Youth and beauty are good for your business

By Martha Drezin

Nobody said life was fair

Why would Rhonda Abrams, who has made a name for herself providing business expertise, offer beauty advice? She explains in a recent USA Today article: “Your face is an increasingly important business asset.”

Social media places your face up front and center in Skype, Face Time and webinars. As such, your face can allure or repel potential clients. To add insult, and to put it mildly, Skype and Face Time are not particularly flattering modalities. They are distorting and emphasize any tendency you may have towards multiple chins.

Should you be valued for experience and wisdom? Should the quality of your work speak for itself? Yes. But who says life is fair? Abrams acknowledges the injustice of a culture in which younger competitors are constantly nipping at your heels like naughty puppies. So, you can either right the wrongs of society, which is quite a tall order, or improve your appearance to help you land the client you need.

Abrams interviewed a prominent New York plastic surgeon who suggests that your first line of antiaging defense may be a liquid facelift – a combination of injectable Botox and fillers. (A classic facelift is a very good option but costs about $15,000 and may keep you away from your business for a couple of weeks.)

Botox can relax the lines and furrows caused from repeat muscle use. Gel fillers, such as Juvéderm or Restylane, can plump out facial areas that form folds, such as the vertical nasolabial folds, which run from your nose to your mouth, and the marionette lines that may extend from your mouth to your chin, making your chin appear puppet-like. These injectables are administered in a doctor’s office and require no time off from work.

To get an anti-aging bang for your bucks, the surgeon Abrams interviewed ordered the recommended procedures, starting with the most important:

Botox injections to relax your 11’s (vertical wrinkles between the eyebrows)
Botox for horizontal forehead lines (also raises the eyebrows and opens the eyes)
Filler in the deep folds around your mouth.
These guidelines provide a general idea of how to proceed, but your face is unique and deserves careful assessment. For the best results, consult with a board-certified plastic surgeon.

Reference: www.smartbeautyguide.com

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TCA Peels (Information provided by Skinacea.com)

TCA peels, trichloroacetic acid peels, are medium strength chemical peels that rejuvenate and repair your skin. They improve skin discoloration, reduce fine lines, and even out skin texture. They also cause your skin to physically peel, so they will require around a week of downtime. However, the results are usually well worth the wait! 

This section explains what happens during the various stages of the TCA peeling process and what you can expect from a TCA peel, whether you get one professionally done or give yourself one at-home.

What do TCA peels do?

TCA peels are medium depth peels, ranging from 8% to 30% strengths. Though their concentrations might not be as high as other chemical peels, TCA peels are considered much deeper peels than lactic acid and glycolic acid peels. For instance, a 75% glycolic acid peel never made me peel, but a 12.5% TCA peel had my skin peeling for days.

TCA peels brighten and even out your skin tone by reducing the appearance of hyperpigmentation (dark spots, acne marks, sun spots, freckles) and skin discoloration. They revitalize dull-looking skin, helping skin look soft and smooth. Because of their deep exfoliating effects, TCA peels can clean out congested pores to refine the surface of your skin. Unfortunately, they don't work as well for acne scars or moles, but they can minimize the appearance of skin tags. TCA peels are also great for erasing fine wrinkles and treating sun damage.

TCA peels can be used on the face, neck, or back of the hands. They can also be used all over the face or just as a spot peel. One TCA peel will give better results than one glycolic acid peel, but more than one TCA peel is still necessary for the best results. Results generally last around 6 months, but they can last even longer when supplemented with glycolic or lactic acid peels every two weeks.

What to expect from a TCA peel

TCA peels are serious peels with about 7-10 days worth of downtime. If you are considering getting one done, definitely schedule some time off of work and clear your calendar because you don’t want to get any sun exposure after the peel and you’ll probably look too red and flaky to be presentable.

So, how do you prepare your skin for a TCA peel? How much will it hurt? And how long will the peeling last? These questions and more will be answered in the following breakdown of what the 10 day course of a TCA peel (from pre-peel to recovery) are like:

• Pre-peel:

  Before you get the TCA peel, there are a few things you should do to prepare your skin for it. Some dermatologists recommend using retinoids or an AHA serum for two weeks prior to the peel to prime the skin for a more even and penetrating peel. However, this is optional. 
  
  Three days before the actual peel though, you must stop the use of all exfoliants (manual or chemical) and especially avoid using any harsh products (such as hair removal or grainy scrubs) on the day of the peel and for the duration of the peel.
  
  48 hours before you get a full peel, you must do a patch test on the area where you will get the peel. If you are getting a peel on your face, patch test your face. If you are getting a peel on your hands, patch test your hands. Spot testing the TCA peel solution is extremely important for a safe peel because it will help you understand how your skin responds to the acid and make you aware of any averse reactions before getting a full-face peel.
  
  It's also wise to get yourself some time off work. If you can't get 10 days off, try to get the days off when your skin will start to peel the most, most likely 3-4 days after the day of the peel. Have a good moisturizer, petroleum jelly (Vaseline), antibiotic cream (usually provided by the dermatologist or Bacitracin or Neosporin), and anti-itch cream (Lanacaine or Cortaid) on hand. If you plan on going out during any of the 10 days, make sure you have a good sunscreen and a big floppy hat to wear too.