One thing that continues to surprise me about these treatments is the lack of materials that the hospital provides for you as a patient.

They give you a very flimsy cotton headband to hold your hair off your face and some Cetaphil cleanser, but if you’re wearing make-up, Cetaphil doesn’t do a good job in taking it off and you’re better off bringing your own soap. As for towels, the hospital provides brown paper towels like what you find in a public bathroom, which is fine, but after you’re wiping the freezing gel off your face and then after the treatment, when your face is swollen, you’re wiping the tracking gel off your face, it is very rough on your very tender skin. (Picture changing a baby’s diaper using sandpaper and you get the idea.)

Moreover, the hospital only provides a tiny pill cup (not even a Dixie cup!) full of water to swallow two fairly large Percocets. So you’re better off bringing your own (full) water bottle, too.

Norah’s tip:

I now have a kit that I bring to the hospital with me: two towels, a proper headband and scrunchie to hold my hair, water, make-up remover, tissues and cleanser. For $850 a session, you’d think they could at least provide these basics.

The technician told me she had read the dermatologist’s notes and we were going to up the settings this time, to a depth of 50 and a width of 10 (next time, we’ll hit 50 and 11, the dermatologist’s target).

I was really scared, even with two Percocets (as I said before, the effect of the Percocet vanished the minute that laser touched my skin).  The Percocet did take the edge off the first round of lasering, where the laser is applied vertically to diferent sections of your face. I wouldn’t say it was pleasant, but it was tolerable, especially for a big baby like me. But when it came time to do the second round of lasering, where the laser is applied horizontallly, it felt like someone had put my face in an electric chair — I involuntarily started twitching and shaking quite violently, and we had to take several pauses in between sections, I couldn’t stand to have it all done in one fell swoop.

The swelling was worse this time around, too. The next morning, my right eye was nearly swollen shut and my left eye was very puffy beneath it. But the swelling went down 48 hours later, and now, a week after treatment, my face is perfectly normal (except for the redness, which usually takes longer to fade away for me — I have pretty poor circulation).

My fifth and final appointment is in early June, then I’ll take a 4 month break and re-assess how I look and feel (and financially, if I can afford it) in October.

Right now, I feel like it’s a LOT of money and a LOT of pain for results I can’t really see.  But, I know I’m a very impatient person and I know a lot of the results for Fraxel are NOT overnight. Your collagen is remodelled over a long period of time and results can’t be seen immediately. So I’ll be patient … or at least, try to be.

Photo by Jaci Berkopec

I’m so happy our reader Norah is so generous with her time and she’s agreed to document her experience with Fraxel laser. I’ve seen a number of people come to the site as a results of finding Norah’s article and it seems from one of the comments, that Norah’s expertise (after that many treatments, you become a sort of an expert in the field) has helped other readers who left comments.

Here’s Norah’s summary of her third Fraxel laser treatment to help with acne scars. I should point out that Norah has been quite busy with work lately and this third treatment was done in February, but she was not able to get it to us until recently.

If you’ve not been following the details for Norah’s experience with Fraxel laser, you might want to start reading from the beginning because Norah is so gifted in explaining in detail a procedure that can help so many women (and men) dealing with deep acne scars.

Norah’s experience with Fraxel laser:

Have you considered laser resurfacing to get rid of your severe acne scars?

What you need to know about using Fraxel laser to remove your acne scars

>>>> Here’s where Norah’s highlights of her third Fraxel laser treatment starts:

This session marked the turnaround/halfway point: I had signed up for 5 treatments and this was number 3. More than halfway there now! But, what did I have to show for it?

I was a little bit late for this appointment and it caused me a certain amount of stress, because I was worried the technician would cut into the one-hour waiting time while the freezing gel was on my face. I figured because I arrived 15 minutes late, I might only have the gel on for 45 minutes instead of 60, and my face wouldn’t really be frozen.

But thankfully, the technician just extended the time by another 15 minutes and I got the full benefit of the hour … which was a good thing, as it (still!) hurt like hell!

This time, I was given TWO Percocets, which I wasn’t really comfortable with as it’s such a strong narcotic, however, my pain threshold is so low, it was necessary. I was given the Percocet at the same time as the freezing gel was applied to my face. At the end of the hour, my limbs felt very heavy (I wasn’t sleepy, though, and thought I would be), like I was walking through water.

Of course, the fuzziness in my brain came to an abrupt halt the minute the laser touched my skin!

Oh, the pain!  (I’m sure those of you who have gone through childbirth will tsk-tsk me for making a mountain out of a molehill, and you’re probably right, but for me, this was akin to that — I’m the type who openly cries when getting something as simple as a booster shot, so this truly was torturous.)

At the end of the treatment (about 25 minutes), I asked the technician what she thought about my progress, but she was quick to defer to the doctor. As I hadn’t seen the actual dermatologist who set me up with these treatments, I agreed to come back in two weeks’ time and consult with her for a status report on my progress. It’s hard to gauge how well the treatment is working when you see yourself every day.

