Its Summer’s Hottest Look but How Low Will You Go Pics Cannes/British Soap Awards From the glamorous film festival in Cannes to the Soap Awards back home in Blight, the stars have been out in force flaunting summer’s hottest look – the plunging neckline. Dubbed’ extreme cleavage - dresses and jackets which reveal an enormous expanse of décolletage – the look is now a style staple on the red carpet - but not all of us have the front to pull it off. We’re constantly surprised by how many women we see in our clinic who has neglected their décolleté. The cleavage and chest skin can reveal a woman’s age just as easily as her hands. After the eye area, it’s the thinnest on the body and the first place where we develop wrinkles. There is no fatty tissue and because there are less oils glands and follicles, it means the skin is less resilient. It is also prone to photo ageing. In fact, the décolletage condition characterized by dilated vessels, red and brown spots, ruddiness, and thin skin even has its own name, poikiloderma! Advancing years, sleeping on our sides, pollution and smoking and rapid weight loss combined with the natural thinning of the fat under the skin will result in all sorts of other problems too including dry, creepy skin and chest lines between the cleavages. While not every woman will want to brave a very low cut neckline, with summer upon us most of us will at least want to wear a scoop neck and with latest procedures at the clinic along with a good home care routine you too could have a divine décolletage.
Clinic Treatments in London
The Ultimate Décolletage Treatment
This latest treatment includes two of the most advanced skin perfecting and anti ageing techniques - Smartxide laser therapy combined with Angel Platelet Rich Plasma injections - to treat all the visible signs of ageing including poikiloderma! How it works First topical anaesthetic is applied to the entire cleavage area. Then Smartxide, an FDA approved fractional system Co2 laser is directed over the area to be treated .The 15 minute procedure feels like a mild pinprick sensation as the laser targets the surface layer of skin, treating sun damage, creepy skin, fine lines and wrinkles and enlarged pores. This laser can also be adjusted to all skin types– it has a super fast scanner that allows the doctor to do dot resurfacing of the skin, i.e. removing a customized pattern of dots and not the entire skin surface (like other Co2 lasers.) which allows faster healing. The next stage of the treatment involves drawing blood from the arm, separating out the platelets and then injecting them into the cleavage and chest area. Around 40 – 50 tiny injections are performed. Platelets release growth factors that help the body repair itself by stimulating cells to regenerate new tissue. So as well as improving the skin tone, the treatment also promotes healthy skin growth and collagen production so skin appears plumper and more vibrant. Downtime The skin will be red for around a week and results improve over the next few months as new collagen is formed. It is essential to moisturise the treated area morning and night and to keep the area covered while skin is healing. One treatment will see an immediate improvement in texture tone and tightness of the skin but for best results a course of three is best. It’s important to use SPF50+ afterwards to protect against further sun damage. Result will last up to three years. Cost of treatment: £1200 per treatment Contact us on: 0207 436 4441 For More Details Visit: http://harleystreetskinclinic.com/smartxide-dot-laser/
Biomimetic Mesotherapy
For women who have learned too late that it's just as important to apply sun block below the neck as it is above, this procedure will treat the resulting sun induced wrinkles. How it works the treatment area is cleansed. Then a series of injections containing active ingredients and peptides are placed around the cleavage area. You’ll see smoother skin within a week but for best results a course of three weekly sessions may be needed
No Downtime Cost from £250 For More Details Visit: http://harleystreetskinclinic.com/biomimeticmesotherapy/
Chemical Peel
Many women experience whiteheads, blackheads and pustules on their chest but a salicylic acid peel can slough away pore-clogging dead skin cells, minimise sebum production and rejuvenate the area. How it works- First the skin is cleansed then a salicylic solution is applied to the area and left on for the prescribed time for your skin. You’ll feel a mild tingling that tails off after a minute. After the skin is cleansed and a moisturiser applied. A course of four weekly treatments usually clears things up. Cost of treatment starts from £60 a peel For More Details Visit: http://harleystreetskinclinic.com/chemical-peels/
DIY TIPS FOR A DVINE DECOLLETAGE The skin on the décolletage doesn’t produce as much natural oil as the skin on your face so start caring for your neck and chest area as you would your face - when applying your cleanser and moisturiser make sure you take them right down to your chest.
