More women try the Botox way to stay young

Over one million treatments carried out each year for the first time.

The number of women resorting to Botox, lip-plumping and similar treatments in an attempt to stay young has jumped by 15 per cent in a year.

More than one million treatments are now being carried out each year for the first time, confirming a desire to copy the beauty secrets of the rich and famous.

There are well known concerns that Botox injections into the face produce a number of undesired effects, not least creating a mask-like expression devoid of normal movement and expression.

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Wellay Personal Skin Laser Review by Style Apothecary

METSV says:  I remember in the not-so-distant past when I used to watch Extreme Makeover (the people edition, not the home one) and often times the doctors would use lasers to rejuvenate the skin of the patients, taking years off their looks and just adding to the "wow" factor in their final reveal.  I became fascinated with these lasers and started to mentally calculate the money I'd have to save if I ever wanted to laser my skin at a doctor's office.... Well, times have changed, that's for sure.  Now I can perform my own skin lasering right in the privacy of my own home with this sleek and lightweight tool from Wellay.

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Botox makes you happier because it stops you frowning

Frowning when sad actually makes you feel more unhappy, research into the beauty treatment Botox suggests.


The anti-wrinkle drug can make people feel better because it stops them frowning when they are unhappy which feeds back to the brain reducing the intensity of the feeling.

The theory is that if they cannot physically frown then the brain feels there may be less to frown about, scientists claim.


They said it is the psychological equivalent of the old song "when you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you" – or when you don't frown, then the world is less sad.

It applies even if the reason for seeming happy is an injection of chemicals into the forehead to stop wrinkles, said the study by the US Association for Psychological Science.

Many celebrities have the shiny forehead and startled rabbit look that suggests they have had Botox treatments, though not all admit it.

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She Stoops To Conquer Do real feminists use their looks to get ahead?

A funny thing happened late last year, as the health-care bill lulled in the Senate: the so-called Bo-Tax, a proposed (but ultimately rejected) levy on Botox, fillers, and other elective cosmetic procedures, was suddenly creating a feminist uproar.

“It singles out women,” surgeons roared. “It’s hurting the middle class,” others complained. Most surprising, though, was the voice of Terry O’Neill, the president of NOW, who suggested the tax was discriminatory toward women. “[Women] have to find work,” O’Neill told The New York Times. “And…the fact is, we live in a society that punishes women for getting older.”

It’s hard to imagine this was the same NOW once led by Betty Friedan, or that these were the same feminists who, to protest the Miss America pageant in 1968, threw their high heels, girdles, and bras into a “Freedom Trash Can,” claiming that women were “enslaved by ludicrous beauty standards.”

How could any woman who calls herself a feminist condone a patriarchal, plasticized beauty ideal?

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Buzz off, wrinkles: An anti-ageing cream with an electric charge isn't as shocking as you think

Have you heard the latest buzz? Forget fancy ingredients with unpronounceable names, what's getting the beauty business excited right now is something a little more, well, current. Electrical micro-current, to be precise.

Kate Moss recently confessed that she was addicted to a hand-held anti-ageing gadget called Tua Viso (£179, tinarichards.com).

It uses electrical micro-currents to lift facial muscles and stimulate new collagen in a similar way to traditional CACI electrical facelifting treatments.

Meanwhile, Parisian beauty guru Dr Veronique Simon has arrived in London with her patented anti-ageing mask, which uses micro-currents to push collagen into the skin for a replumped look which A-listers and foreign royals are queuing up for.


Using similar technology, but for home use, Estee Lauder recently launched Perfectionist Power Correcting Patches (£80 for eight pairs of patches), which contain a paper-thin battery to deliver a gentle micro-current of energy to drive anti-ageing peptides deeper into the skin and 'dramatically reduce the look of eye lines and wrinkles in just 20 minutes'.

But the newest and most innovative use of 'bio-electricity' is also the most astonishing - it comes in the form of a cream.

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Losing it: Tamara Beckwith falls victim to the curse of the hair extension.

.. just like Naomi Campbell.

It was a condition first spotted in public when Naomi Campbell stepped out with what seemed like an alarmingly large bald patch on the side of her head.

And now another celebrity appears to be suffering from what experts are calling the curse of the hair extension.