>>>>> Fraxel Session 3A – Doctor’s consult – MARCH 2009

I met with the doctor with a make-up free face, so she could see my skin clearly. She was very pleased with the progress, and said she noticed a “definite” improvement from my scarring from before. I asked her why it felt like it wasn’t as far along as I would have liked it to be, and after consulting her notes, suggested that the laser settings were too low (!!) and needed to be raised in order for me to get the full effect (NOOOOO!).

There are two settings for the Fraxel laser. In laywoman’s terms, one sets the depth of the laser and the other sets the width. The depth can go as much as 60, and the width can go as wide as 12 (it could be 15, but I think she said 12).  Her recommendation for me was a depth of 50 and a width of 11. But because of my extreme reaction to pain, the technician was using a depth of 40-45 and a width of 8-9.

There were two options I could take: continue at these settings, but for about 5 more treatments instead of the 2 I had signed up for (the maximum number of treatments anyone has ever had under this dermatologist’s care has been 8, and I had just finished number 3). Or, I could increase the setting for the remaining 2 treatments, take a break over the summer (the hospital doesn’t do Fraxel treatments over the summer on account of the sun; it is extremely important your treated face does not get exposed to the sun in any way) and come back for a reassessment in autumn. I chose the latter, which the dermatologist seemed to think was the right decision.

The hospital has only been doing Fraxel treatments for a little over a year, so long-term effects in terms of improvement have yet to be seen, although the dermatologist felt that the people who had had 8 treatments showed significant improvements and she would not recommend any further treatments beyond that. I was also happy to take a break over the summer as it allowed me to save up for any future treatments … at $850 CDN each, they aren’t cheap.

Photo by Statianzo

There are a few episodes in a woman’s life where she really takes a look at herself in the mirror and questions her attractiveness and her beauty.

In my opinion, birthdays after the age of 35 and having to face dating again after a divorce or a break-up as you age are top on my list. I’d say that milestone birthday like 40, 50 or 60 might also be right up there.

Let me start with the birthdays after 35 – I think that you look at yourself and wonder if you are getting better or getting older and sometimes insecurities creep up and make you unsure of the image that is reflected in the mirror.

When it comes to a divorce or a break-up of a long term relationship … nothing beats your self-confidence more than knowing that you will have to start the dating process all over again with strangers who in their head will compare you to others and might judge the way you look.

That said, it’s only until I read the story of Karon Kitchener that I realized how it made sense that a woman over 45 who was planning on getting married again would want a bit of enhancement to look more youthful on her wedding photos.

It seems from Karon’s shocking story that she got way more than she bargained for. After booking a session for injectable fillers to look more youthful, the British Baby Boomer found herself permanently disfigured on the left side of her face!!!!

“I wanted to look my best for my wedding. I didn’t want anything as drastic as a facelift, but I had read about these fillers and decided to have some injected into my cheeks.” – Karon Kitchener.

It’s clear from her description of events that the solution that was injected in her body didn’t work for her because it seems the solution was travelling upwards to her eyes in an effort to leave her body.

In Britain the injectable fillers’ industry is unregulated and there are close to 75 different solutions that cosmetic doctors can use to rejuvenate their clients. This is quite shocking to me.

In America the industry is very regulated because injectables are considered a medical procedure. There are surely a few bad cases, but overall the FDA is regulating these types of solutions … only eight have been approved for use in the USA. In Canada, there are two solutions because the industry is quite regulated and it takes a lot for Health Canada to agree to anything. Your (qualified and certified) cosmetic doctor will either use Juvederm® or Restylane®.

This story gets even sadder. The fact that Karon knows that every single day she’ll be looking at a mutilated face is not the only worry she has. In the past three years, she’s undergone several surgeries to try to repair her face AND she’s postponed her wedding. Her confidence is at an all time low and she’s also had to deal with a string of infections and more scarring!!!

The Daily Mail article also features Sarah Payne (60) and Susie Woods (40) two other women dealing with the nightmarish aftermath of botched cosmetic enhancement procedures.

I think it’s important to read for your own knowledge. It’s obviously a must-read for British readers.

If you’re not convinced yet that you should take time to read this Daily Mail article, here’s what a prominent London-based plastic surgeon had to say:

“I’m currently seeing 20 patients who are undergoing continuing treatment to remove lumps of filler which have ‘migrated’ around their bodies.” — Dr. Christopher Inglefield.

You can read the entire article here: I tried to turn back time with a wrinkle jab… but it wrecked my life and left me facially disfigured

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1161328/I-tried-turn-time-wrinkle-jab–wrecked-life-left-facially-disfigured.html

Photo by Ben Lester from the Daily Mail

I’m sure that $26,426.80 per year (that number is based on the conversion rate on the day I wrote this piece, but it cannot be too far today) to upkeep your body is chump-change in Hollywood, but when you hear of ordinary women forking that kind of money on trying to look perfect … you kind of scratch your head and wonder “what are they thinking?”.

