Prevention's Beauty Breakthroughs

More and more fantasy beauty solutions are becoming here-and-now realities. In its latest issue, Prevention Magazine takes a closer look at all sorts of innovations that can make a difference in the way you look. They include products or treatments that are custom-made, fast-acting, and or long-lasting.

Senior editor Michele Stanten visits The Early Show to talk about some of them:

Drugstore Custom Hair Color
Salon-quality coloring available at a fraction of the price, and no appointment necessary. Sempre, a newly imported European hair coloring system, formulates a custom-blended shade in about 40 seconds. Simply input your selections and a pigment-mixing machine (like the one in a paint store) dispenses exactly the color you want, drawing from about 1,000 possibilities. Costs $15 at selected drugstores nationwide. For a participating drugstore near you, call (888) 747-0094.

No Touch-Ups Eyeliner
A long-lasting, tear-resistant, rain-resistant and snow-resistant liquid eyeliner. Perfect for those with no time or inclination for touch-ups. The unique blend of skin-friendly, but body heat-resistant synthetic resins holds the fast-drying acrylic base to thin eyelid skin, remaining flake-free for at least 18 hours. Costs $25, and comes in black, brown, or blue. Visit blincinc.com to order or find a retailer near you.

Chip-Proof Nails
The "Custom Blended Manicure" doesn't chip and is low maintenance for up to three weeks. In fact, it grows out before it chips. This professional technique by Creative Nail Designs is a two-part polymer coating. The powder is the pigment and the liquid is the bonding agent. The powders are custom-blended to exactly match the color of your nail bed, giving a completely natural looking nail (although you can create your own chip-proof color, too). A starter manicure will take approximately 1 1/2 hours and cost between $60-$100. Touch-ups are about $30-$40. At select salons and spas. For a location near you, call (800) 833-6245 or go to creativenaildesign.com.

Antioxidant Creams
A super antioxidant ingredient known as idebenone (pronounced eedy-be-known) neutralizes destructive free radicals that form in the skin in response to the sun's UV rays, which are largely responsible for wrinkling and other signs of aging. The free-radical fighter not only decreases collagen breakdown, but also appears to counter inflammation.

The key ingredient is found in three new face lotions: Prevage from Allergen contains 1 percent of idebenone, and True Cosmetics Youth Revealing Complex and Radiance Revealing Complex, both containing .5 percent idebenone. Visit prevage.com for participating dermatologists and plastic surgeons. True Cosmetics are sold at spas and salons or at truecosmetics.com. Price ranges from about $110-$120 an ounce.

Scupltra Treatments
Injectable Sculptra is being used to correct signs of aging by stimulating the skin to make new collagen, which plumps up the skin and takes up slack, minimizing sags and folds. Approximately three treatments at $800-$2,000 each, will last for as long as two years. Contact Dermik Aesthetics at (800) 633-1610 for a dermatologist or plastic surgeon near you.

Fraxel Laser Skin Treatments
Fractional Laser Skin Resurfacing, nicknamed Fraxel, is the latest high-powered resurfacing laser treatment approved by the FDA for wrinkles around the eyes, as well as age spots and rough skin. There is considerably less recovery time, redness and discomfort than other high-powered laser resurfacing procedures. Testing on stretch marks and acne scars is now under way. Usually, a whole-face treatment takes four to six 20-minute sessions at a cost of $500-$2,000 per session. To locate a doctor near you, visit Reliant Technologies at reliant-tech.com

Morning-After Cell Repair
Dimericine, a biotech cream, is currently in clinical trials and poised to become the first skin-repair drug. This DNA repair-enzyme lotion reduced wrinkling in mice after chronic UVB exposure. In tests on humans who were extremely sensitive to sunlight, Dimericine (pronounced deh-mare-ah-seen) reduced the incidence of skin cancer by a third and the number of pre-cancers by two-thirds. The FDA is likely to rule on granting prescription drug status to Dimericine in the near future.

For more detailed information on these and other products and treatments, go to prevention.com.