Blonde It Girl and TV presenter Tamara Beckwith, 40, was spotted out shopping last week with her scalp showing clearly on the side of her head.

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My Anti-Aging Gadgets - Do They Work?

Rosina at Middle Ageless writes:

I've been asked many times for my opinion on the various gizmos I use to keep my skin looking young (at least the skin on my face...) so here goes!

Baby Quasar, Anti-aging Lightstim, DPL freestanding anti-aging light.

Yes, I have all three. I'm crazy.

What they are: Antiaging lights produce visible and invisible red or amber light from LED units positioned on the head. These lights are claimed by the manufacturers to generate new collagen and elastin by stimulating the skin's fibroblast cells. In doing so, they purportedly reduce wrinkles, diminish pores and lighten age spots. These lights are a less intense version of professional IPL units used in medi-spas.

The likelihood of their working: Not that great therapeutically but possibly effective in a preventive sense. Hundreds of women swear by them however, and I wouldn't want to be without mine because it feels like it is doing something positive for my skin. The EDS forums are a great source of info on these lights.

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Race for eyelash thickener crashes Boots website

Thousands of women crashed the Boots website as they clamoured to get hold of a new 'miracle' eyelash thickener, it has been revealed.

More than 1,000 women had already joined a waiting list for the £39.99 RapidLash Eyelash Enhancing Serum, which went on sale yesterday.

The 'miracle' serum claims to boost the length and thickness of eyelashes by fifty per cent with daily use.

Yesterday a tube of the serum was sold every minute in Boots stores as women dashed to the shops on lunch breaks or on the way home from work to snap up the new product.

And last night the website was so inundated with women trying to snap up tubes of the serum online that it crashed under the strain.

A spokesman for Boots, who are selling the product exclusively, said it had been one of the most popular lines it had ever stocked.

The product could go on to become an even bigger sensation that Boots' flagship anti-aging serum, No 7 Protect and Perfect.

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Will the fizzy facelift make you sparkle?

We test the latest unlikely treatment - carbon dioxide injected into your skin!

The ingredient that puts the pop into fizzy drinks is being touted as the best way to put the sparkle back into lacklustre looks.

Carbon dioxide, the invisible, odourless gas that is part of the air we breathe and creates the bubbles in champagne, not to mention being blamed for heating up the planet, is being injected into the skin as a rejuvenating treatment.

And the fizzy facelift is growing in popularity as one of a new wave of ultra-subtle rejuvenating treatments that make up the 'no trace face', the backlash against the more obvious effects of thick facial fillers and Botox.

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Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Is the Wellay Hair Laser capable of regrowing hair...

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Is the Wellay Hair Laser capable of regrowing hair...: "Both men and women tend to lose hair due to hormonal changes in the body. It is mainly the alterations in the metabolism of androgen in the ..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: How do I choose the best and most effective hair l...

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: How do I choose the best and most effective hair l...: "Which wavelengths are able to penetrate the skin and be most effective? The Wellay @home Hair Laser was developed jointly, through clinical..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Would I be getting the same results from this Hair...

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Would I be getting the same results from this Hair...: "I have had laser treatment before from a company which I visited once a week where they used the large laser over the entire head. Will the ..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: What is a Wellay Hair Loss Treatment Laser?

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: What is a Wellay Hair Loss Treatment Laser?: "The Wellay @home Hair Loss Treatment Laser is the World's first multi-wavelength personal laser for home treatment of hair loss and scalp he..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Will the Wellay Skin Laser lift the skin?

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Will the Wellay Skin Laser lift the skin?: "Yes. Low level laser light therapy with a Wellay @home skin laser will rejuvenate your appearance and lift and tighten your skin. With regu..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Would the Skin Laser remove my old, dark scars?

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Would the Skin Laser remove my old, dark scars?: "How long before I see a result? Yes. Old, dark scars would be positively affected by healthier skin conditions resulting from using the Skin..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Can the Wellay skin laser help with facial flushin...

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Can the Wellay skin laser help with facial flushin...: "I am paying 1200 euro a session for IPL to treat facial flushing. Naturally this is very expensive. Can your skin laser help with this cond..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Can I use the Skin Laser for undereye wrinkles?