Unless you have that kind of discretionary income because you are extremely successful in your own right or if you are married to a man who has a boat load of money … there is no need to put out that kind of money and get yourself in financial trouble in an attempt to look perfect! There are much simpler ways.

When I read this story from my favourite U.K. online newspaper Daily Mail, I thought this was absolutely insane … the fact that this money could help feed a small village was even more shocking given the state of the economy at the time I read the article.

I’ve known for a while now that British women will spend a lot of money when it comes to beauty, skincare and other beauty-enhancement therapies, but I had no clue anyone would go as far at Christina Christoforou unless they made a living off of the way they look like let’s say Elizabeth Hurley, Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow or Cate Blanchett.

It’s true that the London resident is an owner of a spa, it’s also true that Christina is from Cyprus and Cyprus women just like their Greek, Lebanese, Syrian, Turkish, Egyptian and Israeli cousins take their beauty regime very seriously and it’s true that body-upkeep has become in recent years some sort of a hobby for many women, but does it really justify all that money wasted on “looking good”?

One thing I forgot to mention is that Christina is only 30, so that begs the question: “what the heck will she be spending on body upkeep in 10 years when there will be far more to upkeep?”

She’s already doing Botox Cosmetic^TM shots on her neck, forehead and around her eyes and she’s also indulging in derma fillers to define her chin and cheekbones … and at 30 … things have NOT yet started to shift position.

The numbers Christina spends on herself are eye-popping and jaw-dropping: almost $700 per year on all Givenchy make-up, $1,254 per year of pedicures, $2,757 per year on two sessions of Liposmooth at $1,378 each treatment, $2,757 on a membership at the Grove Hotel’s spa, $3,115 per year on La Prairie skincare and SkinCeuticals and list goes on.

For the love of God, that is some serious money dropped on looking good. I assume if you have the money, you can really do whatever you want with it because it’s yours to burn however you which. I have a few years on Christina and I can assure you that my beauty budget doesn’t come near hers and I can also assure you that on a face-off I’d win … because on my MUCH-MUCH-MUCH smaller beauty budget … I *think I* look way better for way less (and I’m sure my confidence levels is much higher than hers because I don’t feel the need to drop those ridiculous numbers on looking good … again … if I were Halle Berry that would be a different story).

If I had all that money to spend on myself, I probably would, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I would donate just as much to charities and organisations that help those who have less. It might not be my place to judge … but I surely hope that Christina doesn’t selfishly spend all her money on herself without giving something back.

So what do you think? Is this kind of spending a bit over the top?

Here’s the original post from the Daily Mail if you want to read about the other things Christina spends her money on: How much does it cost to run your body?

Photo by Vincent Boiteau

That said, there are some celebs who openly admit to having a bit of help in keeping their youthful look.

It’s a dog-eat-dog-world in Hollywood and I may be all philosophical about aging and I may spend a lot of time on my site pushing the virtues of aging well, but then again I do not make my living in front of the camera.

I will openly admit to my readers that I’ve never had any nip, tuck or injections done not because I’m opposed to the idea or feel that I want to age gracefully, but simply because I don’t feel I need it. As long as I keep looking much younger than my real age … then I’ll only be visiting my cosmetic doctor to help me deal with my acne scars.

If all of a sudden I found myself hosting Beauty Match TV as a real TV show and if I had to see myself on a 50′ inch flat screen HDTV, perhaps I too might be begging my cosmetic doctor for injection fillers and Botox Cosmetic^TM.

You have celebrities such as Angelica Houston and Joan Collins who have tried Botox once or twice and didn’t like the experience and then you have socialites such as Ivana Trump who dodges the question all together when it’s clear she was NOT born with the face she currently has because a) she’s looking a lot like Joan Rivers these days b) no one is born (or ages) with a face that puffy!

Let’s not forget Nicole Kidman who conveniently keeps her lips shut when it comes to admitting or denying her obvious overindulgence in Botox injections!

Then you have stars like Patricia Heaton from the sitcom Everyone Loves Raymond (51, born March 4, 1958) and Sharon Osborne (56, born October 9, 1952) who are very open about their plastic surgeries and the injections they get on a regular basis to keep a youthful appearance on camera. The thing with those two stars is that they still look quite natural and do NOT frighten small children like Joan Rivers does.

There are a number of Hollywood actresses who have come clean about their use of injections:

1) Lisa Rinna (45, born July 11, 1963): we had featured Lisa on the site and you can read her take on the beauty industry here: Does Lisa Rinna regret her plastic surgery enhancements?

2) Linda Evangelista (43, born May 10, 1965): This Canadian supermodel is not shy in admitting that it’s not only her Italian good genes helping her age well.

You can read more on Linda Evangelista here: A Canadian supermodel is redefining beauty in her forties

3) Jenny McCarthy (36, born November 1, 1972): Jenny has always been extremely outspoken so it’s no surprise she feels comfortable sharing with the public that when it comes to remaining wrinkle-free … she’s getting some help from her cosmetic surgeon!

