Saying ‘I Do’ in the Digital Age requires insta-perfection
- Posted on: Jun 8 2017
It’s official, wedding season has arrived. Approximately 80 percent of all weddings happen in the six months between May and October, according to Priceonomics. This means it’s also peak season for brides, grooms and bridal party members to be making their way to a plastic surgeon consultation for some pre-nuptial enhancements.
Not only do brides and grooms have to plan for those wedding portraits that will last a lifetime, but in the age of social media and selfies and everyone wants to look insta-perfect. Plastic surgeons are definitely seeing the trend. More and more women and men are getting non-invasive treatments like Botox, fillers and laser treatments. The numbers continue to trend upward every year.
Getting the Glow
“Brides are most focused on their skin looking great and glowing, they want their skin to be clear and flawless for their big day,” says plastic surgeon Dr. Orna Fisher, who recommends Clear + Brilliant as an option for getting skin photo ready.
Clear + Brilliant is a no-downtime laser procedure offering two modalities. Both modalities increase radiance. One is more for fine lines, improvement of texture and pores. The other is for sun damage like freckling and pigmentation or for dullness. Clear + Brilliant can clarify skin and give it a radiant look. pigment.
“The great thing about this laser treatment is that it is good for all skin types, from very light to very dark, and that’s not something we can say for all lasers. This great procedure is for prevention and maintenance, but it is also for correction,” explains Dr. Fisher, who recommends three to six treatments of the laser procedure be performed two to four weeks apart depending on the modality and skin.
Because it is a true laser, Clear + Brilliant rejuvenates the skin from the inside out by stimulating collagen production. However, it doesn’t deeply or uniformly injure the skin, so there is no down time associated with harsher lasers. Stronger laser procedures require some degree of downtime and require more planning. “It’s a wonderful, very versatile laser which I recommend for any age, and certainly before the wedding. It is a lunchtime laser and if someone can plan two months before their wedding to complete the full course of treatment Clear + Brilliant will them that beautiful glow.”
Another option for brides and grooms to consider is IPL, which is intense pulsed light. While it’s not exactly a laser, it is able to treat dark spots and hyperpigmentation. “Called a “fotofacial” by some, it’s not a deeper rejuvenation, but it will cause brown spots to turn darker and then they just flake right off giving you brighter skin,” explains Dr. Fisher. “It may require three to six sessions, and some people may benefit from even one. You will have to tolerate your spots being very dark for seven to ten days until they come off and reveal lighter skin.”
Fillers to the Rescue
For those brides or bridal party members interested in turning back the clock more significantly, Botox and Dysport, the neuromodulator class of injectables, are a minimally invasive quick fix and can definitely smooth lines on the forehead or between the brows. With Botox or Dysport, a small amount of toxin is injected into a muscle of facial expression and it paralyses that muscle to prevent the movement, getting rid of the wrinkle. “Botox will smooth the lines on the forehead, between the brows, and the crow’s feet really softening the look of these areas,” says Dr. Fisher.
Grooms are also getting in on the Botox, or “Brotox” as it has been nicknamed due to its increasing popularity with men. “Lots of men between their 30s to 60s are getting Botox between the brows,” notes Dr. Fisher. “It has become mainstream for executives who want to look less tired and stressed. Sometimes I also have to use a little filler between the brows because their lines can be too deep for Botox alone by the time they seek it out.”
There are some areas of the face that are not amenable to Botox. “We don’t want to stop the movement in muscles that are not for facial expression,” explains Dr. Fisher, who suggests, for those cases, HA fillers such as Juvéderm, Restylane or Belotero. HA fillers can be used to fill deep wrinkles and folds including nasolabial fold or “laugh lines,” or in the chin area where there might be marionette lines, the crease that goes from the corner of the mouth to the sides of the chin. “Fillers can also be used to enhance volume,” offers Dr. Fisher. “So if women would like enhancement in their cheeks or plumping of the lips, fillers are good for that as well.”
No Cutting Required
Mothers of the bride or mothers-in-law also have the option of a liquid facelift, which is a combination of fillers and neuromodulators used to plump the face, fill in lines, decrease wrinkles, and generally give the face a more youthful appearance. “If you aren’t ready for a facelift or don’t have time for a facelift, the liquid facelift will immediately rejuvenate and last a good six months,” explains Dr. Fisher.
“A liquid facelift is much more dramatic than just getting a syringe of filler in the smile lines or a little Botox in the forehead, it’s a combination of different fillers for different areas of the face and potentially some other surface treatments for the face like a chemical peel, micro-needling or a laser treatment on the milder side to give skin a glow.”
Chemical peels are another option for rejuvenating your face. “A mild chemical peel can exfoliate the skin and make it look tighter and give it a glow,” explains Dr. Fisher. “It’s something that’s done in the short-term or as part of a skincare regimen and can make you look great for the wedding. Micro-needling can also help, which depends on the age, goal, and skin type.”
Keep Your Chin Up
If there is face or neck laxity, there’s a procedure called Skin Tite, “which can certainly improve the appearance of the jawline” but Dr. Fisher believes the neck, jawline and lower third of the face are best addressed with a face lift or neck lift at a certain point. “In those cases, the noninvasive and minimally invasive modalities come up short when there is too much laxity.
The Eyes Have It
There’s no question about it, having work done on either the upper eyelids or lower eyelids can take years off your appearance offers Dr. Fisher. “For excess skin on the upper eyelids including hooding or heaviness over the lash line, an upper eyelid lift (blepharoplasty) can be amazing and take years off the face,” says Dr. Fisher, who notes someone should allow three weeks of downtime after the procedure if preparing for a special event. Otherwise, normal activity can be resumed after just a week.
As for the lower eyelids where there might be “bags” of excess skin, “it sometimes requires taking some fat out, doing a chemical peel or excising skin so it’s a little bit of a bigger to-do than an upper eyelid lift. The technique used depends on the issues,” says Dr. Fisher. “Some people are genetically predisposed to having more skin on their upper eyelid and surgery can make a huge difference without much downtime.”
To Lobe or Not to Lobe?
Earlobes that start to stretch out and get longer are little signs that often give away a person’s age. Finessing the earlobes allows a bride or mother-of-the-bride to wear their hair up or even pulled back without feeling self-conscious. “That’s so seemingly subtle, but such a telltale sign of aging,” says Dr. Fisher, noting some women only want an earlobe reduction.
Whether it’s as simple as an earlobe reduction or Botox for a pesky line or wrinkle, through a quick assessment Dr. Fisher can evaluate your needs and form a plan of some subtle or dramatic things we can do that really make a difference and keep downtime to a minimum. We can do a custom skincare analysis and create a custom package of treatment options, whether it is for a milestone occasion such as a wedding or reunion coming up soon, or long-term planning for an event taking place in a year or two.
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