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Can I use the Skin Laser for undereye wrinkles?: "Yes, when the Skin Laser is placed on the skin, each wavelength penetrates and heals different levels in the skin tissue, promoting collage..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: What is a Wellay @home Skin Laser?

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: What is a Wellay @home Skin Laser?: "The Wellay @home Skin Laser produces coherent laser light which stimulates mitochondrial activity in the skin cells to promote ATP synthesi..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Personal Anti-Ageing Skin Laser Smoothes Out Wrink...

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: Personal Anti-Ageing Skin Laser Smoothes Out Wrink...: "Until now, anti-ageing low level laser light therapy has only been available in beauty salons and private cosmetic clinics at great expens..."

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: How do I choose the best and most effective hair l...

Is a beauty laser the answer to everything?: How do I choose the best and most effective hair l...: "Each different wavelength used in hair loss treatment lasers has a different treatment and penetration depth into the scalp. The blood ca..."

Zap away summertime skin problems

Want to peel off in the sun but worried about skin blemishes? Victoria Lambert has some hi-tech answers to spots, lines and moles.

With its cloudless skies and soaring temperatures, summer should be the time to peel off a few layers and bask. But for those with unsightly or worrisome skin conditions, the hot weather is just a nightmare. Where is the fun in flashing flesh that's marred by spots, pigmentation, lines or moles? Here are some hi-tech solutions to summertime skin problems.

Broken veins and capilliaries? Try Fraxel

Italian cosmetic surgeon Dr Mario Luca Russo suggests a session with a Fraxel laser, which can remove broken veins and blemishes in as little as five minutes. "It is even good for wrinkles," he explains. "The light from the laser is absorbed by the haemoglobin and water in the blood of the vein, converting it to heat. We call this a thermal injury. If the vein is tiny, it will evaporate quickly, causing the vein to shrink and collapse, disappearing very fast. If the vein is larger, you can expect the blood to coagulate – making it appear darker than before. Gradually it will get reabsorbed by the body. In that case, it can take about a month to disappear."

If you want to go in the sun after a Fraxel treatment, he warns, ''do wait for seven to 10 days for your skin to heal or it will be very sensitive. And always use a high factor suncream, regardless of what you have done, to protect your skin from ageing.'

Cost: from £250 a session, depending on the size of the blemished area, at The Rejuvenation Clinic, London (0870 243 2230, www.therejuvenationclinic.co.uk)

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Spot the problem: Stress, poor diet, even too much exercise - how modern life is fuelling a rise in adult acne

Spots were once the scourge of hormonal teenage years, a skin problem that was thankfully kissed goodbye come adulthood. But for a growing number of British women, pimples no longer disappear when the school uniform is hung up.

According to the British Association of Dermatology, around 14 per cent of women aged 26 to 44 seek help for adult acne every year, with many more suffering in silence.

What is compounding this eruption in skin problems, say experts, is raised levels of stress, poor diets and even too much exercise.

At any age, the underlying cause of acne is an over-sensitivity to the male hormone testosterone.

'In response, skin glands produce excessive amounts of oil that, along with dead skin cells, clog up in hair follicles, trapping bacteria and triggering superficial pimples and blackheads, as well as bumps beneath the skin's surface,' says Susan Mayou, a consultant dermatologist at the Cadogan Clinic and Cromwell Hospital.

Mayou says it has always been known that some women are more prone to spots at times when hormones fluctuate, such as adolescence, pregnancy and during the menopause. Many more also experience monthly breakouts triggered by the menstrual cycle.

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Can you get rid of stretch marks with a skin laser?

 A very interesting article from Middle Ageless

"Stretch marks result from tears in the dermis, caused by the skin stretching rapidly.

Growth spurts during adolescence and pregnancy are the primary causes of stretch marks. In adolescent girls, the sudden appearance of pink or purple lines over the hips, thighs, and sometimes breasts, can be very distressing. They will fade over time, and become silvery, but so far no one has some up with a way to get rid of them.

Every now and then, I'll read on a doc or derm's website that the fractional laser will fade stretch marks. However, in practice, I'm not sure this is true. Manhattan dermatological surgeon, Jordana Gilman, says that in her opinion only ablative (Co2) fractional lasers can postively affect stretch marks and then only to a degree."

read more from Middle Ageless - a blog for anyone who has reached 40 and wants to stay there!