4) Daisy Fuentes (42, born November 17, 1966): The Cuban beauty is not shy in admitting that as she ages, she thinks that a little Botox is not such a bad thing.

5) Jennie Garth (37, born April 3, 1972): Perhaps having to be surrounded by 20-something girls on the set of the new 90210 series has prompted Jennie to seek the help of a cosmetic doctor to help her look as young as the other cast members on the show!

6) Vanessa Williams (46, born March 18, 1963): With each new season change, Vanessa Williams makes a trip to her cosmetic doctor to get some Botox injections! The villainess of the now defunct Ugly Betty show is not leaving it to chances when it comes to controlling how she looks as she ages.

7) Kelly Ripa (38, born October 2, 1970): She got her Botox injections live on the Regis and Kelly Show!

#8) Virginia Madsen (47, born September 11, 1961): Virginia became the spokesperson for Allergan the maker of Botox Cosmetic^TM to let women know that Botox CAN actually look very natural when it’s well done and you don’t have to scare young children with a frozen looking face.

I’d love to put all the stars from “Desperate Housewives” on this list, but then it would fall under the “rumour” category since lips are sealed on the set of Wisteria Lane on the subject of beauty injections … even when foreheads aren’t moving and lips seem to be getting plumper with each new episode!

At least I’m happy to see that the “REAL Housewives of Orange County” aren’t shy one bit in not only admitting to their love of all things relating to beauty injections, but they even let the cameras on their little beauty escapades!

Photo source: Jennie Garth, Daisy Fuentes and Lisa Rinna from Wikipedia

Photo of Kelly Ripa by keithwills

After spotting the expensive coat that must have cost at least $90,000 USD since Chinchilla is one of the most expensive furs (if not THE most expensive furs), I noticed her face. Her lips were moving because she was answering the question the TMZ camera man had asked her, but her face was frozen. As the camera got closer to her face, I jumped back (I was standing) and I thought to myself: “Why is Ivana Trump looking like Joan Rivers”?

Well the answer is painfully simple. In my humble opinion, Ivana has had way (WAY) too many injections of Botox Cosmetic® and she’s has too many injections of fillers like Juvederm® and Restylane®.

I thought of writing something on the site, but the holidays got in the way and I totally forgot about it. I was surfing You Tube the other day and I have no idea how I landed on a video clip of a French newscaster giving his take on Ivana’s short-lived 2007 wedding to 35-year-old stud and former model Rossano Rubicondi, but that clip made me remember that TMZ clip so I went on a hunt and found both clips to share with you.

I also found a clip of Ivana in the 1996 hit movie “The First Wives Club” starring Goldie Hawn, Keaton and Bette Midler, before she started abusing Botox and filler injections. You can clearly see how different her face is from that short clip compared to the clip from TMZ.

Now, I’m not suggesting that a woman who is 60 (Ivana was born on February 20, 1949) should not visit her cosmetic doctor to refresh her look, but what I’m saying is that when you start scaring young children (AND yours truly), it’s time to say to yourself: “step away from the needle”!

It’s so obvious when people abuse Botox and filler injection because it simply does NOT look natural. When you are in the presence of someone who ODs on these rejuvenation products you immediately start having this mental conversation with yourself: “geez, she (OR he) really overdid it … does she/he know it looks awful and unnatural?”

There are many Hollywood actresses and New York socialites who have mastered the art of rejuvenation without abuse and unfortunately for her, Ivana Trump is not one of them!

I’d love to tackle Ivana’s 1980s hairstyle, but that would be another post! For now, I’ll just keep it to her overt abuse of rejuvenation products.

Here are a few visual proofs of Ivana Trump’s abuse:

1) This is an unflattering photo of Ivana and you can clearly see the abuse of fillers. In this photo she’s posing with Marilyn Manson (I’m sorry, but I find that guy very creepy). TMZ really went to town with the title of this post!

TMZ: Manson and Ivana — Naturally Beautiful People

2) Ivana Trump and Star Jones have lunch together in New York City: You can see that she overdid her cheekbones.

Here’s the TMZ video: Look at Ivana’s face

The French press crucifies Ivana: If you don’t speak French, let me translate the gist of this clip. The report believes that because Ivana Trump is a bit of a has-been-socialite now that her wedding to billionaire Donald Trump is a thing of the past and she has no talent to write, sing, act, dance and she is no longer a young-sexy-eastern-European-export, she’s found that marrying a much younger man (who has admitted to not being faithful to her) was her way of monopolizing media attention and reclaim her 15 minutes of fame. The French have a way of putting things and they rarely mince with words. If you think TMZ is bad … they’ve got nothing on the French gossip press!

Ivana in the 1996 hit movie “The First Wives Club” starring Goldie Hawn, Keaton and Bette Midler delivering her famous line: “Don’t get mad. Get everything!” I simply LOVE that line!!!

