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Help! My Face Is Falling

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Originally published on RxGirl on Friday, 04 January 2013. The original post was published with white text on white background, so the only way to read it on the site is to highlight the text. To make things easier for everyone, I have copied and pasted the article here for you to read.

http://www.rxmuscle.com/rx-girl-articles/7293-help-my-face-is-falling.html
Wrinkles
An inevitable consequence of the aging process is the loss of elasticity in the skin that we often take for granted when we are young. This loss of firmness is amplified by competition diets and training which can trim storage fat stores to the point that female competitors’ faces look positively skeletal. My eye is trained to scan a person’s face for areas of lipoatrophy, elastosis, rhytids, shifting of malar fat pads, etc….in other words, sunken, sagging, drooping, wrinkled skin. The degree of elastic breakdown and loss of soft tissue fullness that I see in an average fifty year old is something I commonly see in many female competitors as young as their late 20’s. This process only gets worse over time unless the competitor is willing to do something to prevent progression.

What can a competitor do once her skin has started this dreaded sagging process?

There are laser treatments available which help to resurface and refine the skin and which can also tighten the skin somewhat. However, these treatments are often too expensive for competitors, especially when considering all the costs associated with competing. Another viable and cost-effective solution to the issue of loosening skin is a chemical peel. There are many different types of chemical peels available, ranging from very light glycolic acid peels to an aggressive TCA (trichloroacetic acid) peel. One composite peel (phenol, TCA, salicylic acid and Retin-A) which is my personal favorite is the Vi-Peel which is well tolerated, painless, and confers a good tightening effect on the skin.

Another wonderful option to correct the loss of volume in the face and add structural support is fillers. There are a number of hyaluronic acid based fillers available now (Restylane, Perlane, Juvederm, Belotero) which last 6 months to a year. Radiesse is another natural filler option which is comprised of calcium hydroxylapatite. Radiesse also acts as a biostimulator, stimulating cells in the skin to produce collagen over time. Another wonderful feature of Radiesse is the fact that it lasts 18 months or more.

If you have wrinkles in the forehead and around the eyes, Botox and Dysport are excellent treatments and will last for 3 to 6 months.

If you are in the Los Angeles area, I offer filler and Vi-Peel treatments. Please go to my medical website for more information: http://www.staceynaito.com

How to Avoid Stretch Marks From Workouts

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Stretch marks form as a result of rapid  stretching from growth by muscle gain, fat gain, or pregnancy.  The most common areas in which they develop are the abdomen, buttocks, arms, hips, thighs, breasts and calves.  There is a strong genetic component, which means if you are predisposed to forming stretch marks, the more apt you are to develop them if a rapid gain in mass occurs.

However, even if your genetic blueprint dictates that you are more prone to getting these pesky marks, there are a number of things which you can do to minimze their formation.

1.  Drink plenty of water daily.  Aim for at least eight 8-ounce cups of water each day to ensure adequate hydration.

2.  Increase protein intake to optimize collagen formation.

3.  Decrease the amount of weight lifted at the gym to prevent very rapid increases in muscle mass.  A 12-15 rep range is advised.  I can already sense some readers balking at this, but there is a tradeoff:  either have a more modest increase in mass over a longer period of time or gain mass rapidly and run the risk of developing stretch marks.

4.  Take certain supplements.  Make sure to take fish oil, flaxseed oil, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and D.= on a daily basis.

5.  Eliminate sugar from your diet!  Refined sugar breaks down the elastin in your skin, making you more vulnerable to stretch marks, early aging, and increased risk of scar formation from cuts.

6.  Exfoliate your skin regularly.  This sloughs off the dead skin cells, thus minimizing the appearance of stretch marks which may already exist.

7.  Moisturize skin thoroughly and regularly.  For many years cocoa butter cream has been used by pregnant women to prevent stretch marks, but there is no final verdict on whether it has any benefit. However, I love cocoa butter’s emollient effects and believe it should be added to an anti-stretch mark regimen.  Vitamin E oil is another excellent moisturizer which can be applied to stretch marks or areas which are the most prone to their formation.

8.  If you develop new stretch marks, you can use prescription tretinoin on a once daily basis with decent results.  Just make sure that the stretch marks you are treating are less than six weeks old. Other topicals such as Tri-Luma and Stri-Vectin also may be used with some benefit.

9.  As a last resort for existing lesions, you may consider laser skin resurfacing or micro-needling.