BEAUTY - NEEDS A LITTLE HELP (NON-INVASIVE TREATMENT)

With the introduction of less scary, knife-free procedures, cosmetic surgery is becoming more and more popular for reversing signs of ageing. Even with the following non-invasive treatments, it is still vital you choose a qualified cosmetic doctor. And make sure you know exactly what you are getting into beforehand, including possible side effects and recovery time. Lastly, trust your instincts. If you feel uneasy, then go elsewhere.

Botox
Purified botulinum toxin is injected into specific facial muscles in very tiny amounts to freeze them. Most commonly used for frown lines, forehead lines and crow's feet, the toxin attaches itself to the muscle so it cannot move when you frown or squint. Expect a little bruising and tiny red pinpricks where the needle went in, which will fade in a few days and wears off after three to six months. You need to stay upright for three to four hours after treatment, moving the injected muscles regularly to disperse the toxin, and do not fly for 24 hours.

Fillers
More injections, depositing a substance under the skin to smooth irregularities such as wrinkles, pits and scars. Fillers firm facial contours and re-plump lips and cheeks.
Collagen was the first filler on the market, but has lost favour because the protein substance (most often derived from cattle) can cause an allergic reaction. For this reason, patients must be tested prior to treatment. A local anaesthetic can be used to minimize discomfort from the injection needle, and effects last three to nine months.

Hyaluronic acid is the most popular filler as it is free from animal products, so less likely to cause a reaction. The most common are Restylane and Perlane, used for plumping lines, folds and thinning lips. Results last longer than collagen - six to nine months, and up to 12 - so expect to pay more.
Body sculpturing involves removing fat from a plumper part of your body (hips, buttocks or thighs) and injecting it somewhere that needs plumping up (sunken cheeks,deep folds and thinning lips). This is a more complicated treatment performed in an outpatient clinic, so recovery time can take up to a week, with results lasting between three and six months.

Chemical peels
Effective at treating sun damage, age spots and wrinkles, peels also stimulate the production of collagen in the skin. A chemical such as alpha-hydroxy or glycolic acid is applied (for between 2 and 10 minutes), which causes surface skin to shed and be replaced with a clearer, less mottled layer. The immediate result is similar to sunburn, and then peels off over a period of up to five days. A mild peel is all that is needed to treat fine lines and wrinkles, but a medium-depth peel is most effective for more serious skin damage (this has an increased recovery time of 7-14 days).

Microdermabrasion
Less dramatic than a peel, this technique uses very small crystals (such as aluminium salts) to remove the outermost layer of skin - and the superficial imperfections on it. The procedure takes about 30 minutes and your skin will look pinker (but brighter) afterwards. Great for irregular pigmentation and fine lines, microdermabrasion is not intensive enough to tackle deeper skin damage.

PS After any treatment that exfoliates the skin deeply, it is highly recommended that you use a sunscreen every day - but then you do that already, don't you?