>>>> What do you think? Do you think that Ivana Trump is looking more and more like Joan Rivers? Don’t forget to leave us a comment below!

Photo from Wikipedia

I was surfing old archive of Yahoo’s OMG when I found Lisa Rinna’s feature. What stopped me dead in my tracks was the title: “I Look Like a Freak” After Too Much Plastic Surgery”.

You won’t hear too many Hollywood celebrities admitting to too much Botox Cosmetics® or having had too many shots of injection fillers.

The former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant admits that she’s had her cheeks enhanced with injections of Juvederm® and she admits that she might have gone overboard (I totally agree)!

It’s interesting because Lisa (45, born July 11, 1963) admits that she was influenced by one of her girlfriends when she decided to explore this cosmetic enhancement avenue.

I wasn’t too partial one way or another to Lisa Rinna, but reading her comments about how she looks post-Juvederm injections really made my eyebrows arch with respect, because I couldn’t believe that she was willing to be that honest with her cosmetic enhancement experience.

I think it’s safe to say that soooooooooooooooooo many female Hollywood celebrities over 35 and pretty much all of them over 40 are really dipping with no shame in the cosmetic-enhancement-promised-potion-of-eternal-youth, but for so many, it just looks wrong … and the minute we seem them … we know that the starlet in question got some work done.

“I had Juvederm put in my cheeks. That’s what I overdid — big time. I tried it because my girlfriends did it. I thought, I’ll do it! I saw a photo and I was like, Oh Jesus. That’s no good. That’s NOT good. When you change your face, you don’t look like yourself. Looking fresher is one thing. I look like a freak! I always said I wouldn’t change my face, but I did it.”

“I can’t not be honest about it. I’d look like a fool. It’s so obvious. But when this happened, I realized I couldn’t hide it.” — Lisa Rinna in an interview with momlogic.com

It’s interesting because when it comes to non-surgical cosmetic enhancement, less is best!

I see everyday women all the time who blatantly look like they have work done and in my opinion, it doesn’t make them look any younger … it simply makes them look like they have a cosmetic doctor on speed dial on their Apple iPhone!

Lisa Rinna, admits that although she’s given up Juvederm, she’s still happy about her Botox injections because she doesn’t feel that it changes the shape of your face.

I’ve only met one cosmetic doctor to date who had a face full of Botox and injections, but who looked sooooooo incredibly natural that I felt bold enough to stand only inches away from her face to take a good look. She’s said to me that the key with cosmetic enhancement is to look fresher and not like someone else.

I think that Lisa Rinna has also come to the same conclusion:

“You get older and insecure and you think you need it, and you don’t,” she says. “I learned less is more. Keep your skin good.”

Every makeup artist I’ve ever interviewed has also confirmed that the best thing women can do for themselves as they get older is to make sure they have the best quality skin possible and to really focus on that … and everything else falls in place. And if you feel the need for a little extra help … make sure you don’t overdo it!

Photo from Wikipedia

>>>>> Leave a comment below and let me know if you feel insecure with the tell tale signs of aging and how far are you willing to go?

I think that 2000-2008 can be called the “vanity years”!!!

During the past eight years, we’ve seen non-cosmetic rejuvenation go from being Hollywood’s best kept secret to something soccer-moms in the suburbs do when kids are in school.

There has been a long list of makeover shows on TV where contestants were able to go from ugly ducklings to “beautifully reconstructed” sirens – shows like “Extreme Makeover” and “Dr. 90210″). We’ve all been invited to a Botox party and we’ve seen young women (as young as 18) not preoccupied so much about taking care of themselves because “well, there’s always Botox”. Heck, we’ve even seen straight men take up the vanity industry in the hopes that a “younger looking” version of themselves will help them hold on to that high paying corporate job or get that coveted promotion.

I still remember going in for a chemical peel consultation for my acne scars in September 2008 just to have the doctor shocked by my chart. She asked in amazement “you’re a beauty editor and you’ve NEVER had Botox or fillers done?” … to which I responded “I don’t think I need it because I don’t have wrinkles or sagging skin … to which she responded “I can always find a spot on your face to improve” – oy vey (Yiddish expression for help me)!

Now that the (financial) tables have turned for most of us, the question that is burning my tongue is “are we ready to go back to living with wrinkles”? Will vanity be the price to pay in this falling economy?

With the economy at unparalleled (well, not since the depression of 1929) levels of despair, a lot of people will have to give up their Botox Cosmetics® budget and the budget they allot to preserving their youth just to be able to keep afloat.

I recently read a fascinating article on the New York Times style page that really brought to light the severity of the current economical situation and its impact on the vanity industry.

I knew this was more than a passing trend when the article highlighted the fact that they’ve recorded two manufacturers of cosmetic medical devices that have closed as a result of steep decline in business from many plastic surgeons who used to perform back-to-back breast implant surgeries. Since breast implants were THE most popular surgery, you know that attitudes are changing in light of the economy and that means that many businesses related to the vanity industry will feel the brunt of these swift changes and many will have to shut their doors and go out of business.

