Choosing a beauty procedure

I went to the launching of a beauty clinic recently and some of the guests were good-looking movie actors and actresses. They were asked to say what treatments they have had done. I was surprised to hear that majority of them (most of them are between 24 and 35 years old) had something done to their faces and bodies. An ex-beauty queen, already in her late thirties, when prodded by the emcee, revealed that she had her thighs and other areas tapered off through liposuction, and a treatment on her face. She looked great and natural.

One young actor admitted to having facials and laser treatments. I don’ think that Mel Gibson or Paul Newman, idols of a few decades ago, did these procedures when they were young. Frankly, the actor was young and handsome and did not seem to need any beauty treatment, but who knows, perhaps these treatments added to his stunning good looks. What impressed me was the fact that they all looked natural. Most of the older ladies I know who had tucks here and there look so obviously done.

I am afraid of looking like Michael Jackson but I know I need to have a facial procedure done soon. What method is there that would make me look rejuvenated without necessarily looking like I went under the knife?

Tess

There are minimally invasive facial rejuvenation procedures that are supposedly age defying. Do these work as well as the traditional plastic surgery? Experts say it depends on the procedure, the patient and on the problem area. They give three examples of these less invasive procedures:

1) Thermage. This technique uses radio frequency waves to tighten tissues while cooling the skin to minimize redness.

2) Feather lift. A technique that uses stitches to tighten sagging cheeks and necks.

3) Injectable wrinkle fillers. These include Botox and the recently FDA approved Restylane and Perlane among others. Robert Bernard, a plastic surgeon, says that minimally invasive techniques are terrific for individuals who do not need a total facelift to enhance their appearance. For example, the Aptos feather lift is recommended for individuals whose cheeks are not sagging too much. In its simplest terms, the procedure involves using stitches like cables to reposition portions of the face (such as the forehead, midface, or neck) that have started to sag. Aptos or anti-drooping stitches are placed under the skin to elevate the drooping jowl, brow or cheek. There are knot like barbs along the stitch that hook to the tissue, lifting it. "The procedure has much less risk, inconvenience, and expense plus a quicker recovery time than the traditional facelift. Think of it as an emergency facelift. If, say, a daughter or a son is getting married and you want to look younger for the big day, you can have this procedure the week of, or even the morning of the big day.!"

Another perk: You can go back and re-adjust. The aging process does not stop just because you have had surgery, so later on you can go back and make it tighter. Such a re-adjustment takes all of five minutes!

What about thermage? Dr. Barnard is not impressed with thermage. He says that there is considerable pain and research shows only 20 percent of people have visible effects. The procedure uses radio frequency energy to heat the skin, causing collagen that gives skin its elasticity to contract and ultimately stimulates new collagen production.

Injectable wrinkle fillers are what the doctors call "Injectable Youth." Most of them last anywhere from four to six months. Some doctors prefer Restylane to Botox. Restylane was just approved by the FDA in late 2003 and is an injectable gel consisting of hylauronic acid, which is found naturally in all living things. It is approved to fill facial wrinkles including forehead wrinkles, smile lines and lips.

So which of these procedures is for you? Let your doctor advice you and go to others for a second and a third opinion. Use your best judgment. Remember, you only have one face and you face the world with it. So choose your procedure wisely.

Are Expired Medicines Still Potent?

Should the expiration date on a bottle of medication be followed strictly? Sometimes, when I go through my medicine cabinet, I find so many bottles of expired medication. I feel bad throwing them away as most of them are half full or almost full. But my husband tells me they have no potency once they have passed the expiration date. I don’t think so. And can you get hurt if you take it? Is there anyway of finding out?

Mrs. Stingy

In other words, are drug manufacturers being honest with the consumers when they put an expiration date on their medications, or is the practice of dating them just another drug industry scam to get us to buy new drugs when the old ones that purportedly have expired are still good?

My research engine gives us some answers:

First, the expiration date, required by law in the US beginning in 1979, specifies only the date the manufacturer guarantees the full potency and safety of the drug. It does not show how long the drug is actually "good" or safe to use. Second, medical authorities uniformly say it is safe to take drugs past their expiration dates – no matter how expired the drugs purportedly are. Except for possibly the rarest of exceptions, you won’t get hurt and you certainly won’t get killed. A contested example of a rare exception is a case of renal tubular damage purportedly caused by expired tetracycline. This outcome, (disputed by some scientists) was supposedly caused by a chemical transformation of the active ingredient. Third, studies show that expired drugs may lose of their potency over time, from as little as 5 percent or less to 50 percent or more. Even 10 years after the expiration date, most drugs have a good deal of their original potency.

So wisdom dictates that if your life does depend on an expired drug and you must have 100 percent of its original potency to save your life, discard the expired medicines and get new ones. But if it is just a minor headache, hay fever, menstrual cramps, try taking it. Chances are, it still has its curative potency. I have taken some expired stomach cramps pills just to test its potency and to my surprise it worked. When I realized the billions of dollars these pharmaceutical companies bilk out of unknowing consumers every year because we trust the industry’s expiration date, I got indigestion and my mom gave me one of her expired Alka Seltzers. And guess what, it worked again!

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For your questions: Write to Mayenne Carmona Star Gate Media 6th floor, Jaka Bldg., Ayala Ave., Makati.