HOW TO GO MAKEUP-FREE TO BEAT SUMMER HEAT
Summer’s heat and humidity make a face full of makeup feel oppressive. But how to go without? First, address dark spots, redness and scars with foundation. All can be improved in the hands of a good doctor. But remember, dispensing with makeup altogether isn’t necessarily realistic. Perhaps you shelve the foundation for a while, but can you really abide going out sans concealer or blush? These in-office and at-home treatments will help you go as bare as you want.
FADE DARK SPOTS
Some go-to laser treatments for excess pigment, like melasma and dark spots, may make skin too sun-sensitive but there are other options. “The RevLite is my favorite laser for treating pigment,” said Debra Jaliman, a dermatologist in New York. “This one is safe.”
Acne hyperpigmenation scars, deeper inside the skin, are more resistant to corrective treatments. Fixing them can take several sessions at $750 each. “Don’t do RevLite with a suntan because the laser will remove that pigment instead of what you want to correct,” Jaliman said.
ERASE REDNESS
Spider veins occur with aging and sun exposure. The weblike redness is caused by dilation of the blood vessel. “Intense pulsed light treatments use light at a frequency that is absorbed by the lining of the vessels, which destroys the cells and collapses the vessel,” said Norman Rowe, a plastic surgeon in New York.
There is a new prescription cream called Rhofade that constricts blood vessels near the surface of the skin to reduce rosacea redness for about 12 hours.
SHRINK PORES
Enlarged pores are notoriously tough to shrink. But building collagen, the protein that supports the structure of the skin, tightens them. “A pore is a hole in the skin at the top of the tiny tube that sweat comes out of,” Rowe said. To increase the collagen surrounding the tube, which narrows its opening, he uses microneedling. A pen with several very fine needles is passed along the skin. This creates tiny wounds that encourage skin cells to go into repair mode and make collagen.
“You get the effects of a laser without the sun restrictions,” Rowe said. Hundreds of tiny needle punctures may sound like derm-office torture, but the procedure isn’t painful. The doctor numbs skin before the procedure, so it ends up feeling like an aggressive exfoliation. Plus, it’s safe for all skin tones, even dark brown.
Rowe also injects Botox into the skin superficially to shrink pores. “At the base of every pore is a sebaceous gland,” he said. There are muscles around the oil gland. I think the Botox prevents that muscle from squeezing and stops oil production. When oil production decreases, pores shrink.”
BRIGHTEN THE EYES
Volume loss under the eye and concavity is the usual cause of dark circles. Lara Devgan, a plastic surgeon in New York, performs as many as 100 tear trough corrections every month. She injects hyaluronic acid filler under the eyes to smooth the eye lidcheek junction. The results are instant. “It’s surprising how effective this can be,” Devgan said. “It creates the appearance of a brighter, more alert under-eye area.”
In some under-eye darkness is caused by excess melanin and won’t be corrected by tear trough filler. In those cases, a chemical peel, like Glytone Enerpeel Eye and Lip peel, will fade excess melanin, generally in four treatments spaced a week apart.
DEFINE AND SHAPE
We use makeup to accentuate beloved features and play down perceived flaws. Doctors can help with that using semipermanent fillers to sub for your highlighter and contour. “If they’re used with a delicate hand and artistic eye, fillers can really be used in place of makeup,” Devgan said.
Adding volume to cheekbones can smooth wrinkles in the lower face. Although it sounds counterintuitive, Devgan can use a filler’s volume to smooth a bump on the nose or strengthen the bridge — a virtually painless “nonsurgical nose job.” The procedure takes minutes; swelling subsides in about a week.
ENHANCE LASHES AND BROWS
The prescription lash serum Latisse, when used every night, thickens, darkens and lengthens. (Stop, and all gains are lost.) You can try eyelash extensions. Clementina Richardson, founder of Envious Lashes in New York, suggests looking for a stylist who will customize your look. “Eyes most commonly slope downward, sometimes with a heavy lid,” she said. “When they’re done well, lash extensions can lift and widen the eye. '