Next of Skin
By Vivanista - October 21, 2009
Many women ask me whether they should have injections with Botox, collagen and Restylane, or peels and laser work to mitigate lines and wrinkles, improve splotches and dark spots and generally freshen up their appearances. My answer is: you can do all of them.
Women now are much more sophisticated than they were 20 years ago. In addition, the baby boomer is now of age and wants to look good. Many of us go to the gym daily and we eat well and now we want our faces to look as good as we feel. And for the first time technology has kept pace with the patient demand, as opposed to when I first started out when all we had were collagen injections and chemical peels. Today physicians don’t look at any one procedure as a single-modality therapy. Many of my patients will come in and concurrently have laser treatment and injectables at the same time.
Laser work has much more affect on photo damage – damage from the sun. You can get Botox (an injection to treat frown lines, forehead creases and crow’s feet) primarily on your face, and it works well, but laser work may be more helpful for other areas such as the décolletage and the hands that historically have been more difficult to address. Lasers don’t replace Botox or Restylane (an injectable gel that helps to soften the appearance of facial lines). They are not mutually exclusive but rather an adjunct to those treatments and work synergistically with them. Lasers address skin lines and color and texture, whereas Botox and fillers really work on the deeper lines.
Finally, I always encourage my patients to start slowly and to treat only what really bothers them. Not what bothers co-workers, partners and especially husbands! Women today should not look “done.” It is all about prevention and maintenance as opposed to playing catch-up. No one should try to “redo you,” only to try to make it like you have been on vacation or gotten a good night’s sleep. The overdone look might be appropriate for those in the limelight, but in San Francisco, as liberal a town as we are, we’re still, fortunately, conservative in terms of our appearance.
A little Botox is good, but more is not necessarily better. It is the most commonly requested procedure in the world, and I am the second largest user of Botox in the world; but cosmetic treatments in general are like anything else: best when used in moderation.
Dr. Matarasso is a clinical professor of dermatology at the University of California School of Medicine and has a practice in San Francisco. 415-362-2238; sethlmatarassomd.com
[Photos from ekai via Flickr]
About the author: Vivanista
Vivanista is a member-based, lifestyle community for fundraising volunteers. Sharing of unique insights, expert tips and a spirit of giving empowers members to improve their own lives and the lives of others.
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