I’ve highlighted some of the most interesting parts of the New York Times article below:

* According to the article, “Sixty-two percent of plastic surgeons who responded to a recent questionnaire from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons said they had performed fewer procedures in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, according to the latest anecdotal information from the group.”

* You know things are bad when surgeons are willing to cut back on their fees in order to book openings: “At the society’s annual meeting last month in Chicago, some prominent surgeons said they had openings and for the first time agreed to negotiate fees with patients.”

* Orange Country, the land of plastic surgery (and the land of the reality show “Real Housewives of Orange County”), has seen procedures and business shrink by 30 to 40 per cent.

* Even celebrities are cutting back on their Botox budget because they fear that any overt augmentation might be de mauvais goût (seen as bad taste).

* Here’s an interesting analogy referring to the recent skyrocketing gas prices: “Cosmetic surgery is going to become the new S.U.V., something that you can do without, that is less justifiable for you and your family,” said Dr. Pitts-Taylor.”

* It’s true that some women will do whatever it takes to keep their regular Botox appointments, but for many women, cutting back on essentials just to get injections won’t be a consideration.

* Some creative women are changing their hairstyle to include a bang to hide wrinkles on their forehead and extend the life of their Botox.

* It’s incredible how social context has a huge impact on how many people make choices in their lives: “Dr. Thompson, who emphasized that he was speculating in the absence of survey data, suggested that people may also make decisions about their appearance by scrutinizing the grooming practices of their friends, acquaintances, and even celebrities, a behavior called social comparison. In terms of body image, they look around at their friends,” Dr. Thompson said. “If everyone is cutting back, they may change the norm based on what others are doing.”

* Would you consider Botox to help you land a job if you’ve been laid off? “People who would not have considered it, when they get laid off at 45, 50, 55 and are back on the job market, might consider it as they try to enhance their human capital.”

* The cosmetic surgery industry is about to change dramatically and it might take a few years to find out how 2008 has impacted an industry that seemed growing out of control until earlier last year.

Giving up the vanity budget means that a lot of people are going to have to face the mirror and accept a few more wrinkles. It will be interesting to see how hard-core-Botox-users deal with not having that disposable income anymore. It will also be interesting to see how many women are willing to sacrifice other areas of their lives in order to find the money for Botox and injection fillers.

You’ll find the entire New York Times article here: Putting Vanity on Hold

Photo by EverJean

Last month Norah R., who is one of Beauty Match’s readers, gracefully shared her first session and first experience with fraxel laser to help her erase acne scars that have been bothering her for decades now.

I don’t have the type of scaring that Norah has because mine are all at the surface, but because my scars are dark, I have to say that they really bother me. It was so bad this past summer, that it affected the way I dressed because I wasn’t willing to expose my shoulders which were covered with dark hyperpigmentation spots.

I can surely sympathize with Norah and her quest for perfect skin and relief from acne scars.

If you didn’t have a chance to catch Norah’s first post, I’d recommend that you start reading that post first: Have you considered laser resurfacing to get rid of your severe acne scars?

Story submitted by reader Norah R.

New year, new me! Or, at least, that’s the idea.

After my first Fraxel treatment in November, 2008, I can’t honestly say I was looking forward to the next one. It’s painful! And for someone with a low pain threshold like me, the pain was almost unbearable the first time around … how would I react with a higher setting on the laser, as the technician mentioned the last time?

The night before my treatment, I was so nervous about the pain, I couldn’t sleep. I woke up almost every hour on the hour, until it was 6.30 am and time to get up for real.

I booked a morning appointment this time. There is one key benefit to a morning appointment — for Fraxel, your skin has to be make-up free and as clean as possible before the treatment begins. My first appointment was in the afternoon, and I felt the tiny sink, rough paper towels and Cetaphyl cleanser at the hospital didn’t really get all my make-up off that I had been wearing all day.  The benefit of an early-morning appointment is that you can go straight from your home after a pore-opening hot shower and not have to bother with make-up in the first place … your skin is already clean and ready to go. So I would recommend that!

Unfortunately, even though my skin was clean, it wasn’t really cooperating with me. Holiday stress led to a minor breakout on my chin — two or three pimples I had hoped to get rid of before my treatment began (the procedure doesn’t work well unless the skin is blemish-free) but, of course, they didn’t go away. (I wondered if maybe the heat and power of the Fraxel laser might blast them into oblivion, but unfortunately not.)

