Are You Worried Your Skin is Aging You?

No matter what age you are, the health of your skin can age you. It can make you appear younger or older than you really are. Today, men and women are experimenting with various ways to look younger.

There are two ways to determine the age of a person. We all have a chronological age and a biological age. The chronological age is how many years old you are. The biological age is how healthy or unhealthy you are.

You may have been born thirty five years ago, but due to not taking care of your health, biologically you may be fifty five and look it.

Many women go under the knife or get Botox injections to help appear younger and fight the natural aging process. To tell the truth, I haven't seen one person that looked fabulous and appeared natural with plastic surgery or Botox.

Most that have had plastic surgery or had Botox injections either appear like they have, or think they just need one more of either form of treatment to look better. It is sad and almost reminds me of the children's story "The Emperor's New Clothes".

In this fable, as summarized in Wikipedia, an emperor who cares too much about clothes hires two crooks who promise him the finest suit of clothes from the most beautiful cloth. This cloth, they tell him, is invisible to anyone who was either stupid or unfit for his position. The Emperor cannot see the (non-existent) cloth, but pretends that he can for fear of appearing stupid; his ministers do the same. Everyone pretends that the king's clothes look very royal but everyone knows he is naked, but don't dare tell him.

I have seen even wives of plastic surgeons who look totally 'different', yet not younger looking after surgery or Botox injections. I wonder if anyone dares tell them how they really look. Many women continue to re-inject Botox although their lips and face look puffy.

Another important fact to consider is that we have no idea at this point, what the health consequences are of the multiple Botox type of injections over many years.
So why do so many women spend millions of dollars on plastic surgery or Botox injections?

Obviously the many skin care products in infomercials that promise the fountain of youth from their actress or model peddlers must not be providing the needed results.

The enemies to healthy skin are the following:

• Excessive alcohol dries the skin, takes over your mind and body.
• Tobacco fills your lungs with smoke from cigarettes or 2^nd hand smoke, is obviously the opposite of breathing fresh air that bathes the tissues with needed clean oxygen.
• Sun exposure without adequate protection also dries and robs the skin of collagen and elasticity. We do need the sun for Vitamin D, but to prevent over exposure damage, early morning for about ten or fifteen minutes is all you need.
• Stress is a quick route to aging. Balance between fun and work is important to a younger biological you.
• Poor diet and nutrition high in sugar and junk food is certainly not healthy for skin.
• Harsh, toxic ingredients in skin care products and cosmetics can also contribute to robbing the skin of elasticity and aging you.

In summary, use common sense and moderation in food and drink with the focus being on fruits and vegetables.

With skin care products, become educated and choose products with natural and safe ingredients such as Shea butter and antioxidants free of toxic ingredients.

Dr. Flora Stay is the founder of Cleure (fusion of Clean & Pure) http://www.cleure.com, the most trusted company for chemically safe personal care and cosmetic products. For a limited time you can receive a FREE e-book "Product Labels, A Cautionary Tale" to help you recognize the products that are right for you in order to avoid allergies and sensitivities. Just go to http://www.cleure.com right now and download this e-book.

Understanding What a Facelift Is

I would have to say that one of the biggest misconceptions on the part of patients in plastic surgery is in understanding what a facelift is. On a near daily basis, I explain to potential patients, much to their surprise, that what they envision a facelift to be it is not. Most patients have the perception that a facelift involves the entire face, from the scalp down to the neck. And they envision weeks of horrid facial swelling and bruises. These images are further fostered by what they have seen on the internet and on TV.

In reality, however, this is not what a facelift is. A facelift is a rather poorly named surgical procedure. More accurately, it should be called a neck or neck-jowl lift for this is what it actually does. A facelift affects only the lower third of the face and does nothing for the upper and middle thirds of the face. It helps re-create a sharper neck angle and gets rid of those saggy jowls. When a facelift is done in isolation, there is no bruising or swelling around the eyes or the rest of the face! Many times, however, patients wants a more complete facial improvement and then simultaneous procedures involving the eyes, nose, or mouth may be done with a facelift, the effect of which is to more closely mimic the images that patients originally imagined a facelift to be.

When I do a facelift only, patients do have a head dressing and surgical drains for the first night after surgery. However, these are removed the next day and replaced with a small chin strap that they wear for the rest of the week. Patients may shower and wash their hair the next day. Short of bending over or strenuous exercise there are no specific activity restrictions. Recovery is really of a social nature, rather than that of a physical one. There is virtually no pain and only some mild tenderness around the ears. You really will look pretty from a facelift only procedure in seven to ten days.

Undergoing a facelift should not be viewed, therefore, as a scary or arduous undertaking. Most patients will tell you that it was a lot easier than they had imagined. Many times patients will want a more complete amount of facial improvement and surgery on the eyes (blepharoplasty) would be the most plastic surgery procedure done with a facelift. This is because most patients feel that the eyes and neck are their top two facial aging concerns they want improved.

Dr Barry Eppley is a board-certified plastic surgeon in private practice in Indianapolis, Indiana at Clarian Health Systems. (http://www.eppleyplasticsurgery.com) He writes a daily blog on plastic surgery, spa therapies, and medical skin care at http://www.exploreplasticsurgery.com