Botox for Shrinking Pores and Reducing Oiliness

In the current issue of the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology there is a preliminary report of the use of Botox to reduce facial pore size and oiliness. The paper presents photos of skin that apparently has smaller pores and appears smoother. The reduction of oiliness was based on the patient's impressions. The report only covered the results after one month, so there is no indication of how long the results, if real, might last.

Resurfacing, the Big Gun

Skin resurfacing has been around for a long time. The earliest procedures were performed over 100 years ago, using a variety of acids. Eventually the procedures became somewhat standardized, with the phenol peel becoming recognized as the most effective of the peels. It has fallen from favor because, in the long term, it reliably produced significant loss of pigment (hypopigmentation). The weaker peels, some of which such as the glycolic and trichloroacetic peels, produced less problems but also were less effective and somewhat erratic in their outcomes.

Tale of a Patient

A patient came in today for a medical probelm. It turned out that she had seen me years ago, She commented about how well I had aged, and the conversation turned to cosmetic procedures. She told that she was quite unhappy with her surgery that had been performed by a respected local plastic surgeon. She said that all she wanted was a "neck lift" or, in reality a face-lift or MACS-lift. He told her that if he were to operate she would have to have a brow lift and eyelid surgery as well. She reluctantly went along with it because she had been told that he was "the best". She spent over $20,000.

Botox for Headaches

Botox has been used to treat migraine headaches for a number of years. This began following initial anecdotal reports of migraine improvement in people who were receiving Botox for other purposes. However, there have not been good controlled studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of this treatment.

Face-lifts vs. Fillers

Catherine Deneuve put it succinctly: "At a certain age you have to choose between your face and your ass." If you are plump, your face may have some of the roundness associated with youth. If you are of normal weight or thin, your face will very likely be hollow. However, it doesn't have to be like that, as this photo of Dara Torres shows. If you look at her hands, they look her age of 41.
If you look at her face, it has the fullness of youth.