1. See a professional and ask how to use the right skin care products in the proper order at the proper times. Don’t buy trendy new skin care products with shiny packaging. Instead, simplify and do it right: one aesthetician, one set of products chosen just for your particular skin, and one place to return to for periodic facials and replenishing of products. Call it skin care monogamy.
2. Get more sleep. Lack of sleep can contribute to dark rings under your eyes, more pimples and dry skin.
3. Undergo a series of non-invasive microdermabrasion treatments to soften those fine lines and wrinkles, minimize blotches, stimulate collagen production and give your face a youthful glow. A quick session every month can help maintain that fresh look.
4. Commit to using sun block to protect your skincare investment. There are great sun protection products now that won’t clog pores, make the skin feel greasy or cause unwanted breakouts. To prevent premature aging, blotchy skin and decrease your risk of skin cancer, use it regularly according the directions.
5. Join the health club, or get outside and walk, run or swim—or mix it up and do all three. Vary your routine and work your body from head-to-toe.
6. Take your daily multivitamin and calcium supplements before the expiration dates lapse. While you’re at it, drink plenty of water.
7. Share your commitment to living healthy with at least two strong, honest, and supportive close friends or family members so that you can be held accountable for your actions and decisions.
8. Stop smoking, tanning and engaging in high risk behaviors that take a toll on your face, not to may mention shorten your life.

For more tips on how to improve the health of your skin, please email Owensboro cosmetic surgeon Dr. Edds.

A chemical peel, like an Obagi Blue Peel, is a solution that can be applied to your face in your cosmetic surgeon’s practice that works to restore youth to the skin and remove surface impurities. By sloughing away dead and damaged surface skin cells, the chemical peel kick-starts your skin’s own rejuvenative processes. This allows fresh, clear skin cells to emerge.

What Are the Benefits of a Chemical Peel?

The many benefits of a chemical peel can apply to patients of varying ages and skin types. Patients most often choose chemical peel treatments for:

• Facial lines and wrinkles
• Uneven skin tone and texture
• Acne or blemishes
• Facial scarring

On top of these cosmetic benefits, chemical peels have added bonuses. The benefits of a chemical peel also extend to its cost-effectiveness. While injectable fillers can also be used to fill lines or depressed scars on the face, they must be retreated every six to 12 months. Meanwhile, the benefits of a chemical peel can last years on average.

Patients and surgeons understand the benefits of a chemical peel, like their ease of use. Because of the positive perception of chemical peels, they are a highly popular cosmetic treatment, following Botox and injectable fillers.

Chemical peels are prepared using different components and in varying strengths. Thus, chemical peels can be customized to meet the needs of many patients.

Unlike some other treatments, the healing time for chemical peels can be minimized, as needed. Though some other treatments may require several months of recovery, a patient can heal from a light chemical peel within a matter of several days. Medium or deep chemical peels, like those with phenol, may have healing times of several weeks.

To learn more about the benefits of an Obagi Blue Peel in Owensboro, please email cosmetic surgeon Dr. Edds.

The new hyaluronic acid dermal filler, which is called Belotero Balance, has been approved to treat moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds. This includes nasolabial folds, the lines that run from your nose to the edges of your mouth.

Belotero Balance joins Merz Aesthetics family of non-surgical injectables, including Radiesse. Radiesse is a popular filler comprised of calcium-based microspheres in a water gel that works to restore lost volume in the face. Though its uses are similar to Belotero Balance, the new hyaluronic acid dermal filler works differently.

Like similar hyaluronic acid dermal fillers, Restylane and Juvederm, Belotero Balance works to restore lost volume to your skin by increasing its hydration. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring hydrating component in your skin and these dermal fillers work to mimic it. When injected into the skin beneath the site of a wrinkle, a hyaluronic acid dermal filler provides a sort of scaffolding for depressed areas of skin, supporting them and improving the appearance of youth on the face.

To test the effectiveness of Belotero Balance, it was compared in a split-face study with a collagen-based filler. Using a scale that rates wrinkle severity, Belotero Balance was shown to provide a greater reduction in the appearance of nasolabial folds over 24 weeks. In fact, at the six-month mark, Belotero Balance still showed a greater correction of the wrinkles than its counterpart.

To learn more about your hyaluronic acid dermal filler options in Owensboro, please email cosmetic surgeon Dr. Edds.

The constant downward gaze caused by smartphone use may be causing some individuals to experience more lines and creases on their neck than would appear naturally. Even if your face maintains its youthful volume, signs of aging on the neck can give you away.

