Davis

We’re seeing new med spas pop up all the time, but what are they, exactly? The reality is they run the gamut from glorified nail salon to state-of-the-art skincare clinic.

Med spa (short for medical spa) is actually more of an umbrella term than a precise descriptor. It encompasses everything from a treatment room within a plastic surgeon’s office to a storefront in a strip mall where you can get a mani-pedi with a side of Botox.

A big reason for the discrepancy is that med spas are pretty loosely regulated. A med spa, for example, can be affiliated with a doctor, but even that can mean anything from having a board-certified plastic surgeon on site, supervising every procedure, to a doctor who doesn’t even specialize in skincare merely lending his or her name to the establishment (for a cut of the profits, naturally).

Which, then, begs the question: Why take the risk, even for a procedure in which the risk of complication is relatively slight?

So, beyond the extent of the treatments, the differences between most med spas and a board-certified plastic surgeon’s practice basically come down to mission and expertise.

If you like that, you’ll love this

A med spa, in a nutshell, provides treatments that target cosmetic concerns. But its aim is to capitalize on those treatments, yes, by luring you back for additional treatments but also by selling you products that supposedly complement your treatment.

Back in the day, when department stores were a thing, you’d step up to the glass skincare display and ask for a particular facial moisturizer. But it was never that simple because the woman behind the display was compelled to show you serums and oils and other creams from the same collection, all of them meant to function as a whole, not in pieces, she’d say.

Most med spas are kind of like the modern-day department store skincare counter. You may come in for a particular treatment, but you shouldn’t expect to leave without being bombarded with multiple sales pitches.

What’s really going on here?

Now, if you anticipate it, there’s not necessarily anything wrong with that—unless you interpret it as a truly comprehensive approach to your skincare and wellbeing. The treatments at a med spa are provided by an aesthetician, not a board-certified plastic surgeon, which means that no diagnosis is being made. Nor is the treatment taking into consideration anything other than your immediate concern.

An aesthetician specializes in skincare from a purely cosmetic perspective, not a medical one. You could walk into a plastic surgeon’s office and ask for the same treatment, but that doctor’s going to take a much different approach, a more clinical one. He or she understands the nuance of the anatomy and aging, so they’ll consider your medical history, skin type, and sensitivities that influence the use certain products and procedures.

It’s a more meticulous approach to your concern. The surgeon is not only treating it but also trying to pinpoint the underlying reason for it. So, where a med spa may send you home with an armful of products and the promise of a better tomorrow, the surgeon is the only one actively working toward that end.

Brides, with any luck, you’re reading this in a calm, confident state-of-mind. Months (and months) of planning are behind you, and now you’re down to the last handful of details, the icing on the proverbial cake. Included among them should be a bit of self-care.

A massage is great for alleviating stress, but is it going to have an appreciable effect on your appearance? Not really. You know what will? Microdermabrasion. It can help reduce the appearance of sun damage, age spots, acne scarring, wrinkles and fine lines, and other skin imperfections, all within a single treatment, ensuring your face is glowing all day long. How does it work, you ask? Read on.

Buffing and polishing

While you’ve probably heard of microdermabrasion before now—it was the fourth-most popular minimally-invasive cosmetic procedure performed last year—it’s one of those treatments that everyone other than the truly skin-obsessed don’t know much about.

It works by exfoliating the skin with microscopic crystal free diamond-tips that remove the superficial outer layer of dry, dead skin cells to reveal a fresh, rejuvenated face. Several diamond-tip hand-pieces will gently exfoliate and simultaneously suction up the dead skin cells. Essentially, they’re buffing and polishing your face. It’s done as an in-office procedure without any downtime or a numbing agent, and it usually takes about an hour.

Those with fine lines, uneven pigmentation, or clogged pores stand to benefit the most from microdermabrasion, but it’s considered a safe and effective treatment for almost every kind of skin type and color.

You should also have an aesthetician approved home care system to further compliment your microdermabrasion treatment and for long lasting results.  It will help you with your wedding glow, long after you say ‘I do!’

Immediate results and no downtime

The best part about microdermabrasion is that you’ll see the results right after your treatment. Even more, there’s little to no downtime. You should be able to get right back to your day as soon as you leave the doctor’s office.  You can even apply makeup if necessary for those last minute errands.

You’ll want to keep your skin hydrated and stay out of the sun—your face can be more sensitive to it for a few weeks after the treatment—but you won’t miss a step. Which means you can schedule a treatment while you’re checking off the other assorted loose ends over the last few days before your big day.

