- Care from the outside
- Provision from the inside
- Since weather has the most devastating effect on the skin, keep a sun block and a moisturizer on the skin of the face, neck, backs of the hands, and all other exposed skin areas when outdoors. Ever notice how some people with wrinkled faces, necks, and hands sometimes have the body of a youngster? These are excellent examples of how the weather ages the exposed skin areas.
- Whenever the face feels dry, or the facial skin feels tight, moisturize immediately.
- Provide your skin daily with the nutrients it must have to repair and replace itself, especially vitamins A, E, C, and poly-unsaturated fats; and drink plenty of water.
- Perform at least 15 minutes of strenuous exercise - not related to work of any kind - for circulation, so that the nutrients will be delivered to the skin, especially in the upper parts of the body such as the face and neck.
- Avoid junk foods - especially sugar, but also all condensed carbohydrates. They clog the circulatory system and prevent the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the various skin area.
- As much as possible, avoid, or immediately relieve stress. After any stressful experience, take some vitamins C, and E. Stress drains the body of them, and the body does not store them.
- Avoid habitual extremes of facial expression, which can develop into wrinkles. Keep a relaxed and pleasant face to keep it smooth and wrinkle free.
- As much as possible keep your environment humid to keep your skin moist. A vaporizer or humidifier can be used to keep the air moist.
If you lie in the sun, always use
a good quality sunscreen as described below. Don't lie in direct sunlight between
the hours of 10:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M., and when you lie in the sun use a sunscreen
of at least 15 SPF (This means that 15 hours with SPF 15 = 1 hour without a sunscreen.).
- Chemical peeling
- Dermabrasion
- Catastrophic surgery (to correct the results of burns and accidents).
- The correction of congenital anomalies (cleft lips, nose and ear deformities, etc.).
- Cancer surgery and reconstruction (as related to the face, neck, and breasts).
- Cosmetic surgery (for improvement of the appearance).
Carl Bourhenne's Fitness and Long Life Manual |
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Youthful and Attractive |
One of the most obvious factors influencing the way that we attract or do not attract each other - and especially the opposite sex - is the appearance of our skin. Recent studies have provided a new and clearer understanding or our skin, and of what makes it healthy, youthful, and attractive, or wrinkled, sagging, spotted, and aged looking.
The results of perhaps the most significant research is best summarized by presenting the findings of Dr. Irvin Blank of Harvard Medical School. Dr. Blank proved that dry skin is not necessarily the result of a loss of natural oils. This recent discovery lead the way into an entirely new approach to skin care by major cosmetic manufacturers.
Dr. Blank's research showed that the presence of water in the skin is primarily responsible for keeping skin moist and flexible. He allowed a piece of a callous to lose its water while retaining its natural oils, and it became hard and brittle. He then soaked it in oils used in the most expensive skin care products, but it did not soften. In fact, in one study he left it immersed for seventeen years, and till it remained hard and dehydrated. But, when he immersed the dried piece of callous in water, it quickly softened and became flexible.
Dr. Blank also removed the natural oils from a skin sampling, but caused it to retain its water. The skin sampling retained its softness and flexibility, thus showing the greater importance of water over natural oils in maintaining skin softness. As a result of this research, cosmetic manufacturers immediately raced to put a new product on the market known as "moisturizers".
As a matter of fact, the best skin moisturizer is plain mineral water in the form of steam, or spray. However, oils can and do soften the outer layer of hardened skin somewhat; but even better, they tend to retain the natural oils inside the skin by sealing them in from dehydration caused by the sun, the wind, and, perhaps the sea spray.
Skin care, and skin rejuvenation are both accomplished by similar techniques. When we utilize the methods of caring for our skin but intensify them, we perform the procedures for rejuvenating damaged skin.
There are two kinds of methods for skin care, and these methods are both strict requirements for keeping, or for regaining and maintaining healthy, youthful, attractive skin:
1 ) Care from the outside: The skin must be kept moist and pliable so that it does not dry and crack, causing wrinkles. This is best done by using good quality moisturizers. Also, when in the sun, always use a sunscreen to avoid burning and drying of the skin. The weather, more than any other factor in the normal environment, has the most damaging effect on the skin.
