Your Botox Best

Getting the best out of Botox? It’s simple. The general guideline is to go in to your doctor’s office every 3 to 4 months for re-treatment. But whether you’re cost conscious or simply have trouble committing to appointment dates months out, you may want to wait until you know it’s time for a Botox brush up. The question is, how do you know?

Without a doubt, the easiest way to maintain your wrinkle-free results, is to follow the standard guidelines and plan to schedule your appointment on a regular basis. However, according to Dr. Few, there are a couple of tell-tale signs that signal a green light for your next treatment.

First, you may notice that you involuntarily find your eyebrows lifting along with your entire brow. This is a case of your elevator muscles (the ones that pull the brow up) coming back to life before the depressors do (the muscles that pull the brow down and work with the elevators to maintain balance).

Second, you may experience a slight twitch around the eye.

In either case, Dr. Few explains these as “signs of your muscles waking up after being asleep for awhile.”

And even if you are the type who commit to a regular schedule, knowing when it’s time to re-treat will come in helpful if and when an adjustment in your schedule may be needed. Consider this: Recent research has shown that over time, that you may need fewer treatments per year to maintain your results.

A study published in the medical, peer-reviewed journal Dermatologic Surgery this June treated fifty women between the ages of 30 and 50 for two years. They found that if patients receive Botox every 4 months for 2 years, treatment can be reduced to as little as every 6 months.

In this case, knowing whether it’s 2 or 3 treatments you need could mean having an extra $500 in your pocket. And that, ladies, you can take to the bank!

Your Best Winter Skin Yet

Ladies, it’s time to leave dehydration to fruit snacks. This winter get your skin fix by knowing the facts.

Winter brings with it a double skin drying whammy: cooler temperatures and artificial heat. Add some unprotected sun exposure to the mix and you’ve got the perfect recipe for parched winter skin. But you don't have to accept these unwanted seasonal skin symptoms. With three simple points, you can NO to dehydrated winter skin and YES to your best winter skin yet.

1. Recognize it. You know your skin is dehydrated when it feels dry and tight. Severely dry skin often looks scaly and flaky. But beyond discomfort and lack of aesthetic appeal, skin in this condition is also more susceptible to premature aging and wrinkles.

2. Understand it. In the winter months, dehydration can cause an imbalance in your skin’s pH levels, compromising the skin’s ability to produce sebum and retain moisture. The skin becomes dry and accumulates dead cells, yet another barrier to the products you apply topically for moisture.

3. Prepare it. Whether it's your favorite over-the-counter facial scrub or glycolic acid treatment or a lunchtime peel at your cosmetic surgeon's office, preparing your skin is the first step in preparing your skin for optimal condition. The second step? Using the right products, of course! Consider a physician-developed line such as JF Aesthetic, which is formulated to balance the skin and retain or restore the skin's natural moisture barrier.

Making of the 'Mommy Makeover'

It’s a fact: Multiple pregnancies can leave your formerly perky girls hanging out to dry—literally. And unless you’ve got great genes and a naturally slim physique (which is no guarantee either!), that formerly trim tummy is wrinkled, protrudes, sags—maybe all of the above. Ladies, after you’ve given it all up for your kids, it’s no wonder you’ve made the breast augmentation-tummy tuck combination procedure, otherwise known as the “mommy makeover,” a growing trend!

But what was initially just a trend, today, nearly a decade after the phrase was first coined, it’s certainly earned status as a tried-and-true combination of procedures that restores (perhaps even improves) the original contours of your body.

So while technologies may evolve and products come and go, one thing’s for sure: As sure as we’ll continue to procreate, the mommy makeover is here to stay.

Mini Lift: A Thing of Beauty

Traditionally, sagging facial skin has been corrected with a brow, face and neck lift. Along with that comes a three to six-hour trip to the operating room and a recovery of at least two to three weeks. If you have less drastic signs of facial aging, skin laxity, and jowling, however, you may be able to have a mini facelift.

According to Dr. Few, a mini-lift has a shorter incision area around the ear, and is only invasive enough to pull the muscle and tissue (SMAS) under the skin and achieve a nice result. As for downtime, a long weekend is generally all that’s needed, he says. (Compare that to the 2 to 3 weeks of downtime required by the traditional nip and tuck!)