I showed up at the hospital by 8.30 a.m., my appointment time, only to be told the technician didn’t come in until 9 a.m.  In the interests of saving time, the receptionist put the numbing gel on my face straight away — it has to ’set’ for an hour to truly numb your skin — and I waited for the technician to arrive.  I was also given a prescription for Percocet this time around, as the Tylenol 3s from the previous appointment didn’t really take the edge off the pain.  Except, the hospital pharmacy didn’t open until 9 a.m. either, so I wasn’t able to fill the prescription until then. I didn’t actually take the Percocet (just one, to start) until 9.15 a.m., and I was supposed to have the procedure at 9.30 a.m. Fifteen minutes is not very much time for a drug to kick in, even one as strong as this. I asked the technician (who had arrived at work now) if we could wait a little bit longer to see if the Percocet would take effect.

We wound up doing the procedure at about 9.50 a.m. My face was fully frozen by that point and the drug was starting to take effect, so I had hoped we would be good to go. I have never taken Percocet before — I didn’t like the way it made me feel, like my limbs were made of lead. Everything felt heavy and my brain felt slow, but I was still able to chat and fully converse with the technician throughout the procedure. I was hoping the Percocet would knock me out (especially as I hadn’t had much sleep) but the pain from the laser was so intense that there was no way I could sleep through it.

Last time, the setting for the laser was apparently at number 6. This time, the technician upped it to 7. Not a tremendous increase, and to be honest, it didn’t hurt any more than it did the last time (which is to say, it hurt A LOT). When you’re dealing with that kind of pain, incremental increases are negligible!  Again, the procedure lasted about 25 minutes. The first pass-through, where the laser was moved over my skin in vertical movements was extremely uncomfortable, but I could get through it.  The second pass-through, where the laser was moved over my skin in horizontal movements was unbearable. I had to ask the technician to stop twice throughout the procedure so I could take a mini-break (but at least I didn’t tear up this time).  All the time, I was supposed to hold this cooling air pipe and aim it on the skin that was being lasered, but my eyes were closed and protected by pads and goggles, so I couldn’t actually see the path of the laser to follow it with the air pipe, I had to just go by where I felt it, and my reaction/response was delayed because of the Percocet.  Finally, the technician took pity on me and held the air pipe herself to cool my face down as we were going along.

The procedure took exactly half an hour, and by 10.30 a.m., I was in the back of a private car service, being taken back to my house, with ice packs to cool my face down. Once I got home, an hour later, the Percocet really kicked in (but by this point, I wasn’t feeling any pain — the pain for me was only during the procedure, not afterwards) and I fell asleep for nearly 3 hours.

Like last time, the next day was worse than the actual day of the procedure. My face swelled up like a tomato — I didn’t even recognize myself in the mirror. But it’s three days later now and the swelling is almost gone, just the redness remains. My skin is starting to crust and flake, and I’m trying to resist the urge to scrub the flakes off (that might expose me to infection) and just use Cetaphyl moisturiser on the affected areas.

Did I notice a difference after the first treatment?

No, not really. But then, I see my face every day and I suppose it’s harder for me to see the changes. I’ve only told three girlfriends about the procedure, and all three of them swear they can see some changes on my face, but I’m not convinced yet. Still, I know there are three more treatments to go, and the changes happen very gradually, beneath the surface of your skin. I just have to be patient — not one of my stronger points, I’m afraid!

My results one week later:

All the swelling has gone now, and I think I can notice some improvement in the scars on my cheeks. They’re still there, just maybe not as pronounced as before … or maybe this is wishful thinking on my part — it’s so hard to tell when you see your own face 24/7/365!

>>>> If any other Beauty Match readers have any great beauty experiences to share with us or even before and after photos of great accomplishments, don’t hesitate to email me with your idea, and I can write a post on your behalf and share your outcomes with our other readers.

I think it makes such a huge difference when you realize that you’re not alone and that other people are also dealing with some of the same beauty or aging issues than you!

>>>> Don’t forget to leave a comment below if you too have undergone any laser resurfacing treatments.

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>>>> If you liked this article, please share it on del.icio.us, StumbleUpon or DIGG. I’d appreciate it.

Photo by Bitterjug

I’m so grateful to reader Norah that she will gracefully recount her first of many laser resurfacing treatments to deal with scars left behind on her face from teenage acne.

Norah will be documenting her many treatments, but this is the first account of her road to having a face that is free of any scars!

Story submitted by reader Norah R.

I got to the hospital in Toronto at 2 p.m. prompt for my first Fraxel (Laser Skin Resurfacing) treatment. On account of mild to moderate acne scarring, I had been waiting to do this for over a decade, and now that the actual day of treatment was here, after all this time, I found myself equal parts anxious, excited and afraid.

I was taken into a little room, and told to wash all my make-up off so my face was squeaky clean. The technician (the procedure is not done by a doctor) applied a thick, clear gel to my face. It’s similar to EMLA, a topical analgesic that numbs your skin when you have a needle, and its purpose is to help numb your face so the laser doesn’t hurt so much. I also took 2 Tylenol 3s with Codeine at this time, along with a Valtrex (Yes, I know — Valtrex?!) If you’re like me, the first thing you think of when you think of Valtrex is sexually-transmitted diseases! But I am prone to cold sores (the herpes simplex virus), and you can’t have a cold sore when undergoing Fraxel, so I was put on a five-day prescription of Valtrex to ward off any potential outbreak. I was mortified picking it up at the drug store, lest the pharmacist think I had herpes!).

