Hot News: EWG 2009 Report on Sunscreens

Is your sunscreen working for you? Are you and your family truly protected from harmful UVA and UVB rays? Are any of the components of your sunscreen potentially harmful?

Now you can get the answers to these questions and more from a not-for-profit expert team called the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Their annual report on sunscreens was published online yesterday.

You can read it for yourself by clicking here.

Last year's report was harshly critical of many of the most popular brands of sunscreen, like Banana Boat, Neutrogena and Coppertone. The report stated that only 29% of sunscreens had UVA protection. The sunscreen industry is listening and this year 71% of products include UVA protection.

EWG ranks products according to effectiveness and safety.

Some sunscreen chemicals break down very quickly when exposed to the sun's rays so a compound that seems stable in the laboratory may be useless in the real world.

Certain compounds and/or delivery systems may be harmful. For instance, zinc oxide is an excellent and safe broad spectrum protectant in a cream or lotion form but could be harmful if inhaled so should not be used as a spray.

Wanna know what's on EWG's Top 10 List? Click here.

For your convenience, you can purchase the #1 Recommended Sunscreen Soleo Organics Sunscreen Organic chemical free sunscreen, SPF 30+, and 2 more recommended products: UV Natural Sunscreen, SPF 30+
and Obagi Nu-Derm Physical UV Block, SPF 32 at our online store.

Our online store is certified Hacker Protected and Verified Secure for worry-free internet shopping. You can pay using VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Discover, PayPal, and Google Payments.

Be confident that the sunscreen you're using is effective and safe by choosing a product recommended by the EWG 2009 Sunscreen Guide.

Why did this woman almost die from botox?

Front-page news: Botox injection nearly kills woman. Yesterday's Hamilton Spectator trumpeted the news.

Does this mean that everyone who decides to smooth out a few wrinkles is risking a brush with death? Not at all.

Let's look at what happened: Francine Giacomelli, a 25-year old woman who lived confined to a wheelchair because of severe cerebral palsy had botox injections into her thighs, hips and back to improve the function of those muscles and reduce pain.

Botox acts as a mucle relaxant, making a huge difference in conditions of severe muscle spasticity.

In this poor woman's case, she experienced side effects from the spread of the botox so that it affected the muscles that control the eyelids and her swallowing function. She will gradually regain control of these muscles when the botox wears off but it could take months.

What about botox treatments for wrinkles?

There's a vast difference between the way botox is used for cosmetic treatments and medical conditions.

Botox for cosmetic use is much more concentrated, meaning that it won't travel or diffuse any distance from where it is injected. We are targeting tiny facial muscles and we want the botox to stay put.

For medical conditions, particularly those involving large muscles, the botox is diluted so that it will diffuse into the muscle. This is a good way of dealing with large muscles but it carries the risk that the botox will spread beyond the target muscle to other areas.

The dose that we use for a tiny little facial muscle is much smaller than what is needed for a big gluteal or quadriceps muscle.

When I did our Fabulous Five in the 10 Years Younger in Burlington program, the most that I put into any one woman (targeting every single facial muscle that I wanted to) was around 75 units. Not one of these ladies experienced symptoms of the botox spreading to another area.

In contrast, a lot of these medical treatments for severe spasticity start at 100 units and go up from there. I don't know how many units this woman was given but an estimate for treating 3 large muscle groups, both left and right sides, would be a minimum of 120 units and probably a lot more.

Botox for cosmetic use in the face is very safe. There has never been a report of an allergic reaction or a death with true BOTOX® Cosmetic from Allergan.

Medical botox, on the other hand, carries risks related to the dose required, the size of the patient (the number of units per kilogram body weight is higher in children and small adults) and the part of the body being treated. However if you google botox and cerebral palsy, you will find countless reports of children and adults who experienced huge improvements in their lives, thanks to this new treatment.

I wish Francine a speedy and safe recovery.

6 Common Sunscreen Mistakes

It's that time of year again when we think about protecting ourselves from the sun. Before you go outdoors, make sure you're not making any of the following common mistakes with your sunscreen.

