Cellulite is common; nearly all adult women have some. The best treatment is photoshop 
.
But what’s the next best treatment? Are there really toxins in cellulite? Is it just fat? Do coffee grounds really work? Watch this video and you’ll see. What is your best tip to reduce cellulite? Share it with us here!
You think Apple’s new 4G iPhone is hot?
I was at a coffee bar in Redwood City yesterday, minding my own business when I found a tube of medication. Someone had accidently left a tube of topical Botox at the bar. Was this a plant? Is this the real prototype or just a fake? What should DermodoDoc do? I just had to blog on it.
Botulinum toxin is the most common cosmetic treatment with millions of patients injected every year. Brand names like Botox and Dysport are injectable drugs that cause temporary paralysis of the muscles in your face smoothing wrinkles, sometimes dramatically.
Injected botulinum toxin is also a good treatment for excess sweating in your underarms or on your hands, which is called hyperhidrosis. The toxin blocks the signals that turn on sweating thereby preventing you from sweating.
Up to now, the only way to use Botox has been to inject it. That may change. There is a topical botulinum toxin gel being developed. If the toxin could penetrate the skin, then it could work without having to be injected, which is a good thing since there are people out there who really don’t like needles. Topical botulinum toxin would likely be most effective in places where the skin is thin, such as the underarms. Getting enough medication to penetrate your forehead might be difficult. How effective it will be for treating wrinkles is yet to be seen.
We will have to wait to see when the product is finally released. Until then, I’m waiting for Steve Jobs to call me personally to ask for his Botox back. It must be his, right?
Photo: Izaeus |Argazkiak, flickr
Grace Miller* is a 76 year-old woman who came to see me for a skin screening exam. I knew her age and history because I perused her electronic medical record at my desk before I met her. She was a midwestern girl who came to San Diego years ago with her husband, who was in the Navy, and decided to stay rather than fight another Chicago winter. He has since passed-away and she now lived alone in the house they built overlooking the Pacific.
She had sandy-brown hair and sparkling blue eyes and wore a beautiful gold sweater and stone necklace. Dangle earrings sparkled under the exam lights. Her appearance belied her age — she looked 20 years younger than 76.
She had a few crows feet around her eyes and lines around her mouth. Her eyelids were slightly overhanging and her neck had soft wrinkles. Her jewerly and designer bag suggested that she had the means to live comfortably. She laughed when I asked her what her secret was to looking young. “I’ve used Oil of Olay for as long as I can remember,” she admitted, but that was all. As I examined her, she thought aloud about my question:
She avoided excess sun, but never wore sunscreen.
She never smoked.
She walks regularly, but does not adhere to any prescribed diet.
She has never used antioxidant, antiaging, or antiwrinkle creams.
She has never had Botox.
And she looked fabulous.
“The secret,” she replied after thinking it through, “I guess it’s not wasting a lot money trying to look young, but spending plenty of money to look beautiful.” I’ve got to write that down, I thought.
No antioxidant cream, low glycemic diet, sunscreen, or cosmetic procedure will stop you from aging. Anti-aging, aging backwards, age-defying, and age reversal are unreal concepts and false promises made up in board rooms on Madison Avenue.
Do you want to know the secret to looking young? Walk away from the antioxidant cream counter and walk into the shoe section. If you want to look young, then be beautiful — it is a much better use of your money.
*Grace Miller is not her real name.
**I received no free women’s shoes to write this post.
Photo: Litmuse (flickr)
It is a medical breakthrough. No, not a cure for cancer, but for the short lashed. The FDA has approved a prescription medication that makes your eyelashes grow.
We have known for years that prostaglandin medications used to treat glaucoma have an interesting side effect –they make patients’ eyelashes grow. Now a prescription drug is available that is specifically for treatment of hypotrichosis of the eyelashes, (which means sparse lashes).
Eyelashes are hair, just like the hairs on your head and legs. Not all hairs are created equal though; eyelashes are designed to grow a certain (short) length, then stop. The number and thickness of your lashes is determined by your genetics.
Latisse (bimatoprost opthamlic solution 0.03%) is a prescription drug made by Allergan, the makers of Botox. It’s a prostaglandin, an active biologic compound named after the prostate gland, the first place they were found. Latisse has been shown to increase the number, thickness, and darkness of lashes.
Latisse can be applied to the upper eyelashes only and should not be applied directly into the eye. It takes about eight weeks to notice results, and it can take 16 weeks to see the full effects of the drug. Unfortunately, you have to continue using Latisse to maintain the results; if you stop using it, then your eyelashes will go back to the way they were before you started treating them.
Side effects of using Latisse include disoloration of your eyelid. Fortunately this appears to be reversible; the color fades when affected people stop using it. Latisse can also cause darkening of the iris in your eye. Your eye color is genetically determined, but medications can change the color. Latisse might cause increased brown pigmentation of your iris. This side effect, unlike the darkening of your eyelid however, is permanent.
Latisse costs about $120 dollars a month and, of course, is not covered by health insurance. It is apparently already popular among the celebrity crowd: reports say Jenny McCarthy has been using it. The question is how long will it be before someone starts applying it to their eyebrows? I could be the poster boy.
Photo: Nicholas Kenrick (flickr)
Botox® (botulinum toxin A) is a popular and effective treatment for wrinkles. Now using Botox might have another benefit, reducing large pores on the skin.
Having pores that are too big on the nose and forehead is a common complaint from men in clinic. Men have a higher density of sebaceous glands than women and sometimes have excessively oily skin with wide, deep pores. Excess oiliness and big pores can be difficult to treat. Surgical treatments such as lasers, microdermabrasion, and chemical peels can be used to improve the appearance, but results are often not satisfactory. Topical retinoids such as Retin-A® and Tazorac® can also effective in some people, but require applying the medication daily. Continue reading