2 ) Provision from the inside: The skin must receive nutrients to maintain, rebuild, and reproduce healthy skin cells. Vitamins A, E, C, and poly-unsaturated fats are essential for the body to maintain its skin in a healthy, youthful, and attractive, condition.
The effects of stress are especially harmful to the skin, because stress depletes our system of many nutrients - particularly of Vitamin C, which is so necessary to maintain the health of collagen. Collagen is the material which binds the skin cells together. When the collagen in our skin becomes unhealthy it becomes brittle, then when the skin bends it cracks, causing wrinkles.
The skin is actually an organ - the largest and most visible organ in the body. The skin cells reproduce themselves as fast and as often as any other type of cell in the body if cared for, and if provided with the materials needed to repair and reproduce themselves.
The main considerations for skin care and rejuvenation are:
DIRECT SUNLIGHT AGES THE SKIN VERY RAPIDLY, AND CAUSES SKIN CANCER.
This is the story on the sun's rays:
UV-A: Deep penetrating rays. Excess can cause malignant melanoma, the most
deadly form of skin cancer.
UV-B: Burns and damages the surface layers of the skin, and causes such skin
cancers as basal cell carcinoma, etc.
SUN LAMPS such as those used in tanning salons use the longer UV-A rays, which can cause the most dangerous type of skin cancer, malignant melanoma. They don't use the shorter UV-B rays because those are the rays that burn the surface of the skin, causing "sunburn".
If you must be in the sun, protect yourself by using a good quality waterproof sunscreen of SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 15 or greater, that contains benzophenones and cinnamates, which absorb both UVA and UVB light.
PABA absorbs only UVB rays, so it prevents "sunburn" of the surface of the skin, but since it does not block UV-A rays, it does not prevent malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer.
The sunscreen should be applied to all parts of the body that are to be exposed, prior to exposure. The most important thing to remember about using sunscreens is to use them frequently and generously.
SPF-15 means that 15 hours in the sun with the sunscreen is equal to 1 hour in the sun without it. SPF lotions of greater than 15 do not appear to provide significantly greater protection than does SPF-15
As a final motivating inducement to encourage a plentiful provision of vitamins A, E, and C, I offer an interesting note which we encountered in our research: Vitamins A, E, and C can help deter for some people what is known as "liver spots", those dark blotches seen on the skin of some older people. These spots are also known by the "beautiful people" as the lovely-sounding, but off-putting name of "fleur-de-cimetiere" (flower of the cemetery), which seems to suggest that they could be a precursor of death itself.
Some people have surprisingly youthful skin, even at advanced ages. We have already explained the major reasons.
Our research clearly shows that, aside from hereditary factors - which are very relevant indeed - the youthfulness and attractiveness of your skin is quite controllable by adherence to the directions which we have provided.
New Skin
There are two effective methods for replacing a very wrinkled and spotted
face with a new, smooth, youthful face:
There are many successful histories from each method, but some unsuccessful results were also noted - mainly as a result of allergic reaction, or of extremely sensitive skin.
1 . Chemical peeling is more risky, as severe allergic reactions have resulted in permanent facial damage to a few people. Many Board Certified Plastic Surgeons (the only practitioners one should go to for this treatment) stay away from Chemical Peeling, except for spot applications on the upper lip, or where Dermabrasion causes too much bleeding. In Southern areas, where the sun has developed too leathery a skin for Dermabrasion to be effective, Chemical Peeling is more common.
Chemical Peeling is performed by applying a phenol solution to the face, to effect a controlled chemical burning of the skin. This results in a really awful full-face scab, which comes loose in about a week. The result is a truly new and youthful face. Don't plan on tanning afterward however, since a peeled skin is essentially a controlled burn scar, and scars don't tan. That is one of the costs of this procedure: you can't tan your face once you've done it.
The cost ranges from $1,200 to $2,500 for a full face job; and $100 or so for spot applications.
The newer procedures for Chemical Peeling use a gradual process in which the skin layers are removed little by little over a period of months. The procedure is once a week for three weeks, then biweekly for six weeks, then once every third week until the desired result is achieved.