Look for creams packed with antioxidants like peptides and vitamins to protect repair and hydrate. Vitamin C is a fantastic ingredient for the décolleté as it
builds collagen (which plumps the skin) and helps prevent and treat pigmentation. Vitamin A (retinol) will help repair the sun damage. Try Obagi’s ELASTIderm Décolletage System, £110 a wrinkle reducing lotion and a skin lightening complex which is an intense four week course and brilliant for tackling fine lines, pigmentation and restoring healthy looking skin - only available through clinics for more info 0207 436 4441 For a good over the counter cream try M&S new Pure Super Active Neck & Décolleté Moisturiser, £12 (available early June). It contains omega 3, 6 & 9 derived from blackcurrant seed oil. Recommended use day and night to intensely hydrate and help smooth and firm the skin.
Just as on your face, a build up of dead cells can make the skin on your chest look dull and lifeless. Regular, gentle exfoliation to slough away those dead cells that make lines and wrinkles appear deeper will give skin a much more radiant appearance. Don’t overdo it though as the skin here is very delicate. Try Bioderma Hydrabio Exfoliating Cream (£10.50) a gentle scrub, non-comedogenic and hypoallergenic which and ideal for thin, creepy skin Use once or twice a week. After apply a layer of Hydrabio Moisturising Mask (£! 4.50) which will give the skin an intense boost of moisture from www.escentual.com
Use a good sun protection with a minimum SPF50, every day of the year to protect and reduce future damage Try Heliocare Cream SPF 50 (£17.50 effortlessskin.com) which contains a cocktail of powerful antioxidants to maintain the skin’s elasticity and also comes in a tinted gel which will give a touch of colour.
A light tan on the décolletage can help disguise deeper creases and lines. But do fake it - use a self-tanning moisturiser that has been formulated for the face and décolletage. Try Origins Faux Glow Radiant Self-Tanner for Face (£18.50 boots.com) a tinted formula which delivers instant colour and smells of peppermint
Sleep on your back .One of the biggest chest wrinkles is often down to the way we sleep Curling up on your side means that by the time you wake up in the morning your chest may be covered in as many creases as your crumpled pillowcase
Box- A Stitch in Time Forget nip and tuck, stitch and tuck is now the way to go. The Silhouette Soft thread lift - dubbed he puppet face-lift –is currently the most the most in demand and talked about treatment? In 30 minutes or less the procedure can rival the results of a facelift and it can be carried out on most women and men from 30 to 70. We performed a live demonstration at London’s Anti Ageing Show last weekend and our volunteer was walking around showing off a younger face fifteen minutes later, with no tell tale signs – except a few hundred people knew about it as they watched the procedure on a big screen (and no one fainted!)
For More Details Visit: http://harleystreetskinclinic.com/silhouette-soft-face-lift/ Most people assume the procedure is just for the face but a sagging brow and the lower jaw and neck area can also benefit - we’re hopeful, too, that in the near future the procedure will also be used on various other parts of the body. How does it work? First local anaesthetic injections are given to numb the facial area, and then super fine thread is inserted under the skin through a microscopic incision. Each thread has tiny barbs attached which catch onto the skin tissue, lifting sagging skin. The ends of the thread are snipped off and the remaining threads stays under the skin where it is naturally absorbed by the body over the course of the next few months, The results last around eighteen months with no downtime though some skin may have a little bruising .For those not wishing to go under the knife it’s a good compromise and also the perfect addition to dermal fillers, which voluminous but do not give a lift. As always it is essential to see a practitioner who has a lot of experience in performing this procedure. Expect to pay around £999 – for more info call 0207 436 4441 For More Details Visit: http://harleystreetskinclinic.com/silhouette-soft-face-lift/ Correction In our column published 21May, we wish to clarify the study referenced from the British Journal of Dermatology was when No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Serum first launched, (2009) and does not refer to the clinical data supporting No7 Protect & Perfect Intense ADVANCED Serum. For More Details Please Visit Our Website: http://harleystreetskinclinic.com/ Follow: Twitter | Facebook | Google+