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Get Your Body Ready for Summer…Professionally

Even though it isn’t consistent, the weather has changed and summer is clearly on its way. Everyone has shed a few layers of clothing and probably should shed a few other things before baring any more of their naked skin to the rest of the world.

While there are a lot of things we can do to make our bodies “summer ready” - shave, moisturize, paint our toenails and apply SPF - there are some improvements that aren’t so easy. For instance, getting rid of varicose veins, cellulite, saggy skin, as well as more mundane things like waxing and dealing with ingrown hairs are often best left in the hands of a professional. Even thinking about making appointments and payments to properly take care of these vanities is a hassle; it’s a whole lot easier to strategically cover ourselves up with one of this season’s long, flowy peasant skirts or a Tory tunic.

But then what happens when we hit the beach? In the past year, much has come about in the plastic world of medicine and there are now ways we can permanently – yes, permanently – fix our less than lovely attributes.

For years there have been different kinds of surgery and certain remedial techniques that could significantly improve a multitude of the above offenses, but surgery is expensive, the recuperation period long and, of course, if we eat or age, we will have to have more surgery later.

Non-surgical techniques, such as massage with special serums, electrical zapping, pin-poking and other controversial methods may not be as expensive, but the results often aren’t compelling and if they seem to be, they often don’t last for more than a few days.

The new treatments available have science behind them, including clinically proven results, and mostly come in laser form - meaning there is a lot less pain, recovery, blood and money involved.

Saying that these new procedures are cost-effective might be a stretch, because they aren’t exactly cheap. It all depends on how badly you want to liberate yourself of certain physical predicaments and what you are currently doing to conceal them in the meantime.

For example, if you consider what you spend waxing versus what you would spend for permanent laser hair removal with Intense Pulse Light Therapy (IPL), you might be swayed. Say you spend $45 on a Brazilian bikini wax and get one about every six weeks, which is about nine times a year - you spend $405 per year.

If you decide to do permanent laser hair removal, it will take you about five sessions at $300 every ten weeks until you are hair-free. You will ultimately be put back $1,500 in the span of a year or the equivalent of about 33.3 Brazilian waxes, roughly the amount you would spend waxing over 3.7 years. You pay more upfront for the laser, but once the IPL treatment is finished, your bikini area will never have to see a razor, laser or a pot of molten wax ever again.

Another benefit to IPL is that you can shave between treatments, so you don’t have to be fuzzy while you wait for the next session, as you must with waxing. According to Jillian Wright, founder of Manhattan’s Glow Skin Spa, if IPL is started three to six months before summer, you will significantly disable enough hair growth that you won’t have to shave daily and the overall appearance of your skin will be smoother, thanks to the rejuvenating effects of the laser.

One downside, she warns, is depending on how stubborn your hair is; you may need to go in for maintenance once or twice a year, which, at $300 a pop, can get expensive. Try to work out a deal/guarantee with your IPL specialist before handing over the cash; if they are nice, they will usually sort out some kind of arrangement with you.

For some, a bigger problem than choosing waxing versus IPL is getting rid of varicose veins. The traditional treatment for these unsightly and often painful, bulging veins is surgical stripping, which is an involved procedure that entails an incision in the groin area, suturing shut the saphenous vein (the origin of varicose veins), then “yanking” the veins down the leg. This surgical treatment also calls for two to three day’s hospitalization and scarring, not to mention the fact the vein usually grows back within 3-5 years and the whole procedure has to be redone.

According to Manhattan dermatologist Ariel Ostad, M.D., this type of operation is no longer necessary thanks to a revolutionary laser called EVLT (Endovenous Laser Treatment). “EVLT is more effective,” he states, “successfully treating varicose veins in one procedure, and is not painful. The patient is usually given a mild sedative to relax, then a thin laser fiber in inserted through a tiny entry point, usually near the knee, sealing the faulty vein.” There is no scarring and the results are permanent. EVLT takes about an hour to perform and costs about $3,500 with Dr. Ostad.

EVLT does not treat spider veins. Sclerotherapy, injecting veins with sclerosing solution, which causes them to collapse and fade from view, is still the best solution for those little red, purple or blue streaky clusters. It typically takes two to four treatments to permanently get rid of spider veins.