1. Not wearing sunscreen on cloudy or overcast days.
   
   Damaging ultraviolet rays, UVA, stay at a pretty constant level all year round and all day. These rays penetrate clouds and glass. UVA causes the damage we associate with accelerated aging such as wrinkling and sagging of the skin.



2. Not applying sunscreen until you are outside.
   
   How many times have you gone to the beach with the sunscreen in your beachbag and applied it after you're sitting soaking up rays? Apply your sunscreen before you leave the house so that you are fully protected when you walk out the door.



3. Forgetting to reapply sunscreen.
   
   Manufacturers' instructions advise that you should reapply sunscreen every 2 hours. At the bare minimum, you should reapply after swimming or working out, and on your face, after eating.



4. Habitually missing a spot when you apply sunscreen.
   
   After a vacation in the Caribbean where she meticulously used sunscreen to avoid any tan on her face, Laura came back with a brown stripe down the middle of her nose. She always applied sunscreen with both hands starting at the sides and working towards the middle but her hands never quite met, leaving a stripe unprotected. I've seen other people miss the hollow under their cheekbones or the upper lip.



5. Using sunscreen that is too weak.
   
   If you are using the SPF as a guideline to how long you can stay out in the sun, you're probably underestimating your level of protection. SPF is tested under ideal conditions, using a lot more product than we typically use. It doesn't take into account activities that will remove the product such as exercise, swimming, physical contact, contact with clothing.



6. Protecting the face and forgetting the body.
   
   Many of us get into a workday routine of applying sunscreen to our faces in the morning but leave the house with exposed and unprotected skin, such as the nape of the neck, the hands, the decolletage. It's a good idea to wear protective clothing and to apply sunscreen to all exposed skin. Remember to reapply sunscreen after you've washed your hands.

Special program happening at Advanced Rejuvenation

We are in the middle of a project that is so fun, so gratifying and so absorbing that I have not been writing on this site for a while.

Yes, that's right, it's time once again for 10 Years Younger in Burlington!

We had quite a number of applicants this year and every one of them deserved a 10 years younger transformation. It wasn't easy to winnow down the applicants to our top 10, and then to our top 5.

Once we had our top 5 applicants, we were really sweating bullets trying to decide who would be The One. Each applicant had a compelling story. Each applicant had a particular sign of aging that other people would relate to; we knew the correction of each individual's problem would create a transformation that would amaze our readers.

Then we received the most wonderful good news: Allergan, the maker of BOTOX® Cosmetic
and Juvederm, agreed to provide SoftLifts to all 5 women.

Once we had Allergan on board, it was a no-brainer for all of the participating businesses, Advanced Rejuvenation, Art in Hair, Beth Parojcic, Dr. Bekesch, Mia Boutique, The Ornatrix, and Sparkle 2 Go to provide various products and services for all 5 women. And our wonderful photographer, Melanie Gillis, photographed them all.

This has really been an exciting month for us, seeing 5 women transformed in their faces, their hair, their smiles, clothing style and internally as well. They have become fast friends, calling themselves The Fabulous Five -- and they really are fabulous!

Go over to the 10 Years Younger in Burlington site to check them all out. Join us on Friday May 29th at 5050 Restaurant (corner of Locust and Elgin in Burlington) at 7 pm to see them revealed.

Come and share this magical experience with us!

What the Pixel experience is really like

Here are Miss A's comments about her Pixel experience and the skincare products.

Based on the science and Miss A's experience, I think the HYDRAgel and TNS Ceramide Treatment Cream are ideal for comfort and rapid healing after the Pixel.

You can see Miss A's photos here.

I would like to thank all of you for the opportunity of having a Pixel treatment on my face and neck. This was one of the things on my "wish list".

Not really knowing what to expect was a good thing for me as I had a fresh and unbiased experience with this procedure.

First off, the procedure itself was not painful. The IPL treatment was more painful, and even that was not so bad.

The pain of the Pixel comes approx. ten minutes after the procedure is complete. I found that the lidocaine gel and the cool air is a must. The cool air felt really good while still laying down - approx. 5 min. worth.