Just imagine yourself: As beautiful as you’ve ever looked, and not even a hint of the stress that wreaked havoc on your life for the last several months. All of it gone in less than an hour.

Who among us doesn’t envy or want a pair of plumper lips?

Angelina Jolie. Scarlett Johansson. Rhianna. All stunning by any measure, but what feature of theirs leaves the deepest impression? Their pillow-y lips, of course.

So prized are plumper lips that Kylie Jenner once admitted to spending 40 minutes a day lining her lips. There’s solace to be found in that confession: Voluptuous lips are something that elude most of us—even the stars who appear to be slightly more than human. And aging doesn’t help that cause.

But hope isn’t lost. In fact, there are a number of cosmetic procedures available to enhance your lips. As a not-so-insignificant side benefit, they’re all also an effective means to erase fine lines around the mouth. Too good to be true? Read on.

Dermal fillers

Hyaluronic acid fillers have become a popular option because they’re temporary and they’re affordable. Think of them as the equivalent of dipping a toe in the pool. The procedure is usually performed with a specially formulated topical numbing cream. The filler is then artistically placed in to the lip to help you achieve perfect pout you’ve always wanted.

Depending on the product, the results will last between six and 12 months. Though, the results will last a little longer with each subsequent treatment. And because hyaluronic acid is a natural element, the filler will simply dissolve and leave your lips the same as they were prior to the treatment.

Fat injections

It’s common for patients to progress from a dermal filler to a longer-lasting treatment, like fat injections. Here, fat is removed from one part of the body, usually through liposuction, and used as a lip filler—all without a single incision on the face or lips.

Fat injections create a very natural-looking lip contour that will last for years. Even more, it’s a very safe procedure that can be done in an office setting.

Lip implants

Lip implants have gotten a bad rap through the years because of celebrities who’ve undergone the procedure and come out looking like Daisy Duck. That should serve less as a reason to avoid them, though, and more as an incentive to seek out an experienced, skilled, board-certified plastic surgeon.

The implants are made from a soft, pliable silicone rubber or biodegradable substance. The procedure itself actually takes only about a half-hour. And despite what you’ve seen online, you should only need a couple of days to recover.

Still, I recommend it only for those who are seeking an appreciable increase in their lip volume. Even then, it’s usually a good idea to wade in and try on the look on a more temporary basis first.

Body contouring is a term that’s been steadily gaining attention as major weight-loss surgery, or bariatric surgery, becomes more prominent in our society. And that’s because the two commonly go hand-in-hand.

There were 228,000 bariatric procedures were performed in the United States in 2017—and most of them were done right here in the Northeast. And yet that amount only accounts for one percent of the eligible population.

In other words, we may be standing at the very beginning of what’s likely to become a pretty significant trend over the years ahead.

Weight-loss surgery assumes several different forms. Body contouring can, too. It refers to the surgery to remove excess skin and fat following a major weight-loss surgery, improving the tone of the underlying tissue in the process. It can be done on your lower body (tummy tuck, lower body lift), upper body (breast lift, back lift), and extremities (arms, thighs, and buttocks).

And, depending on the extent of your weight loss, it may entail several procedures. Which is why the decision to have this surgery is often a deeply personal one. While there are lots of benefits (more on those in a moment), it’s a process that can require months of commitment.

It’s not the daunting obstacle it may seem at first glance, though. After all, a new you is waiting for you on the other side.

Beyond aesthetics

There are more immediate rewards, too. As you shed your excess skin, you’ll lose even more weight. And while it’ll take some time to heal, you’ll start gaining confidence in your appearance right after the surgery.

But this isn’t purely about aesthetics. Excess skin will encumber your daily life in any number of ways, from the basic stuff, such as walking, to the things that should be entirely pleasurable, like sex. So, body contouring should really be seen as a means to improve your quality of life.

Enduring results

The results of body contouring are generally long-lasting as long as you stick to a balanced diet and a challenging exercise regimen. That’s what the textbooks say. It’s not inaccurate, but it only tells part of the story. Recent research has indicated that body contouring often becomes a springboard.

Here’s an example: In a study that compared the progress of those who had weight-loss surgery and body contouring with those who only had weight-loss surgery, the weight-loss surgery and body contouring patients lost more weight and had a lower body mass index five years later.

In another study, patients who had body contouring had a better body image six and 12 months after their procedures.

So, for all the anxiety that may precede it, body contouring frequently proves to be the right choice.