Shopping, cooking, cleaning, celebrating. It's the holidays, complete with food and drinks and too much to do on too little sleep, all taking place during a sometimes harsh, cold, wintry weather season. The end result: Just when you want to look sparkly and terrific, your skin gets the holiday blues. From dark circles under the eyes to bloated, puffy, swollen eyes and zits when you least expect it, for many men and women seasonal skin problems can flourish. The good news is, not only are there things you can do right now to ensure your youthful "glow" during this season, but there are also some cosmetic tricks and tips to keep your holiday glow going clear into the New Year.“Everyone wants to look their best when they go home for the holidays. When it’s been months or even years since they have last seen their friends and relatives, no one wants to look like they have aged significantly,” explains Zelda Billingy, M.D., mesotherapist and founder of California Mesotherapy & Laser Institute in Newport Beach, California. “If you are thinking of partying a lot this holiday season, you must make sure to prepare your skin ahead of time. There are a lot of wonderful non-invasive procedures from new laser treatments to meso-lifts that will help keep your face sparkling in no time. The better shape your skin is in as the holiday season starts, the better you will look throughout the year.”
So what can we do in the few short weeks before the holidays that will not keep us in bed and away from preparing our holiday festivities?
The Meso-Bio-Lift: A technique that creates a “virtual facelift” using mesotherapy injections in conjunction with Botox and/or other FDA approved dermal fillers (Restalyne, Hylaform and Sculptra) to reduce wrinkles around the face, neck, upper chest and chin area, resulting in a tighter, smoother and younger appearance. With no downtime, and little to no side effects other than minor bruising, the Meso-Bio-Lift can be done in the office in less than one hour and takes up to 10 years off of your face.
Laser Genesis: A unique, non-ablative technique using the CoolGlide XEO laser produces smoother and healthier skin including the reduction of redness, reduced pore size and improves skin tone and texture. Laser Genesis results in measurable improvement of skin tone with absolutely no downtime. Non-ablative laser skin therapy has become a very popular alternative used to rejuvenate the skin and reverse the effects of sun damage and pigmented lesions.
“Before the copious amounts of food and drink this holiday season, there are preventative measures that can help the inevitable “skin hangover” from occurring. For those who cannot afford non-invasive procedures to help rid puffiness and bloatation, there are a number of at-home remedies that can help you appear ageless,” says Dr. Billingy.
HOW TO BEAT THE “SKIN HANGOVER” FOR THE BUDGET CONSCIOUS:
When it comes to puffiness, cold is the answer. For a quick do-it-yourself face de-bloating, Dr. Billingy suggests soaking a washcloth in equal parts of whole milk and water, then laying the cloth on your face for 10 to 15 minutes which will help to soothe an irritated complexion and also reduce some of the bloating. To take down the swelling on eyes, compresses made of cooled tea bags help shrink the swelling. A spoon kept in the freezer and then applied gently to the eyes early in the morning can also help decrease puffiness. In addition, Preparation H, when applied under the eye, can help to tighten the area giving it a more “awakened” look. Another unsightly problem occurs around holiday time when acne outbreaks tend to happen more frequently when you are under stress or when consuming different foods, drinking more alcohol and getting less sleep. Over-the-counter benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid treatments, placed directly on the pimple help to clear up the skin.
So whether you are partying it up or staying home this holiday season, make sure to do what it takes to make sure your skin looks its best.
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