Get Your Glow On

Bye-bye, scalpels! These days it’s all about getting beautified with the help of noninvasive procedures …  looking refreshed and youthful, not taut and pulled. Here we share some FDA-approved cosmetic enhancements—all aimed at getting subtle but significant results.

LIFT YOUR FACE

Over time, collagen loses elasticity, causing the face to droop. That’s where Ultherapy steps in. Using ultrasound technology, Ultherapy heats the layers of the skin to stimulate the body’s natural production of collagen. Most patients notice instant tightening, but major changes happen over a period of months as new collagen is released.

“I think this is an advantage of the treatment, because it’s a gradual change. It’s meant to be invisible. The patient looks good, people know they look good, but they don’t know why,” says Studio City dermatologist Gene Rubinstein.

Downtime is minimal, and the slight redness and puffiness quickly disappears. “I’ve been looking for something like this for a long time. I think Ultherapy is the most effective, noninvasive treatment out there,” says Dr. Rubinstein.
Approximately $4,000 per area treated (face or neck)

ELIMINATE CROW’S FEET

It doesn’t seem fair. After years of smiling through life, you’re left with wrinkles. But crow’s feet and lip lines meet their match with the latest dermal filler to hit the scene: Belotero Balance.

Belotero’s thinner formula works just below the skin’s surface, tackling hard-to-reach creases around the mouth and eyes. Whereas thicker facial fillers like Restylane and Juvederm penetrate deep into the muscle, they tend to miss many of the more fine lines.

Encino-based cosmetic injectables physician Sherly Soleiman says her patients have been pleased with Belotero’s natural results, which last for around six months. “You want your smile to bend your skin—not fold. With a judicious amount of Belotero, you support the lines underneath to prevent them from folding in with movement,” she shares.

Dr. Soleiman also has a tip for less painful and bruising injections: new state-of-the-art, blunt-tip needles, or cannulas. “As opposed to sharp needles, the cannula’s blunt tip is less likely to puncture a vessel.”
Approximately $500 per treatment

LOSE LOVE HANDLES

The latest body-slimming craze to hit the market is CoolSculpting by Zeltiq. While liposuction sucks out fat, this nonsurgical alternative destroys fat cells with intense cooling.

During the procedure, a large suction-cup device is used on the bulge you want whittled down. “The suction is applied for an hour, freezing the fat. Over a two- to four-month period, 20% to 25% of the fat layer is reduced,” says Encino-based facial plastic surgeon Michael Persky.

CoolSculpting is so effective at shrinking love handles that many men are having the procedure. “Ideal candidates are relatively fit but have some modest-size fat bulges that are not easily reduced through diet and exercise,” Dr. Persky explains.

Results are visible after a few weeks, after the body has had a chance to absorb the dead cells. CoolSculpting is most effective on the waist, back and thighs.
Approximately $750 per area of treatment