2 . Dermabrasion is more easily controlled. The epidermis is deadened using a local anesthetic, and then frozen with a refrigerant spray that further reduces pain, inhibits bleeding, and firms up the skin. This process involves bleeding. The Plastic Surgeon (Board Certified in COSMETIC Surgery, please) then uses a tiny rotating wire brush to scrape off the outer layer of skin. Expect to devote a full morning to this procedure, and one to two weeks for healing. A new epidermis will grow, and you will tan naturally afterward. The cost is $2,000 to $3,500; and the results can be truly amazing.
Plastic Surgery
Now that the entire approach to Plastic Surgery is a
commonly accepted option for everyone, to improve upon their attractiveness and regain
a youthful appearance, more and more women and men from all walks of life are choosing,
and using that option. No longer is cosmetic surgery a tool only for those in show
business, fashion, or the beauty industry. Men and women, middle class as well as the
rich, office worker, public relations worker; all are taking advantage of the perfected
skills of the board certified plastic surgeon.
Before going any further I want to point out, and emphasize the vital importance of seeing only a BOARD CERTIFIED PLASTIC SURGEON, EXPERIENCED WITH COSMETIC SURGERY. Then, get some references from that surgeon, or people who had the same work done that you are considering; then, speak with each of those references. They are usually eager to share their experience. If you get any hesitation from the plastic surgeon on proving board certification in Cosmetic surgery, or providing references, make fast tracks out of there!
The problem here is that any medical doctor is legally licensed to perform plastic surgery; but might have neither the training nor the experience.
The number of people who have been permanently disfigured by the well-meaning, but untrained physician is still mounting. To be Board Certified, the plastic surgeon must undergo several additional years of specialized education and training. Use only him or her.
There are four major types of plastic surgery:
The fourth, Cosmetic Surgery, actually can and usually does improve the quality and enjoyment of one's life, under the right conditions. Look for improvement though, never for miracles.
Your plastic surgeon should be certified by THE AMERICAN BOARD OF PLASTIC SURGERY, and trained in COSMETIC SURGERY (not just reconstructive surgery).
You can call your regional Medical Association, and ask them what specialties the surgeon you are considering is board certified for. You might also call your regional "Society of Plastic Surgery".
I recommend that you look twice at the big advertiser of Plastic Surgery, since his high advertising costs put additional pressure on him, which may cause him or her to give less personal attention to the individual patient.
And beware of the surgeon who wants you to have work done on the first day that you see him or her. There's no rush. You want to check him or her, and his or her references. It's your face.
Beware also of the surgeon who tells you he has a new, secret technique. Leave his office, but fast! It is, in fact, illegal to have a medical secret. Besides, you hardly want to be a guinea pig for someone's "bright idea".
What I’m trying to say, of course, is - Don't become one of the many plastic surgery "butcher stories" that result from incompetent practitioners.
But don't be turned off by fear, either. Just make sure the surgeon you engage is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, in Cosmetic surgery. If you have the slightest doubt, keep looking!
The valid needs of the woman who thinks her husband's eyes may be roving toward younger girls, and the executive who's younger looking juniors are starting to show real talent can both be re-enforced by cosmetic surgery and the accompanying personal changes in lifestyle, wardrobe, grooming, and make-up.
Very often, in fact, lifestyle changes alone, such as new eating and drinking habits, a vigorous exercise program, wardrobe and grooming improvements, and other lifestyle improvements can make an even greater impact on one's appearance than was ever hoped with cosmetic surgery. In fact, we believe that anyone considering cosmetic surgery might first make the lifestyle changes which will support the new image, especially if weight loss is called for. Of course, no cosmetic surgery is designed as a substitute for dieting. If you are overweight, a good plastic surgeon should have you lose your excess weight before surgery.
There is a new procedure for removing deep facial wrinkles, by laser. The old way, using the chemical phenol, was extremely painful, and required weeks of painful recovery. The new method, though, uses a carbon dioxide laser under local anesthetic, and is entirely painless. The old, wrinkled skin just falls away, replaced by new, youthful looking skin.
