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Beauty, Education, Featured

You, Only Better: Why the “Micro” Trend Is Here to Stay

Let’s be honest: We all want to look like the best version of ourselves. Often, that comes through eating right and exercise, via specially curated lotions and potions or a little extra help from a treatment or procedure. But we don’t want to go overboard. We don’t want to look “done.” We want to keep the best and improve the rest.

You know your favorite celebrities who never seem to age dramatically—only perfectly and charmingly? It’s likely because they’re riding the wave of “micro” procedures, which are minimally invasive treatments with little or no downtime. Many of them trigger your body’s natural healing and restoration processes, such as collagen and elastin production. Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie, and Kim Kardashian are said to be fans of microneedling; Drew Barrymore is a Clear + Brilliant laser treatment fan; Vanessa Williams and Kathie Lee Gifford swear by the Ultherapy ultrasound “lunchtime facelift.”

Here’s the rundown on which ones to target to help meet your beauty goals. A reminder: The sooner you start regularly maintaining your skin, the less major help you’ll need down the road.

Clear + Brilliant is a gentle laser treatment that lasts 15 to 30 minutes. It’s considered a “fractional” wave, which treats millions of tiny spots on the outer layers of the skin, essentially forcing old, discolored skin cells out and encouraging healthy new tissue to replace them. Regular users show marked improvement in their skin’s radiance, smoothness and color consistency. This is a good choice for those who have younger skin or minimal damage and want to create a maintenance plan. Results start to show in a month to six weeks.

Forever Young IPL: Too much time in the sun? If you’re concerned about pigmentation issues, fine wrinkles, loose skin or those tiny broken blood vessels that show up as red blotches, consider this intense pulsed light treatment for photo-aging symptoms. By heating the outer layers of the skin, the body’s natural healing defenses kick in. You don’t lose any skin, and you’ll start seeing the results in about a week. This is appropriate for the face, hands, chest, shoulders, arms, and back.

Ultherapy harnesses the power of ultrasound waves to create new collagen that lifts and tightens the skin on the neck, under the chin and in the eyebrow area, as well as minimize lines and wrinkles on the décolletage. This 60-minute, FDA-approved procedure is considered a kind of non-surgical facelift (though it doesn’t create the exact same result), and results become apparent over two or three months. Still not sure? Go to the Ultherapy website to load up a picture of yourself and see a simulation of what the results might look like.

If you’re concerned about the wrinkles you have—or the ones on their way to taking up residency—consider an injectable muscle immobilizer. Botox, a neurotoxin, takes care of small areas and fine lines caused by frequent facial expression (such as laugh lines around the eyes); Dysport covers a larger area (such as the forehead) and requires fewer injections. The great news about using these injectables regularly is that they can actually hold off new wrinkles and creases that would be caused by repeat muscle contractions.

Finally, when you want to move stubborn fat out for good, try CoolSculpting, a nonsurgical, noninvasive procedure that gently freezes fat cells, allowing them to exit the body naturally over the course of three months.

You get just one face and body—this is not the time to go bargain hunting. For all the above treatments and services, it’s critical you see a seasoned professional—just one sloppy move from a cut-rate amateur and you may end up with permanent damage, scars, drooping skin or facial muscles, or worse. Fortunately, OrangeTwist professionals receive extensive training and are among the most sought-after technicians in the nation.

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