gel claims to gently reduce facial muscle movements to smooth frown and crow'sfeet lines - a no- needle alternative to Botox. COST pounds 77 from Beautyflash. Call 0870 200 0949.

DDF products were the first cosmeceuticals launched in the UK. Their extensive range includes Wrinkle Relax, the firstever Botox in a bottle. COST From pounds 28-196. Call 0800 0376000 for details of your nearest stockist.

TOP TIP

THESE creams should only be bought after consultation with a dermatologist or a trained skin-care specialist. The ingredients can cause irritation if they're not used correctly.

CHEMICAL SKIN PEELS

Cost: pounds 50-pounds 1,500

FOR an instantly fresher face all over, you can't beat a facial peel. They come in three types:

SUPERFICIAL PEEL: This is the removal of the outer layers of skin known as the epidermis recommended for rough, dry dull skin. Try: A gentle glycolic acid peel which gives a polished result - you can pop to a beauty clinic and go straight back to work and no one will be any the wiser. COST: pounds 50-pounds 100 from the Harley Street Medical Skin Clinic, 020 7935 0986, or go online to www.consultingroom.com for clinics nationally.

MEDIUM DEPTH PEEL: Works down to the upper dermal layers and and can reduce deeper expression lines. One common ingredient is tricholoroacetic acid. Performed only by a trained dematologist, this treatment will leave your face red and possibly sore for a few days. The results? A pinker, brighter skin tone that can last up to three months. COST: pounds 500. Try: L-TCA Peel from Renew Medica in London. Call 0800 027 2029.

DEEP PEEL: This can help patients with deep furrows or scarring. Only performed by a plastic surgeon or dermatologist, this is a painful and invasive procedure but you will look 10 years younger. The most common ingredient is phenol. The peel will take the skin back to reveal smoother, but redder, skin. It can take four to six months to get back to normal.

Preparation treatments are essential and you'll need painkillers afterwards and liquidised food for a few days as chewing hurts. Two weeks off work. COST pounds 1,500. TRY A consultation with Mr Awad Awwad at the Cromwell Hospital in West London. Call 020 7460 5700.

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ALWAYS check what the sideeffects are. Will there be any redness or stinging after the treatment? Also, do you have to stay out of the sun, and if so for how long?

LASER TREATMENT

COST pounds 200-PLUS

IN the past five years, a new generation of laser technology has added another dimension to lunch-hour anti-ageing. Cosmetic surgery expert Wendy Lewis, author of Wrinkle Rescue (pounds 4.99, published by Quadrille), says: "One of the most exciting laser treatments creates a wound in the small blood vessels in the deep skin layers and causes collagen and the vessels under the top layer to constrict." These treatments are done in a series of three-week intervals. The visible reduction of fine lines occurs over the next few weeks.

TRY THESE

THE Fraxel laser claims to deliver tighter, firmer skin as well as boosting the production of new cells under the surface and removing sun spots on top. You have to take a course of three to five treatments. Call 0871 474 0743 or go to fraxel.com.

A SIMILAR treatment called Pixel has just been launched by the Courthouse Clinics. Call 0870 850 3456.

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TAKE an anti-inflammatory ibuprofen tablet before your ap p ointmen t to reduce possible pain and redness.

BOTOX

COST: From pounds 200

BOTOX is now so popular that most women have a friend who will own up to having regular top-ups. Botox can prevent - and reverse - the appearance of lines around your forehead and eyes which make you look cross when you're not.

Dr Aamer Khan, cosmetic doctor from the Harley Street Skin Clinic, says: "The first sign of ageing usually becomes noticeable from age 30 onwards with the appearance of expression lines. These can be treated with Botox from the late 20s onwards." Botox is injected into the skin and relaxes smiling and frowning muscle movements that cause wrinkles. The effects last for up to four months - then you will need another session. The muscles will eventually stop working altogether (usually after several sessions).

TRY For a good registered Botox doctor, see www.cosmeticdoctors.co.uk

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SOME doctors are Botox bonkers and inject too much - reducing natural expressiveness in the face. Always ask to see before and after patient pictures.

FILLERS/VOLUMISERS

COST: From pounds 300

THE second sign of ageing is loss of fullness in the face which happens after the age of 35 to 40. This can now be treted with volumising fillers which are injected deep into the skin, often above the top of the cheek under the orbital bone which surrounds the eyes as well as underneath the cheek, around the jaw and near the mouth like Carol.

