Making the Most of Your Beauty Budget
Tough economic times have women and men searching for value in their personal expenses. No longer are trendy fashion statements considered an essential buy. More and more, consumers are investing their dollars into aesthetic treatments aimed at improving or enhancing appearance, and those treatments that have long-lasting results.
Suggestions to make the most of your beauty budget with prescription and physician-recommended skin care products:
1. Choose skincare products by power, not by price. Retinoids (vitamin A) are demonstrated by clinical studies to help your skin look and act younger, stay clearer and simply glow, and are FDA approved for treating fine lines and wrinkles(4).
2. Medically-based peels and laser treatments when administered by a healthcare professional are designed to improve the look and condition of your skin. Invest in a doctor who will evaluate your skin, make the right recommendations and monitor your results.
3. Protect your investment. No matter your beauty buy, practice diligent use of sun protection regardless of your outdoor exposure or the cloud cover. Choose products with both UVA and UVB protection specifically designed for your skin type.
Aesthetic injections with dermal fillers are another option for improving appearance, and require a trained professional to inject. “You cannot cut corners, which simply invites risk,” says New York dermatologist Jeannette Graf, M.D. Even at market prices, aesthetic dermal filler injections can provide excellent value for your beauty dollar with proper treatment and full correction of facial folds. Graf cites the obvious benefits: “Your skin is on display at all times. The result of aesthetic injections such as Restylane(2) and Perlane(3) is to fill moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds for a face that looks younger. Perlane(3), is designed for deeper injection (deep dermis to superficial subcutis).”(1),(3) Clinical research demonstrated that Restylane provides beautiful results that last up to 18 months with only one follow-up treatment.* “This is an investment in your appearance that is visible every day, no matter what you are wearing,” says Dr. Graf.(1)
*In a clinical study, at least 95% of patients treated with Restylane showed an overall duration of effectiveness for 18 months from initial treatment when they returned for a follow-up treatment at 4.5 or 9 months.(2)
Important Safety Considerations of Restylane and Perlane
Either Restylane or Perlane can be used to restore volume and fullness to the skin to correct moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds, such as the lines from your nose to the corners of your mouth (nasolabial folds), ask your physician which is right for you. After your treatment, you might have some swelling, redness, pain, bruising, and tenderness. This will normally last less than seven days. Although rare, red or swollen small bumps may occur. If you have had facial cold sores before, an injection can cause another outbreak. In rare circumstances, the doctor may inject into a blood vessel, which can damage the skin. To avoid bruising and bleeding, you should not use either product if you have recently used drugs that thin your blood or prevent clotting. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or under 18 years, you should not use Restylane or Perlane.
Restylane or Perlane should not be used by people with previous bad allergies, particularly to certain microorganisms known as gram-positive bacteria; by people with previous bad allergies to drugs that have required in-hospital treatment; or by people with bleeding disorders. Injections should not be made anywhere except the skin or just under the skin.
Patients should be limited to 6.0 mL per treatment. The safety or effectiveness of Restylane( )and Perlane for the treatment of anatomic regions other than nasolabial folds have not been established in controlled clinical studies.
The use of Restylane or Perlane at the site of skin sores, pimples, rashes, hives, cysts, or infection should be postponed until healing is complete. Use of either product in these instances could delay healing or make your skin problems worse.
Restylane and Perlane are available only through a licensed practitioner. Complete product and safety information is available at www.RestylaneUSA.com.
(Restylane)( and )(Perlane)( are not approved for combination use)(, or)( with any other product. )
References:
1. Jeannette Graf, MD. Conversation on March 31, 2009 with Marie Czenko Kuechel.
2. Restylane((R)) [Instructions for Use] Scottsdale, AZ: Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation; December 2008.
3. Perlane((R)) [Instructions for Use] Scottsdale, AZ: Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation; February 2009.
4. Kligman AM, Leyden JJ. Treatment of photoaged skin with topical tretinoin. Skin Pharmaceut 1993; 6(suppl 1):78-82.
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