Once all the veins are gone, freeing yourself of cellulite may be the next feat. Before more recent developments, cellulite had to be kneaded, pulled and rolled with an endermologie machine that is painful and, if done too intensely, can leave bruising. The process needs to be done in a series and the results are only temporary and must be maintained with follow-up treatments.

If you happened to be having endermologie done while taking Minocin, a medication commonly prescribed for acne, there is also a chance you will be left with permanent blue stains that look like bruising. The only way to get divest yourself of these stains is to laser them away with a procedure very similar to the one used in tattoo removal. If you haven’t already heard, it’s an agonizing process.

As an alternative to endermologie “massages,” beauty authority Tracie Martyn, known for melting the cellulite off a slew of famous swimsuit models, uses a trademarked resculpting body treatment that, as described by her partner Marius Morariu, “combines her own proprietary resculptor equipment that delivers a mild current to improve the appearance of cellulite with Tracie Martyn skincare products. The stimulation gently leads to instantly to a firmer, more lifted and contoured appearance in one treatment, as well as cumulative results.”

Another trick Martyn believes is key in maintaining her clients’ results is by having them use her luxurious Enzyme Exfoliant face mask ($85), on their dimpled areas. Maybe not as extravagant as using La Mer on the body, but pretty close.

Dermatologist Bruce Katz, M.D., founder and director of Juva Skin and Laser MediSpa in Manhattan, also offers an exceptional cellulite treatment that involves the Triactive laser. The Triactive offers three features in one hand piece: a cooling device, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) laser and a suction tool. All of these elements work together to, as Dr. Katz describes, “free up microcirculation around the fat cells.” Lack of stimulation causes the microcirculation to become blocked, the cooling, laser and suction combination get it going once again so the fat doesn’t look as noticeably clumpy.

The Triactive is used in a series of treatments usually requiring a patient to come in twice a week for 10 to 12 weeks. Each treatment lasts about 30 minutes and there is no down time. Dr. Katz recently did a study with the Triactive on 15 patients and is pleased to report that in that group, 85 percent of the cellulite has been visibly reduced and, now, three months since they received their last treatment, everyone is continuing to maintain the improvement.

Could the Triactive be the ultimate cure for cellulite? Only time will tell. And since, as Dr. Katz says, “80 percent of women have cellulite and the other 20 percent think they do,” we better keep our fingers crossed. A package of 15 Triactive treatments cost $1,200 at Katz’s Juva MediSpa.

Another new device Dr. Katz has been using for the past 10 months that is making bodies look tighter, younger and more summer-ready is the Titan. The Titan is a laser that tightens sagging skin without any kind of surgery. Before this laser, the only way to fix saggy skin was to “tuck” it, an invasive operation we’ve all seen executed on reality TV and clearly understand it involves down time and scarring.

The Titan, on the other hand, is painless. A topical numbing gel is placed on the skin for about 10 minutes before the laser is utilized so that none of the heating and cooling effects of the laser will be felt on the skin. The shots of hot and cold stimulate the growth of new collagen that replaces the old, damaged collagen that allows skin to sag in the first place.

Dr. Katz has used the Titan on loose skin on the arms, neck and jowls, knees and abdomen. “It’s great after pregnancy,” Katz informs. It works on any part of the skin that has lost elasticity. It takes a couple of treatments for the results to be evident and requires about four or five treatments for desired results. Each session with the Titan costs $715 with Dr. Katz.

Beyond these body treatments, there are numerous other summer remedies your dermatologist can perform on you. From injections of Botox under the arm to stop excessive sweating to medical pedicures, there are more answers to your problems than you could ever have fathomed in the past. And, as every dermatologist will remind you, don’t forget to wear sunblock on your soon-to-be-perfect body. Even though dermatologists can help you laser off sun damage like age spots and wrinkles, they can’t prevent you from developing melanoma, which 1 in 5 Americans will develop in their lifetimes. What good is getting a tight-skinned, cellulite/hair-free body if you end up with scars from skin cancer surgery?

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