The other option is fine fillers designed to smooth out lines and wrinkles on the surface of the skin.

TRY THESE

RESTYLANE and Laresse for lines: deep fillers Restylane Sub-Q and volumiser Sculptra. Choose a clinic that is registered with the Healthcare Commission. Call 0800 015 5548 or go to www.sculptra.co.uk or www.restylane.com

FOR Sculptra, contact Dr Ayham Ayoubi, Facial Cosmetic Clinic, 104 Harley Street. Tel: 020 8342 1100.

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TAKE the (day off work when you have it done - all injectables carry a risk of bruising, soreness and redness.

NON-SURGICAL FACELIFT

COST: FROM ABOUT pounds 1,500

SCAR-FREE face lifts known as thread, feather or contour lifts offer an alternative to the scalpel with similar, though less dramatic, results.

They use stitches which hook into sagging skin from underneath and are pulled tight. They're threaded under the skin using a needle.

Recovery time is only four to seven days, you don't need a general anaesthetic and the results look natural with no scars.

A thread lift is cheaper than a face lift but won't last as long.

TRY Go online to www.contourthreads.com or call The Hadleigh Clinic on 08456 447711.

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READ more about the pros and cons of thread lifts on the independent website www.yourplasticsurgeryguide.com

CONSIDERING TREATMENT?

TO find a good surgeon you need to do some research and check their qualifications:

Do they hold the exam FRCS Plast? This is the only specialist exam in plastic surgery through the Royal College of Surgeons.

They should be a member of BAAPS (British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons).

The surgeon should be on the General Medical Council Specialist Register for Plastic Surgery (go online to www.gmc-uk.org).

Go to some one on recommendation from a friend or family doctor.

Do not travel overseas for surgery unless you're happy with arrangements for follow-ups and management of any post-op problems.

SURGICAL FACELIFT

COST: From pounds 2,500

A FACELIFT means scalpels, surgeons and an operating theatre.

If you have lots of loose skin, and have considered all the other options, you may decide surgery will give you the best results.

Facelifts used to mean that spare skin was cut from your eyes, chin and forehead and the rest of your skin was stretched, giving that tell-tale "wind tunnel effect".

These days, the aim is a much softer result. Isolated arthe eas can be targeted, just the forehead for example. Mr Grover says: "We can move deeper tissues, rather than trying to lift the whole face, producing a much more natural result."

Talk to the surgeon at length for a realistic view of what to expect.

TRY THESE

DR Aamer Khan, The Harley Street Medical Skin Clinic, for advice on surgeons and techniques. Call 0870 429 2220.

MR Rajiv Grover. Call 020 7486 4301.

THE Patient Advisory Service can recommend surgeons and put you in touch with patients. Call 0800 068 4031.

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TAKE a photo of yourself from 10 years ago, so the surgeon can see clearly how you have aged and how you'd like to look.

PROBLEM AREAS

DROOPY OR HOODED EYES

TREATMENT Blepharoplasty, which means upper and lower eyelid surgery to tighten the droopy or hooded lids, removing fatty pouches underneath.

COST From pounds 2,850.

THIN LIPS

TREATMENT Talk to your doctor about filling the edge of the lips where they meet the rest of your face (the vermilion border) with non-permanent filler product like Restylane Lipp.

COST Around pounds 350 and it lasts up to six months. For details of suitable clinics call 0800 015 5548 or call Q-Med on 01737 735 503.

TURKEY NECK

TREATMENT Botox can help reduce vertical neck bands or horizontal "necklace" lines and lasts from three to four months. Also check out SmartLipo treatment which removes fat pads and tightens skin.

COST From pounds 200.

LIPSTICK FEATHER LINES

TREATMENT Lines around the mouth up to the nose (known as perioral) can be filled with Laresse, Hydrafill or Perlane, lasting nine to 12 months. "Erbium Yag" laser resurfacing lasts longer.

COST pounds 350-pounds 700. For Laresse or Hydrafill contact Wigmore Medical on 020 7514 5972. For Restylane Touch contact Q Med on 01737 735 503.

DOUBLE CHIN

TREATMENT SmartLipo is a treatment which claims to melt away extra fat and make a real difference under the chin.

COSTS About pounds 2,000 on average. Contact Wigmore Medical on 020 7514 5972 or The Harley Medical Skin Clinic on 020 7935 0986.

Source: Sunday Mirror; London

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