Turn Back Time, Without Surgery

By Wendy Schmid

Face-lifts, eye jobs, and brow surgery are becoming passé. To shave years off your face, more doctors are turning to these less-invasive—and often more effective—options.

To look younger, you no longer have to go under the knife—or spend thousands of dollars. The newest injectables and skin-smoothing lasers combat brow furrows, fine lines, hyper-pigmentation, and other signs of aging for a fraction of the cost, with little to no downtime. “Scalpels are set to become a thing of the past,” says Harold Lancer, M.D., an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Hyaluronic acid fillers and muscle relaxers are the modern way to smooth and lift.” In fact, injectables (the most popular of which are Botox Cosmetic, Juvéderm, and Restylane) are the fastest-growing category in cosmetic surgery, with roughly 4.5 million people—both women and men—opting for them last year, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

To achieve younger looking skin, follow this guide to the latest non-invasive procedures.

If you have

WRINKLES ON YOUR FOREHEAD
Try Botox Cosmetic, which costs between $300 and $600. With this treatment, a diluted form of botulinum toxin is injected into a muscle to temporarily relax it, smoothing expression lines. Since wrinkles are partially formed by repetitive contractions, some dermatologists are now also using Botox in areas that are still smooth but prone to deep lines (e.g., next to the eyes and between the brows) to prevent creases from forming in the first place. The downside is that treatments must be repeated every three to four months, and you may have slight bruising wherever the needle entered the skin. Be sure to choose your doctor carefully though: “You don’t want to take away all movement,” says Fredric Brandt, M.D., a dermatologist in New York City, who explains that it takes experience not to make a patient look expressionless. To find a board certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon in your area, visit botoxcosmetic.com.

Botox is slowly overtaking the brow lift (which costs about $3,400), a surgical procedure that smooths lines by pulling up the forehead through incisions made in the scalp. Complications may include too taut skin and a higher-than natural hairline.

At-home fix Using a cream or serum with topical ingredients believed to impede muscle constriction may help soften lines too, though less dramatically than injectables. Both Sonya Dakar UltraLuxe-9 Age Control Complex ($185; sonyadakar.com) and SkinMedica TNS Line Refine ($70; skinmedica.com) contain a peptide that mimics snake venom and is designed to safely supply the muscle-immobilizing results of the real thing. GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) is another popular ingredient found in products like 24.7 Skincare Targeted Wrinkle Treatment ($40; cvs.com) and Dr. Brandt Crease Release ($150; beauty .com). “GABA inhibits muscle contraction with line smoothing results that can be quite noticeable,” says Brandt. “In some cases, you can see results within minutes of application, and the effect typically lasts until you wash your face.”