If aesthetic doctors wore black capes rather than white coats, you might mistake them for magicians. The experts wave ultrasound wands and prescribe seemingly supernatural ingredients, radically reversing signs of aging. But they also have subtler, more delicate tricks up their sleeves. In a matter of hours, and sometimes even minutes, doctors can perform quick, comfortable procedures that leave you looking tauter, brighter, and years younger. Believe it or not, they can also refine the shape of your nose (with absolutely no skin off of it). Sunspots, spider veins, droopy jowls, dullness—now you see them, now you don’t. Here are some more “magic’ your aesthetic doctor can do for you–no tricks, though, just treats.
They Can Offer Serious Firming
The most effective non-surgical fix for droopy skin, radio-frequency waves, requires a bit of grit: It burns like the devil. Treatments like Thermage work by delivering sound waves deep into the skin, causing microscopic fissures that promote collagen production, which in turn firms up loose and sagging areas (face, jowls, knees, neck, and so on). The results are impressive— most patients see almost instant results, with significantly tauter skin within six months.
They Can Turn Tiny Lines Into No Lines
Hyaluronic acid fillers, recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration, can diminish the tiniest and most superficial of lines. And that’s big news. Dermal fillers are perfect for filling in fine lines around the lips and even crow’s-feet. And because the small needle only penetrates the skin’s top layers, there’s far less bruising and little to zero downtime involved.
They Can Give You a Fifteen-Minute Nose Job
One common sign of aging is as plain as the nose on your face. It is the nose on your face. The nose widens as we age. Hence, one of the easiest and quickest ways to look younger is to reshape it with a filler. A hyaluronic acid filler injected right into the dorsum (the bony line straight down the centre) slims the nose and even corrects imperfections and awkward bumps. Doctors can also add a tiny shot of Botox under the tip for a more youthful profile. Your nose becomes more hooked with age, which drags down the entire face; Botox lifts it up and takes off years in about fifteen minutes.
They Can Save Your Neck
Neck muscles can start to sag and protrude as we age, resulting in the appearance of thick, tight cords. As if that wasn’t hard enough to swallow, the neck muscles and the superficial muscles of the face are connected to one another. That means your neck pulls your face downward. It’s a saddening thought with a surprisingly easy fix (that doesn’t involve buying stock in a turtleneck emporium). Aesthetic doctors can relax the neck muscles with Botox. It gets rid of the cords, softens the wrinkles, and lifts the face. Basically, it’s a nonsurgical face-lift. Botox breaks down every four to six months, so repeat visits are necessary.
They Can Painlessly Clear Spider Veins
Sclerotherapy—the treatment that can eliminate spider veins and the leaky blood vessels that cause them—was once the literally tantamount to rubbing salt in a wound. Before, a lot of doctors use saline solution that stings and is extremely painful. But the latest alternative treatments, which involve injecting veins to inflame them, close them, and allow the body to absorb them, have made great advances in the past few years. There’s minimal to no downtime, but that does not mean there are no side effects: There is often some redness,bruising, and a bit of swelling in the veins, which compression stockings can help minimize. Sometimes patients notice brown staining from inflamed veins that can last for a few months.