Unfortunately, there’s not an app for that, but facial and neck treatments may help curb the effects of too much texting. One aesthetician in Manhattan developed the “Blackberry facial,” which included cleansing, peels, hydration treatments and additional light, oxygen and lymphatic components to reduce neck wrinkles, according to The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

While you may not need to undergo such an intense, multi-step facial to correct signs of aging in your neck, whether from texting or age, many non-surgical options are available.

As a one step process, chemical peels can be applied to the face and neck to reduce neck wrinkles. These treatments work to remove dull, aged surface skin cells, allowing fresh, clean skin to be revealed. Chemical peels can also clear up uneven skin tone and other superficial skin issues.

Laser skin resurfacing treatments work in a way similar to chemical peels in that they allow new skin cells to surface. This light-based treatment removes surface skin cells, layer by layer, revealing smoother, more beautiful skin below. This can reduce neck wrinkles and smooth the appearance of your lower face.

For continued benefits of your non-surgical treatment for aging on the neck, a reliable at-home skin care regimen is important. Your plastic surgeon offers professional-grade skin care options, which work not only to repair skin damage and keep your skin looking supple, but can also protect your skin daily.

Sunscreen, the study found, was the most popular form of sun protection chosen by the 3,000 Caucasian adults who participated. In fact, 30% of those studied said they applied sunscreen when out in the sun for longer than one hour. Seeking shade was the second most popular form of sun protection with protective clothing options also being listed.

Startling is the fact that those who said they regularly apply sunscreen were at a 23% higher risk of sunburns, compared to those who rarely apply it.

While avoiding the sun, especially midday when its rays are strongest, is the best way to prevent sunburns and sun damage, applying the appropriate amount of sunscreen is key. For each body part that is exposed, like the legs or arms, a golf ball sized glob of sunscreen should be applied. This should be done half an hour before going outside so it has a chance to absorb and then be reapplied at least every two hours. If you get wet, sunscreen should be applied every 60 to 90 minutes.

People who say they regularly apply sunscreen are often likely not applying it correctly or often enough. Sunscreen should absorb at least 2mm for every square centimeter of skin. When reapplying, those who participated in a Brazilian study only used a quarter of what would be necessary for protection.

Though appropriate sunscreen application can help to prevent sunburn, other forms of protection, though less popular, may guard your skin better. Staying in the shade on sunny days is a prime form of protection from sun damage and burns, as is wearing a hat and clothing that does not leave your legs or arms exposed.

Proper sun protection, whether it comes in the form of correct sunscreen application or avoiding the sun’s rays in another manner, is important. Not only can it guard against the signs of premature aging like wrinkles and age spots, but it can prevent sunburns. Though sunburns may be uncomfortable for several days, in the long-term, they can increase your risk for skin cancer.

To learn more about products to protect your skin and prevent sunburns, as well as non-surgical treatments to correct sun damage, we encourage you to contact us or join our mailing list.

Botox is already a controlled substance, but in practice this means that only someone with a medical license can order the product. There are very few limitations on who can administer the shots, and while the injections are not particularly dangerous except in rare instances, a poorly placed injection can cause undesirable side effects.

Botox has made waves across the country and around the world. In China, it is frequently and openly administered by beauty parlors with no training or qualifications, which has led to widespread calls for stricter controls. Last year, the UK considered implementing tighter regulation on Botox, but this was ultimately dismissed for being too expensive to enforce.

Stateside, Botox regulation has become a hot topic in Texas and New Jersey, as politicians, doctors, and concerned citizens worry that the lack of controls is endangering many patients. The Texas Medical Board has considered making changes to the rules about who can perform cosmetic procedures involving prescription medications. This would include injectable fillers.

In New Jersey, legislators have introduced a bill that would ban Botox for minors, except in cases where a doctor affirms that the treatment is medically necessary. Before it became a popular cosmetic procedure, Botox was (and continues to be) used for a variety of medical purposes, including the treatment of certain migraines and cerebral palsy symptoms.

Botox regulation is supported by many people who fear that unscrupulous providers are capitalizing on the treatment’s rising popularity without taking into account the safety and ethical issues involved. You should always make sure that your Botox is being administered by an accredited professional with years of experience. Only these providers are qualified to target specific facial muscles and deliver predictable results with consistency.