Wrinkle Wars? Your Secret Weapon...

Almost every skin expert will tell you, if you’re over 40 you should be using a retinol. A retinol is a derivative of vitamin A that speeds up cell turnover to reduce fine lines and wrinkles and even out the skin.

While your dermatologist can prescribe a power-punched retinoid (such as Retin-A), over-the-counter versions (such as our very own JF Aesthetic) are also available. While prescription-strength retinoids deliver results in as little as 4 weeks, they also tend to be more harsh, often resulting in dry, easily irritated skin. Non-prescriptions retinols, on the other hand, take up to three times longer to get results, but are significantly milder and more appropriate for intolerant skin.

5 Retinol Dos and Don’ts

Whether you go the prescription or non-prescription route, there are several points that will ensure your experience with retinol products is a good one:

1. Do Start Slow

Because retinols can irritate the skin, begin by using them every other night so your skin can adjust. Also, apply only a pea-sized amount. More does not equal better results in this case.

2. Do Use At Night

Because retinols can make your skin more sensitive to the sun, apply at night only.

3. Don't Forget Your Sunblock

Yes, your skin will be more sensitive to the sun, so now more than ever be sure to wear a daily SPF. Increased skin sensitivity also makes waxing a no-no.

4. Do Use a Good Moisturizer

Retinol acts to increase skin cell turnover, so your skin may dry out, flake off or peel. The key to comfort? Keep it moist!

5. Don't Use if You're Pregnant

Or breastfeeding, for that matter. Studies have demonstrated skeletal deformities in the offspring of pregnant rats who were treated with retinoids.

Lasers, Lashes & Lips, Oh, MY!

Looking for a little post-summer pick-me-up? We’ve got 3 quick fixes for freshening up for fall.

Whether it’s wrinkles, sun spots, thinning lashes and lips, or all of the above, each of these emphasize the fact that you’re getting older. But don’t call to make that facelift consult yet (oh, no!). At TFI, we’ve got three ways you can enhance your face without going under the knife:

1. Lasers

Skin rejuvenation with the fractional erbium 2940 laser will improve all those tell-tale signs of summer sun damage—fine lines, wrinkles, sun spots and skin laxity—that can make your face appear older than its years. and. The beauty of this low energy laser is that it limits damage to the skin thereby increasing post-procedure comfort and healing time. In just a few days, you’ll be ready for your close up!

2. Lashes

While innovative non-prescription lash products abound, big price tags and unproven results make Latisse the industry gold standard. Just like the commercial says, Latisse grows longer, thicker, darker lashes in as soon as 8 weeks, with full results in 16 weeks. Of note, you have to continue to use Latisse to maintain your new and improved lashes. If you stop using it, they'll return to their original state. The reason? Eyelashes, like your hair, follow a regular growth cycle: they grow, fallout, then grow again.

3. Lips

Most experts agree: If you want to enhance the lips, the best place to start is with a hyaluronic acid (HA) filler such as Juvéderm. Juvéderm is a smooth, clear gel, which is injected into the lips with an ultra-fine needle and immediately adds volume. Plumper lips are visible immediately following treatment, although your lips will be larger than the desired end result because of post-procedure swelling. But don’t worry: Swelling resolves in 2 to 3 days and your lips will have that full and sculpted look you’re going for. Results generally last from 3 to 8 months.

Q&A: Should you moisturize acne-prone skin?

In a word, yes! Even if you have oily skin, a daily moisturizer can help to improve your skin’s hydration, create a protective barrier and make it soft without leaving it feeling oily or looking shiny. Using a daily moisturizer will also help ease the dryness, peeling and flaking that can be caused by certain acne medications (Retin-A, Accutane, benzoyl peroxide). In fact, research has shown that even if you don’t use an acne medication, simply moisturizing alone can help acne.

4 Tips for picking the right products:

1. Look for water-based, non-comedogenic moisturizers
2. Moisturize after applying acne treatments
3. Use a lotion, not a lipid-containing cream
4. Use a moisturizer with SPF