After that, approx. 3-4 hours later the redness really comes out. My face felt very sunburned and sore.

I would strongly encourage the HYDRAgel! That gel is amazing! It cools and takes the sting away. It is very soothing and the nice part is that it does not ever sting, even right after the procedure. I found that the Cicaplast does sting for about 10 minutes after application and I'm not sure if I would like to use that again. The Ceramide cream is also very nice in combination with the HYDRAgel. I did not use the Ceramide cream on its own so I'm not sure if it would sting if used alone. However, since I put it on overtop of the HYDRAgel, I found that it added to the moisture level on my face and the two of them really made my face feel more hydrated and supple. On the other side of my face (left) I used the Vivier Redness Relief cream and although it did not sting, it still was not as soothing as the other side (right). My left side still felt a bit tight and sore with the Redness Relief cream, although bearable.

I found that the flakiness was most obvious 2-3 days after the procedure but even that wasn't very bad.

The next time I get a Pixel treatment done I would use the HYDRAgel and the Ceramide cream on my entire face and neck. Even now, one week later, I still like the way these two products make my face and neck feel. I will continue to use the HYDRAgel in my daily routine and the Ceramide until gone.

Thank you, once again.

Sincerely

A

Study on new skincare products used after Pixel laser treatment

This is what a Pixel fractionated laser treatment looks like from before (first image) to immediately after (second image) and day-by-day to the seventh day after the treatment.

We compared our standard skincare products on the left side of the face, with a new product from Vivier, HYDRAgel, and a SkinMedica product, TNS Ceramide Treatment Cream.

We chose the HYDRAgel for 2 reasons: 1) it is an excellent oil-free moisturizer full of hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B5 and glycosaminoglycans, and 2) our experience was that it didn't hurt on Pixeled skin.

The TNS Ceramide is designed to help skin heal after a Pixel. Ceramides are the specific fats on the surface of your skin. In damaged skin, you need to replace the ceramides to promote skin healing and prevent drying. The TNS line of products also contain peptides and vitamins that stimulate growth and help the skin to heal faster.

Immediately after the treatment, you can see some dark red patches where we did extra shots of laser for scars and wrinkles on Miss A. These are mostly on the right side of her face. She applied the HYDRAgel and TNS Ceramide to the right side of the face. At this point, her skin is feeling pretty sunburned; she doesn't look very happy, does she?

DAY 1: Twenty-four hours after the treatment and everything has settled down. Miss A's complexion appears darkened because she has so much healing and blood flow happening in her face. At this stage, you can comfortably apply makeup and cover everything.

At this stage, the skin is feeling rough to the touch. The roughness lasts 5 - 7 days and flakes off.




DAY 2 DAY 3
DAY 4
DAY 5

DAY 6
DAY 7: By 7 days after the treatment, Miss A's skin has healed. Notice how Miss A looked happier and happier as the week wore on -- this was her natural response to the treatment.

She now has new skin cells and new collagen in her skin, making her skin smoother, brighter, lighter and tighter. Her skin is more reflective, which is why it appears so white under the lights.

In the final image, I don't see a difference between the 2 sides of the face so you might think that the skincare products didn't make a difference. Don't forget that the right side of her face was worse to start with and received a more intense treatment. The fact that the right side caught up with the left side so quickly and healed so well suggests to me that the skincare products made a difference.

Boob Job Bandit: Doesn't she watch CSI?

You may have heard about the Boob Job Bandit, a woman who purchased $12,000-worth of cosmetic services from 2 Newport Beach clinics using a stolen credit card.

Her stolen purchases included liposuction and new breast implants to replace an old set.

She has now been captured and it was the old breast implants that revealed her identity as 30-year old Yvonne Pampellone.

All implants have a unique identification number. This is classic CSI: unidentified DB (dead body) turns out to have some kind of implant, somewhere -- I've seen breast, cochlear, even intervertebral disc (that was the episode where the daughter killed her mother and disposed of her in the trash, I believe).

The CSIs check the number on the implant and, voila! They have the identity of the victim.

