Having Botox too soon could make you look old before your time

Cosmetic specialist Darren McKeown on the pros and cons of this treatment

When Alastair and Jean Carruthers published their first paper on the anti-wrinkle effect of Botox, the average age of their patients was 41 years. That was in 1992. I wonder if they ever thought back then that their new wonder drug would one day allegedly be used on little girls who take part in beauty pageants.

Earlier this month, a pageant mum from California, Kerry Campbell, shocked the world when she went on American TV and claimed to inject her eight-year-old daughter, Britney, with Botox. She said her daughter asked for the treatment to take away the wrinkles she gets when she smiles, and insisted that plenty of other pageant mothers do the same. An international media frenzy transpired, leading Californian authorities to take the child into care. The mother subsequently retracted her statements, claiming it was all a hoax to attract media attention.

But this is not the first time the issue of under-age Botox has hit the headlines. Last year, there was another media storm when a British mother, Sarah Burge, the self-proclaimed "Human Barbie", told the world that she was giving her 15-year-old daughter Botox injections, coining the phrase "teen-toxing" in the process.

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Would you risk a Botox boob job? It costs just £700, gives an instant lift without surgery and claims to have no side-effects.

The effects of gravity can be cruel to women, especially when it comes to breasts.

Even with a good bra, the ravages of time combined with breastfeeding and yo-yo dieting conspire to make once pert and firm breasts go droopy.

And then there’s sun damage, which results in crepey, blotchy skin on the decolletage.
In the past, a woman who wanting a breast lift had only one option: a major surgery known as a mastopexy.

This involves removing excess skin and repositioning the breasts. It’s very expensive at £3,000, requires several weeks of recovery time, and can result in a loss of sensation in the nipple area.

Now, however, a new treatment — the Botox breast lift — is available in the UK. This new treatment promises instant results with no side-effects and no recovery time.

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Non-Surgical Lipolysis Banned in France

According to an article in French magazine Anti-Age, the French High Authority of Health (HAS) has recently prohibited the use of a variety of different lipolysis (fat killing) cosmetic procedures.

The online magazine states that :

The implementation of the techniques referred to as lipolytic non invasive, using external physical agents, without breaking the skin (focussed ultrasound, radiofrequency, laser, etc..) has a suspicion of serious danger to human health.

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A little lipo with your facial, madam?

The number of people having both cosmetic surgery and beauty treatments such as botox are increasing.

But in this week's Scrubbing Up, consultant plastic surgeon Fazel Fatah, president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), warns lines between the two are being blurred, and more effective regulation is needed.

You wouldn't trust your boiler to an unqualified engineer - so why do people continue to trust their face and body to untrained practitioners?

There is a difference between plastic surgery - facelifts, breast enhancement, tummy tucks, liposuction, etc - and cosmetic salon treatments such as lasers, peels and injectable fillers.

But the two are being confused in a way that trivialises surgery and puts patients in real danger.

Alarmingly, there are many practitioners offering procedures that require specialised surgical training and expertise which they do not have - and there is no regulation whatsoever to protect the public.

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Treatment of thread and spider veins on legs. Sclerotherapy and lasers.

Unsightly leg veins can be a problem for millions of men and women, the world over. It is estimated that in many areas over 60 percent of the adult population suffers from varicose veins, thread veins or spider veins.

Sometimes thread and spider veins are like the tip of an iceberg but the majority occur in absence of problems with the deep veins. Often people who have had surgery for varicose veins are left with thread and spider veins and these can be treated very well too.

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From a laser comb to rubbing coffee on your head, the His and Hers guide to hair loss cures

Around ten million men and eight million women in the UK suffer from hair loss. According to a new study, the prospect of going bald upsets the average male more than the idea of going bankrupt or never finding a partner.

Even Prince William is said to be worried by his thinning hair, with recent reports claiming he is trying laser therapy to thicken his locks for his wedding day.

The causes of hair loss vary. Men often suffer from the hereditary condition male pattern baldness, while in women the cause is commonly hormonal imbalances caused by the menopause or having a baby.

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Hair removal that's fast and painless

Inside facialist Katherine Jackson’s unassuming West London therapy room, something miraculous is occurring.

Miraculous, that is, for anyone plagued by unwanted light-coloured hair. Fair hair is traditionally hard to erase — laser hair removal works best on light skin tones with dark hair.

But Katherine is one of the few therapists in Britain to specialise in a new machine, the Applisonix, which can remove blonde, grey or white hair using ultrasound energy.

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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..."

Protect the Skin You're In

The pursuit of youthful-looking skin has been one of the beauty industry’s holy grails for generations. All manner of lotions and potions have claimed to deliver rejuvenating results, but in the busy schedules we all seem to have adopted in our modern lives, finding those simple and effective tools that will make all the difference is key.

The best way to begin is to build in sensible skincare habits to your everyday routine which can soon ensure that you are giving your skin every chance of looking its best – and you won’t even notice you are doing it.

Firstly, cleanse your skin regularly and thoroughly using a good quality cleanser that you know your skin responds well to. Choose a creamy cleanser if you have dry skin or a clear cleanser if you have oily skin.

Another pillar of your regular skincare regime should be exfoliation. It is believed that one of the key reasons men’s skin looks more youthful than women’s is that men tend to exfoliate daily when they shave, so it just goes to show how effective this can be. Thirdly, moisturise. Everyone’s skin will benefit from moisturiser at some stage, even those with oily skin. To gauge how often you need to moisturise, just be led by your skin. When your skin is tight, it’s crying out for moisture, but be careful not to over-moisturise as this can clog pores.

Most importantly, but all-too easily forgotten, is sunscreen. The number one cause of wrinkles is sun damage, so it’s important to use sunscreen from your early years, even in winter and on cloudy days. A great trick is to purchase two moisturisers: one for the night and one for the day that includes UV protection.
Once you are doing all you can to look after your skin, you will find it much easier to supplement your skin care regime with effective treatments to achieve lasting results you will fall in love with.

For those always on the move and not wishing to slow down for a salon visit, why not try the ground-breaking Wellay @home Personal Skin Laser? This non-invasive laser treatment rejuvenates skin and has been developed for your own personal use, which means you can use it at home or wherever you find the time.

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Face the future: Erase wrinkles or banish your dimples with high-tech gadgets you can use at home

Forget iPads — the latest must-have gadgets are the ones that promise to revolutionise our beauty regimes.

Offering the power of salon-standard treatments in our own hands, this new wave of mini machines use technology such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and ultrasound to tackle a plethora of skin concerns from wrinkles to cellulite.

These state-of-the-art devices are heading for our high streets and are predicted to fly off the shelves.

‘Beauty gadgets are by far our fastest growing category,’ says Annalise Quest, general merchandise manager for beauty at Harrods. ‘Customers are looking for devices that show tangible results quickly.’

Industry analysts value the UK market for beauty devices at £110 million — and rising.

But can home-use beauty gadgets really deliver? We asked skincare technology expert Dr Leslie Baumann, of the Baumann Cosmetic & Research Institute in Miami, in the U.S., to give her verdict.

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