SKINCARE EXPERTS SHARE WHICH TREATMENTS WORK

Charlotte Plastic Surgery’s nationally acclaimed team of top surgeons, nurse injectors and skincare health specialists recently gathered to celebrate their fourth consecutive Best of the Best Award.

Since 1951, Charlotte Plastic Surgery has gained the respect of patients and peers across the country. It’s team of nationally-recognized plastic surgeons provide breast augmentation, face lifts and body surgery, skin health services and more. It’s renowned staff also includes accomplished nurse injectors and skincare health specialists.

All that experience means the experts at Charlotte Plastic Surgery know exactly which popular non-invasive treatments work, and which don’t deliver results.

INJECTABLES

Do they work? Yes. These treatments are performed quickly and with minimal downtime. As we age, our skin loses its elasticity and fullness. Injectables fix these issues quickly, According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the number of minimally invasive cosmetic procedures has increased nearly 200 percent since 2000. That means injectables are working and more people are choosing to go this route to achieve results.

What you should know: Injectables, such as Botox and fillers, offer subtle but effective results and the cost is relatively lower compared to surgery.

Best for: Whether it’s the appearance of fine lines/crow’s feet to having a hollow look under our eyes, many common issues can now be fixed with safe and effective injectable options.

LASER TREATMENTS

Do they work? Yes. Laser treatments have made incredible advancements and you can often see results immediately.

What you should know: Some lasers, such a BBL, offer incredible results while also allowing you to go right back to work. The HALO laser, the first hybrid fractional laser, is a deeper laser that restores your skin while also erasing the signs of aging. The skincare experts at Charlotte Plastic Surgery say there is nothing better to turn back the clock on your skin in one treatment than the HALO laser.

Best for: Removing signs of aging, such as fine lines and sun spots, and other skin texture issues.

BODY CONTOURING

Does it work? Yes. Non-invasive treatments to improve the look of your skin or troublesome body parts are only gaining in popularity.

What you should know: Coolsculpting continues to offer additional applications, meaning more areas can be treated such as the underarm and chin areas, with wonderful results. Profound, a new treatment showing 100 percent response rate, can permanently reduce the appearance of cellulite.

Best for: Improving aging facial skin, the removal of jowls and treating cellulite.

LIP PLUMPING SERUMS

Do they work? No. We all see the ads for lip plumping lipsticks and serums claiming to make our lips look bigger instantly. Whether it’s in the form of a gloss, balm, stick, gel or pot, the best result you will achieve is a slightly larger lip for an hour or two at max, with some known to cause an irritation. Sadly, these don’t produce long-term results and you only waste your money expecting any outcome.

HOME MICRONEEDLING DEVICES

Do they work? No. Home microneedling is most commonly performed with manual dermarollers or devices that do not penetrate the skin deep enough so they do not provide any true results.

What you should do instead: Microneedling is only effective as an in-office treatment. Trained professionals can administer the fractional micro-needling or collagen induction therapy (CIT) using small needles to pierce the skin in a controlled and precise pattern. The device works to tighten, lift and rejuvenate the skin. It’s effective when used with a combination of other treatments, such as PRP (platelet-rich plasma), or vitamin serums to help those ingredients absorb more easily into the skin.

Best for: Reducing fine lines and wrinkles, stretch marks, sun damage, pore size and surgical and acne scars.

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS

Should you take them seriously? No. We all see the Instagram posts from our favorite celebrity, or social media influencer, telling us about the #amazing results they had from “insert product here.” Even though there is a hashtag, or there should be, saying #ad at the bottom of the post, people don’t always realize that the post is a paid advertisement to endorse a specific product or treatment.

What you should do instead: Charlotte Plastic Surgery always recommends patients do their research prior to any procedure to make sure it’s safe and effective before spending their money, or worse.

For more information, or to schedule a free consultation: 704-837-7191; charlotteplasticsurgery.

WINTER SKINCARE TIPS

Winter is the ideal time for the skincare experts at Charlotte Plastic Surgery to take your skin from whoa to wow with a combination of modern nonsurgical procedures and products. To book your free consultation, call 704-372-6846 or go to charlotteplasticsurgery.com.

We dare you to find anyone 50 and up who doesn’t have some sun-damaged skin. It’s inevitable. But with modern techniques, the damage can be easily erased thanks to the award-winning skincare experts at Charlotte Plastic Surgery.

Winter is the best time to start turning back the clock on your skin - so consider trying a combination of these problem-solving procedures and products now.

Microneedling with PRP helps you produce collagen and elastin - the key to youthful skin.

Dull Skin: As we age our bodies produce less and less collagen, which is what our body creates to make skin look youthful.. To get glowing again, try Microneedling with PRP. This highly advanced treatment uses your skin’s natural healing process and growth factors from your own blood plasma to give collagen and elastin production a major boost. The results are an improvement in the texture and firmness of your skin. It also diminishes lines, wrinkles, thinning, dullness and age spots while helping to reduce scars, pore size and stretch marks.

Broad Band Laser therapy gets rid of sun spots, uneven skin tone and fine lines.

Broad Band Laser (BBL): After Microneedling, try Broad Band Laser (BBL) to get rid of the signs of aging, such as sun spots, uneven skin tone and fine lines. This laser treatment removes sun damage in days, without any downtime. Winter months are the optimal time to have this done since your skin has to be tan-free. It’s non-invasive so you can go right from your treatment to your next appointment.

Protection: We know we have to protect our skin from the sun and weather but now we have to consider the pollutants in the air. Plus blue light from our cell phones, tablets, television screens and computers that glare in our face every day. To combat the problem, try the Lumivive system, which has a serum for day and night.

Using HA5 is a game-changing trick to to achieve optimal hydration.

Hydration: Cold temperatures instantly zap the moisture from skin. Change your moisturizer to a more emollient cream to lock in moisture and keep your skin hydrated all winter. The game-changing trick for even more moisture is using a product that pre-hydrates your skin.

By the time we are 50 years old, skin has lost 50% of the HA it had when it was 20. So start with HA5 Rejuvenating Hydrator. Hyaluronic Acid (HA) is a natural substance our bodies create which works as a natural hydrator for our skin, holding in the moisture which keeps our skin looking healthy and youthful.

Moisturize: Moisturization creates a barrier that works to hold in the hydration we need for our skin. As the weather gets colder the air offers less and less of the moisture our skin craves, which is exactly why we need to use a richer/more emollient moisturizer during those months.

Alastin HydraTint Pro Mineral Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 35.

Sunscreen: It’s a must even when it’s cloudy and cold outside. Sun damage happens 365 days a year, so your skin must be protected year-round as well. Apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen that blocks the damaging rays (UVA, UVB and infrared) to your face, neck and hands every day to avoid further sun damage. Alastin HydraTint Pro Mineral Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 35 blocks the damaging UVA/UVB rays that cause our skin to age and it’s also rich in antioxidants.

To learn more or to book your free consultation, call 704-372-6846 or go to charlotteplasticsurgery.com.