Looking For A Younger Face
For decades, getting a facelift meant going under the knife, often followed by long, painful recoveries.
But today, there are more and more ways to get a facelift without surgery. The question is, do any of them work? The Early Show correspondent Susan McGinnis tested some procedures and compared creams and lotions that claim to make skin firmer and younger looking.
Many products and procedures promise fewer wrinkles, firmer skin and a younger looking face all without going under the knife. The claims can sound outlandish but can also be irresistible. Many women want to turn back time and everyone has her trouble spot.
McGinnis brought a group of woman together to test creams and lotions.
Meanwhile, many women are going to great lengths to keep up appearances, from facial exercises to a contraption called the face bra.
Some are willing to spend thousands on newer, higher-tech kinds of non-surgical facelifts. They've become a $12.5 billion a year business.
McGinnis looked at three popular procedures being done at a dermatologists' office in Washington, D.C.
Melissa got a procedure called Sculptra. Polylactic acid is injected into the face to stimulate new collagen growth. She received a couple dozen injections. The procedure costs up to $3,000 for one to two sessions.
"It has to be injected fairly deeply and massaged," Dr. Berzin said.
Barbara received the procedure called Fraxil. A laser causes minimal thermal damage to the skin. The thinking is, when it heals, the skin improves. Multiple treatments could cost up to $5,000.
Lisa tried Thermage, which zaps radio frequency heat onto the face so the skin produces collagen, which is supposed to reduce wrinkles and tighten skin. One treatment here is $4,300.
"It's a heat sensation and then kind of a pin prick. It is the best way to put it," she said.
Five weeks later, McGinnis checked in first with our cream and lotion ladies. The ladies who used Kiehls, La Mer and Loreal Revitalift said they saw no improvements. Only Beverly, who used Avon Anew, noticed a difference.
New York dermatologist Gary Brauner is skeptical.
"It's probably happening, but it's happening to such a small degree that you don't really see a significant change in the face," he said. "They don't produce a dramatic clinical improvement in patients and I don't really believe they make wrinkles disappear. They may make the wrinkling look somewhat better, and I think probably because of the moisturizers in there that plump up the skin and just make it look smoother."
The women who underwent the high-priced procedures said they noticed a difference. Melissa, who had the Sculptra procedure, said she loved it and noticed a clear difference.
"I love looking 10 years younger. I love having my cheekbones back," she said.
Barbara, who had the Fraxil procedure, said she thought the money was "well spent." Lisa, who had Thermage, said she could see a difference along her jaw line, under the chin and said her eyes look more open.
"It's subtle, but that's what I wanted — something that just happened a little bit over time," she said.
While these women swear they see a difference, Dr. Brauner believes a majority of patients don't. He believes the hype and the hope are what keep women coming.
"So I think there's the psychology or the social interactions that people have that won't allow them to tell somebody that they're wearing the emperor's new clothes," he said.
Dr. Brauner says there is absolutely no question these procedures work in the lab. But he says in real life, they show a noticeable difference on just a fraction of patients, and that says there's no way to predict who they will be. With some costing thousands of dollars, that will no doubt encourage some to take the risk. And others not to spend the money.
For more information, visit these Web sites:
dcdermdocs.com, the site of Drs. Marilyn Berzin and Dale H. Isaacson