Give your summer bling!

As a professional esthetician and a cosmetic tattoo technician I believe in the power of image so always try to look nice for my clients.  But since I grew my hair out, I have run into the issue of hair control. How to look styling, professional and keep it out of my way.  After much trial and error I stumbled onto the world of headbands.  But many headbands are uncomfortable, pinch, bind, or slip out of position - or damage hair growth.  Through part research and part luck I stumbled on a fabulous answer.  I found a company that comes from the beauty industry and understood hair control problems and the issues of staying looking current while being comfortable.  After wearing one I became a devotee of Pink Pewter.  They are so comfortable and sooooo cute.

Their styles are diverse from narrow beaded multi-color bands to intriguing bling in a diversity of materials, patterns, widths and styles.  I knew quickly I needed to share them with you my clients and my colleagues in the beauty and permanent cosmetic industry.

Quantities are limited but more styles and colors will come as we learn what you are looking for. Casual, fashion and yes, wedding styles are available. Some are convertible and can be worn as a headband, pony tail ring or bracelet. (Talk about multi-tasking!)  If there is something special you are looking for let me know.  

And what makes it even sweeter? Pink Pewter has a fabulous Care and Repair Program to fix any item that becomes damaged. Visit the Pink Pewter category page for more information about the company. Visit the item pages for information on their products and how to wear them multiple ways. 

LET THE FUN BEGIN!!!!

Non-Surgical Facelift?

With the huge demand for ways to stave off the signs of age medical technology is working overtime. First there were facelifts - but a rhytidectomy (face lift) has significant down time, risk of infection, scarring and is very expensive. A facelift is normally the lower 2/3 of the face and if you add a forehead lift and or blepharoplasty (eye lift) the price will go up.  Typically it runs $20,000 - $50,000. So options were explored for ways to get a more youthful appearance without the full surgery. CO2 resurfacing can smooth the skin and get rid of brown spots, but it doesn't remove excess skin or give you that "tuck".

The next evolution uses radio frequency most commonly sold under the trade name Thermage. It markets that it can tighten and smooth the skin non-surgically.  While it can lift and tighten it won't remove excess skin like surgery can. Thermage describes its Ideal Patent as:

• Patients who are not candidates for surgical face lift 
• Middle-aged women beginning to show signs of neck/brow/eyelid sagging
• Middle-aged women beginning to show signs of drooping jowls/cheek folds 
• Patients who want to achieve subtle lift or tightening of the face without invasive surgery 
• Patients who have had a prior face lift and desire further tightening of the skin.

Cost runs from $1000 - $5000 depending on the area to be treated. The skin will look improved immediately but results will continue to improve for several months. By the results from their own studies, about 50% of the clients report being happy to very happy with the results. There is generally no down time or skin discoloration. They state that typically results last about 2 years. The results are permanent but that the natural aging process could indicate the need for one or two maintenance treatments. While this has been a popular service, the discomfort and success rates triggered more research.

Another new technique is using ultrasonic sound waves to transfer heat into the skin in a manner similar to radio frequency. The surface of the skin is not damaged but tiny micro-wounds place at varying depths in the dermis and below trigger tightening and collagen production. Patients have reported that afterwards it feels like the muscles have been doing ab crunches. While there may be some visible tightening this is a long term process where the skin appearance continues to improve over 3 - 6 months. Recent studies have shown that new collagen is still being deposited 2 years following a single treatment. That indicates this is a very long lasting therapy. The ideal patient would be similar to that for Thermage.  Nothing will remove very lax or excess skin outside of surgery.  But if you start younger, before the problem becomes severe, then yes, there are non-surgical ways to lift the face.

Because of post treatment tenderness of the muscles and along bony ridges, patients should wait 4-6 weeks before resuming facial treatments and permanent cosmetic procedures that involve pressure or stretching. A light touch treatment can probably be tolerated well at 2 weeks. If in doubt have the client get an ok from their medical professional.