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Faux Naturel The latest advances in minimally invasive cosmetic procedures can help you achieve a flawless, natural look.
Photo: Š2017 Thinkstock
By Jessica Salerno
MARCH 2017 Columbus Monthly
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With spring just around the corner, Mother Nature doesn’t have to be the only one with a fresh and beautiful look. You can achieve natural results on your face and body without undergoing intense surgery to get the appearance you want. Along with exercise and a healthy diet, you can look your best with a combination of nonsurgical and minimally invasive procedures. “We’ve probably seen the biggest uptick in the number of minimally invasive devices for fat reduction and skin tightening, and I think they all have a place,” says Dr. Jason Lichten of Central Ohio Plastic Surgery.
Weight loss
With warmer weather on the way, a popular procedure for those looking to lose some weight is CoolSculpting. It’s a non-invasive procedure that uses controlled cooling methods to reduce fat. “With CoolSculpting, you’re going to lose about 20 percent of the fat in an individual treatment,” says Dr. Mary Beth Mudd of New You Center for Advanced Medical Aesthetics, located near Polaris. She says most patients
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achieve optimal results with just a few visits and the addition of a laser treatment to help tighten the skin. Dr. Robert Heck, of Columbus Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery in Upper Arlington, says it’s important to find a doctor who can recognize the difference between weight loss and serious volume reduction. Patients who are interested in shedding just a few pounds in certain areas could look into a combination of procedures. “If I’ve got a women who wants liposuction, and she’s got fat on her hips and inner thighs and on the belly, she might be a perfect candidate to have her lower legs liposuctioned and lower abdomen CoolSculpted,” Heck says. “You can use both to get the results that you want.”
Facial rejuvenation
“We have two problems that happen as we get older: we sag and we sink in,” says Mudd. Years ago, an invasive facelift was the only effective solution to target both issues. Today, a variety of injectables that achieve different results, like reducing fat or giving volume to
certain parts of the face, can be combined with recent advances in laser technology to achieve a fresh, well-rested look. Today’s fillers and lasers offer the advantage of needing little downtime to recuperate, so you won’t be out of commission for weeks afterward. “In the old days, you’d get a laser, and it would be a month of redness and downtime. Now, it’s about four or five days,” says Heck. To treat fine lines, like those around the mouth, Mudd suggests using a Halo laser along with fillers like Juvéderm Voluma on the affected area. Like its name implies, Voluma adds volume to the sagging and sunken-in lines, while the Halo laser smooths the skin. The new filler Vobella is also “phenomenal for fixing lip lines,” Mudd adds. It’s inserted around the lip area and can diminish smoker’s lines and add volume to the area to eliminate a puckered, sour look on the lips. Those looking to get rid of pesky undereye bags can ask for a combination of Botox, fillers and lasers to brighten and tighten the area. Mudd uses Botox to relax the muscle, then a targeted filler to even out any sink-
Photo: ©2017 Thinkstock
Cryolipolysis treatment, also known as CoolSculpting
special advertising section ing or hollowing in the face. Finally, a laser treatment stimulates collagen in that area for added smoothness. Fixing issues under the chin usually means running into excess fat or the dreaded “turkey neck,” where the skin sags and droops on the neck. An invasive neck lift—which can result in serious scarring—can be avoided with new laser treatments, which produce cleaner jaw lines. “We put the laser under skin; in this case we can basically melt the fat so the fat is permanently gone,” Mudd says. “But the heat of the laser will also stimulate their body to make collagen, so we can get their necks tightened up.” Problems with pigmentation, brown spots or sun damage can be solved using the BroadBand Light, or BBL, laser, which Mudd compares to the fabled fountain of youth. “It can repair damage and tell the skin cells to turn overboard quickly, so you keep youngerlooking skin and turn off the skin genes that make your skin look older,” she says. Unsightly scars can also be handled with the BBL laser or the fractional laser, which uses heat to stimulate collagen. Another laser treatment, Gentle Waves, also promotes collagen production. In addi-
tion, it smooths out large pores and reduces sun damage and redness.
Pressed for time?
Breast enhancement
Get the results you want in just one visit with these minimally invasive laser procedures.
Women who are interested in a breast lift, but hoping to forgo a long recovery time and cut down on serious scarring, might be a good fit for the specialty Laser Bra procedure. Heck was one of the first fellows in the country to learn how to do the procedure 16 years ago while studying under Dr. Grant Stevens in California, who invented it. Today, Heck remains one of only nine surgeons in the country approved to do the procedure. Laser Bra combines surgery and a laser procedure to lift and either reduce or augment breast tissue. “The lift actually gives you a little bit better shape, or more longevity of your lift,” says Heck. The laser component tightens the breast tissue, achieving a more natural and smooth look. An ideal candidate for the procedure is any young woman with sagging breasts or any older woman with severe sagging. Heck says the surgery takes approximately an hour and a half and uses your own tissue instead of silicone or saline. Recovery time is less than a week.
Cellulaze Dr. Mary Beth Mudd says surgeons can rotate this laser in different directions, a unique attribute that allows it to decrease cellulite dimpling, melt fat and stimulate collagen production. Sciton Contour TRL The Sciton laser decreases wrinkles and brown spots and tightens the skin. “This makes you look younger with very little down time,” says Dr. Robert Heck. Fraxel Re:pair Fine lines, wrinkles, pigmentation and acne scarring fade in the presence of this treatment. “Instead of firing the laser and treating the entire square it fires on, the Fraxel will cover somewhere between 20 to 40 percent of the skin [in the target area], leaving some of the skin undamaged or unaffected by the laser,” said Dr. Jason Lichten. “It leads to a faster healing and a quicker return to normal activity.”
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder (Behold, a younger looking you)
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