As the popularity of cosmetic surgery has increased and broadened, so has its technology. Cosmetic surgery now deals not only with the face, but also includes what is artistically called "body sculpting". Perhaps the most popular form of "body sculpting" is breast augmentation. The surgeon makes an incision under the breast, lifts the entire gland away form the chest wall, and inserts a chemically inert sac filled with one of several jelly-like fluids.
Never allow injections of free-flowing substances into your body. It often migrates throughout the body, causing any of a number of serious problems. This is a process you, yourself, could learn to do in about fifteen minutes, and the results are very often disastrous.
Other successful uses of "body sculpting" by cosmetic surgery produced by our research are: The tightening of flabby skin after weight loss or pregnancy, elimination of stretch marks, the tightening of stomach muscles to flatten the tummy, and the tightening of other areas of body skin after weight loss - such as the underarms, thighs, buttocks, and breasts.
The most popular forms of Plastic Surgery are described in the following sections:
Sagging Eyes (Blepharoplasty): This operation of removing the bags under the eyes and tightening up the eyelids is generally considered a relatively permanent procedure. Very few people require it more than once, as the results are quite lasting. The loose skin is simply slit, the excess skin removed, and the skin sewn up again, hiding the faint scars in the natural crease of the eye. You can return to work in a few days, wear dark glasses for a couple of weeks until the incisions heal, and look a little "wide-eyed" until the scar areas relax (a few months). This procedure requires only a couple of hours under a local anesthetic; and the operation is not disabling. The cost is $2,000 to $6,000.
Forehead Lift: The heavily wrinkled, or "corrugated" forehead can be alleviated. The surgeon slices the scalp well up in the hair and from ear to ear, trims off the excess skin, pulls up the remaining skin and smoothes it out, like smoothing out a sheet. Care must be taken by the surgeon not to try for too dramatic a result by pulling too hard, or permanently raised eyebrows and a slightly receding hairline can result. This procedure works quite well for both men and women, and very often a few hair plugs are transplanted to return the widow's peak to normal. The cost is $2,000 to $6,000.
Small Veins In The Legs - not the large varicose veins, but the smaller, dark ones - can be eliminated by a vascular surgeon. A procedure called "sclerosing injection for superficial venules of the lower extremities" is now being used. A solution is injected into the small, bluish veins in the legs, and they go away. It is important to have this done only by a vascular surgeon experienced in this particular technique, since my research did pick up some problems. In competent hands however, the technique is excellent. It is most commonly done in Los Angeles.
Nose Job (Rhinoplasty): The nose job is now quite common, and is widely accepted as a way of changing the shape of the nose. The procedure is as varied as the type of job being done, so I'll include no technical detail here. It is probably the most easily and dependably successful form of cosmetic surgery, all things considered. The cost is $2,000 to $5,000.
Breast Reduction: It is more complicated, and thus more costly to reduce the size of the breast than it is to enlarge them. There are many methods and many options, so I won't include details here. Your surgeon will explain the options that are available to you, personally. The cost will be $3,500 to $10,000.
Tummy Tuck (Abdominal lipectomy): The Tummy Tuck can include a tightening of both the skin and the abdominal muscles. The cost: $2,000 to $5,000.
Otoplasty: Otoplasty is pinning back prominent ears. Cost $750 to $3,000.
For the above procedures, the cost shown all reflect only the surgeon's fee, and do not include hospital expenses. Most all of these procedures, though, can be performed as an out patient service. Practically no medical insurance plans cover elective surgery. If the surgeon uses the ambulatory surgical unit of a hospital, the facilities fee will be $600 to $2,000, but if the surgeon operates in his own office, the fee should be more like $300 to $900. If you wish to be put to sleep during the procedure, the fee for the anesthesiologist will run about 20% of the amount of the surgeon's fee.
Cosmetic surgery is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a legitimate medical expense deduction.
Some people still tend to believe that cosmetic surgeons can perform miracles. They cannot change personalities, make marriages happy, or get anyone a better job. The changes they make should make you look more rested, relaxed, healthier, younger, and more attractive, but the effect on one's happiness is up to the individual. It is, however, rather common for one of the effects of cosmetic surgery to be a change in self-image and thus, general outlook - which can dramatically change one's life enjoyment. The amount of change is usually in direct proportion to the improvement in lifestyle.
Carl Bourhenne, MA