Same thing with the Boob Job Bandit. Her old implants have resulted in her being charged with identity theft, grand theft and commercial burglary.

She should have paid more attention to CSI.

Did she really think new boobs and a little less fat was worth risking a criminal record? The mind boggles.

What's wrong with Donatella?

Donatella Versace is always making the lists for bad plastic surgery. What is she doing that is drawing so much criticism?

These images are from 1993 and 2007.

The first and most obvious problem is that her look hasn't really changed. Long bleached blond hair, thick black eyeliner and mascara don't suit her age and look dated.

The next problem is that the work she is having is not balanced. She gets a lot of filler in her lips, making her mouth look excessively large.

She has not had a sufficient volume restored to her cheeks so her mouth looks too young for the rest of her face.

She has had some subtle tightening of her neck and jawline, most likely a surgical neck lift. She has also had a brow lift.

Another problem is that her face and body don't match.

Her skin is leathery and saggy. She looks scrawny rather than slim. Her breast implants are out of proportion for her body size.

This degree of tanning is reversing any rejuvenating treatments that she has done to her face.

If Donatella stopped tanning and updated her look, she would get a lot more compliments.

(Top photos source here. (Bikini photo source here.)

This article is reprinted from our newsletter of January 21, 2009. To subscribe, click on the pink button at the top of the righthand column.

Trends in cosmetic medicine and surgery

The New York Times is saying today that cosmetic surgery procedures increased by 3% in 2008, compared with 2007, even with the recession.

What's interesting about the article is that they are lumping together both surgical and non-surgical treatments. In fact, it is the non-surgical treatments that are increasing and cosmetic plastic surgery that is declining.

Here are some numbers for surgical procedures:

• Liposuction down by 19%


• Tummy tucks down by 18%


• Breast augmentation (boob job) down by 12%


• Surgical facelift down by 5%

Here are the non-surgical procedures:

• Laser skin resurfacing up by 15%


• Dermabrasion up by 13%


• Botox up by 8%

A lot of articles make the trend from surgical to non-surgical cosmetic treatments be primarily a result of economic trends but that is not the case.

Surgery is inherently risky. Every year, we hear of people dying after cosmetic surgery procedures like liposuction, tummy tucks and facelifts. And the recovery time after surgery is longer than after non-surgical treatments.

But the biggest reason to choose non-surgical treatments in my opinion is that you still look like yourself afterwards.

Invest in yourself

Let's face it: how you look affects your success and your opportunities. In tough economic times, anything that gives you an edge is worthwhile.

Various studies have shown that if your looks are below average, your income will be 5 - 10% below average; if you're blessed with above average looks, your paycheque will be 5% above average too.

And it's not just about attractiveness; age and the appearance of age is becoming increasing important in the marketplace.

Nowadays we are seeing older employees working for younger bosses. If you look significantly older than everyone else, you may be subject to age bias. Younger co-workers and supervisors may think that you don't have any new ideas to offer or that you're not savvy about new trends and technology.

Whether a front-line worker or an executive, you may be subject to age discrimination. This article discusses perceptions of age bias among corporate executives:

An interesting finding is that 73.7% of executives believe they have lost a job opportunity because of their age.

So what are the solutions?

You can rework your resume to cloud how old you are. You can get coaching to help you learn how to avoid the pitfalls of acting your age. Or you can have treatments to help yourself look younger.

As the psychiatrist said to the plastic surgeon:

“Why spend years talking to a therapist about my self-esteem when I can spend two hours on your operating table and eliminate the issue altogether?”

My experience has been that erasing the signs of aging from my face has made me feel younger inside. It's a chicken-and-egg phenomenon: people started treating me as if I were younger and I started feeling younger, which made me act younger so people treated me as if I were younger.

We know that botox treatments relieve depression and stress.

Nowadays the treatments that erase the years from your face are widely available, safe, long-lasting and do not require surgery. The cost of the services is a fraction of what you would pay for a good facelift and the results are more natural-looking.

Don't spend any more time worrying about your looks. Come and get some help.