With Makeup Wakeup, written by Lois Joy Johnson and Sandy Linter, the authors say their goal was to “write a beauty guide we’d read ourselves, one that solved the kinds of issues women face every day.”

Makeup Wakeup, which is targeted at women over 40 aims to provide tips and tricks to combat common signs of aging. Additionally, the authors consulted with surgeons about combining makeup with both cosmetic surgeries and non-surgical treatments.

The authors have a strong pedigree—Johnson was a co-founding editor of More magazine and Linter is a makeup artist for many celebrities.

The book’s release party, which was held last month was attended by several noted celebrities, including Blondie singer Debbie Harry, who is featured in the book. The foreword was written by Better Midler.

Industry experts and professionals are taking note of Makeup Wakeup. A review on Oprah.com said the book is “full of sharp advice” and pointed out the unique makeup buying tips it features.

Makeup Wakeup is available nationwide and is published by Running Press.

With the full amount raised, the partners hope to grant a wish in every Make-A-Wish chapter in the US. Consumers are encouraged to make donations of at least $20 through the campaign’s website. Through the end of November, Latisse will double all donations up to $250,000.

Christina Hendricks has thrown her support behind Latisse because she’s seen its benefits. On top of trumpeting her positive experience with Latisse, Hendricks is excited to work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“Latisse is also a brand that contributes to children, and I couldn’t think of a better cause to support than the Make-A-Wish Foundation,” Hendricks said.

Donors who encourage two other people to make a donation will receive a $20 Latisse discount to use on their next purchase.

The first 10,000 people who make a minimum donation will receive a certificate for a free trial of Latisse, which they can bring to a consultation with their cosmetic surgeon and can learn if Latisse is right for them.

Latisse, which requires one daily application, extends the growth phase of lashes. For those who experience thin or not enough lashes, Latisse will give their lashes a fuller, more beautiful natural appearance. The transformative effects of Latisse will begin to appear after several weeks and will last as long as Latisse is used.

Nearly half of the sunscreens tested earned either a “recommended” rating or a “Best Buy” rating. Consumer Reports wanted to know how well they each protected against the UVA/UVB rays and how they performed in water.

Three sunscreens earned Consumer Reports’ “Best Buy” rating including Up & Up Sport SPF 30; No-Ad with Aloe and Vitamin E SPF 45; and Equate Baby SPF 50. Six other sunscreens earned the “recommended” rating and none of the 22 received a poor rating—good news for health-conscious consumers.

While your cosmetic surgeon would no doubt encourage you to apply an SPF regularly when you are out in the sun, Dr. Edds does recognize that many patients come to him with existing sun damage. This can rear its head in the form of age spots, wrinkles, and uneven pigmentation. Though you can protect your skin moving forward, Owensboro cosmetic surgeon Dr. Edds also offers options to repair previous damage.

Laser skin resurfacing in Owensboro is a non-surgical treatment that targets these superficial skin issues deep within your skin and diminishes them. If you exhibit more severe sun damage, you may require multiple sessions.

Obagi’s Blue Peel penetrates your skin, removing damaged outer layers to reveal healthy, refreshed skin below and is completed as a one-time in-office treatment.

Microdermabrasion in Owensboro is also completed as an in-office treatment and may be done in multiple sessions. This mildly abrading treatment is ideal for treating more minor skin issues.

To learn more about treating sun damage with non-surgical options, we encourage you to join the mailing list of Owensboro cosmetic surgeon Dr. Edds.

In the survey, the AAD found that indoor tanners had a 65% chance of having a family member who also tanned indoors. These indoor tanners, the AAD found, were four times more likely than outdoor-tanning peers to have a mother who also tans indoors.

The effects of this practice are where your cosmetic surgeon comes into play. Frequently, cosmetic surgeons treat various types of sun damage, such as photoaging and wrinkles. These can be corrected with a variety of professional grade skin care products and skin resurfacing treatments. If the damage from indoor (or outdoor) tanning has already been done, your cosmetic surgeon is eager to explain your options.

However, it is most likely that as summer approaches and the desire to get a healthy glow increases, that your cosmetic surgeon would advise you to avoid future damage and risk of cancer. You can do this by seeking out alternatives to UV tanning (like spray tans) and by wearing a sun block whenever you are outside.

Dermatologist Ellen S. Marmur, MD, FAAD, associate professor of dermatology at The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, stressed that point.

“We urge parents to educate their teens about the dangers of UV exposure from tanning beds and to discourage or prohibit this activity for all family members,” Marmur said.