After taking the meds, I had an hour to just sit and wait for the gel and Tylenol to take effect. I read my book and tried not to get nervous (I was … I have an incredibly low pain threshhold, and all the research I’d read online said that Fraxel was quite painful). At exactly 3 p.m., I washed the gel off my face and lay down on the examination table.  The technician applied little goggles to my eyes, so I wouldn’t be blinded by the laser.  Then she applied another cream, called a ‘tracking’ cream, all over my face — I assumed it was so she could “track” where the laser had gone and what areas it covered, so nothing got missed.  She gave me what looked like a vacuum cleaner hose, except instead of sucking in dirt, it blew out icy cold air, and told me to hold that in my hands and manoeuvre it along my face in tandem with where the laser was moving, to cool down my skin as the laser touched it.

And then the torture began.

As I mentioned, I have a very, VERY low pain threshold. But somehow, I have a tattoo. I have my ears pierced. I’ve had blood tests and needles. But none of those experiences prepared me for the unique and exquisite pain that is laser skin resurfacing.

The technician started on my right jawbone and did a series of vertical, one-way movements with the laser up towards my cheekbone. The only way I can describe it is to say the sensation is like a razor blade being dragged across your skin. Then she did my chin (I had to bite my lower lip to stretch the skin on my chin taut), then below my nose (again, I had to bite my upper lip to stretch the skin there taut), then my actual nose, my left jawbone and finally my forehead. I didn’t count, but I would say there were about 50 to 75 repetitions.  But somehow, I got through them all! It actually started off not too bad, even for a big baby like me, but by the time she finished on my left temple, it was starting to hurt (she said the left side always hurts more than the right for some reason), even with me blasting away with the vacuum cleaner of cold air.

The worst part was that the Tylenol 3s did not kick in. They did nothing. Not. A. Thing. And I even took two. Now, this well may be because I occasionally suffer from really bad headaches, and I normally take up to four or sometimes five extra-strength Tylenol at a time to cope with them. Perhaps my system has built up immunity to Tylenol? Although, extra-strength Tylenol and Tylenol 3 have very different drugs in them, and I had never taken Tylenol 3 before — not even when I had my wisdom teeth out. This is something I’ll ask my dermatologist about before my next Fraxel procedure.

I thought we were finished, and I was so proud of myself for getting through it, but then the technician told me the bad news: we were only halfway through. Now, instead of doing vertical, one-way movements, she was going to repeat the entire process but do *horizontal* one-way movements.  By this point, the temperature of my face had gotten quite hot (the laser is white-hot) and the pain went from bad to worse to practically excruciating by the time she was doing the left side of my face. In fact, my arms and hands were shaking so badly from the pain, I could no longer hold the vacuum hose and she had to hold it for me.

When it was all over — 25 minutes in total for the whole thing, beginning to end — I had to wash off the tracking gel. When I looked in the mirror, I didn’t recognise myself. My face looked like a tomato. Totally swollen, particularly around my cheekbones (my eyes looked shrunken in my head), and red-hot in both colour and to the touch.

I was given two ice packs that I applied to my face to try and numb/cool the swelling. After 3 hours, my face was still red, still swollen (though not as bad) and still tender. It itched a little bit, but not much. It felt and looked like a really bad sunburn, but the pain went away after a few hours and I even went out to the movies that night. I went to bed that night thinking it looked bad but, not *awful* and that I probably wouldn’t even need to take the three to five days to work from home, as my dermatologist strongly recommended.

When I woke up the next morning, I had a completely different reaction. I tried to sleep “sitting up”, as the after-care pamphlet suggested, but during the course of the night I tossed and turned and woke up in my usual position, on my back. Looking in the mirror, I was horrified — my entire face had swelled up again, and my eyes were almost swollen shut. They looked like black eyes, but without the purple discolouration. I couldn’t see as well out of my right eye, because it had swelled up so much.

I frantically consulted the after-care pamphlet, only to discover that this is pretty normal, and the swelling should go down after three to five days. Now I understand why my dermatologist urged me to work from home — not only am I swollen, but I was advised not to wear make-up, as the idea is to keep the skin as clean and unclogged as possible whilst it heals. I was to use Cetaphyl cleanser and moisturiser — nothing else — for the next 10 days.

I will be going back in six weeks for round two … I’m very anxious because the technician told me she used a “low” setting this time, because it was my first time. Next time, she will need to use a much higher setting. I told her there was no way I could endure that again, not with just Tylenol 3s that apparently don’t even work for me (granted, everyone is different), so she recommended speaking to my dermatologist about a prescription for Percocet, which will knock me out for the treatment. But despite the pain, I’m very excited to follow this through, because I really think it will be worth it in the end.

Photo by nyki_m