Is the Botox Party Over?

Why can't we just iron out wrinkles like you do on a dress, I always thought. Well, maybe my wish just came true with Pellevé.

The thing about cosmetic procedures… it's like anything, once you start concentrating on something, new breakthroughs seem to come faster and faster. 

This new kid on the block, Pellevé, is a radio frequency applied with a wand, that heats up the collagen between the epidermis and the fat layer to tighten the skin, improve texture and tone, and reduce wrinkles.

Actually it was FDA approved in May 2009, but it's been kind of under the radar — although it was on an episode of The Doctors. You can see a treatment here. And it's been in use for several years in Europe and Asia, so it's not like you're a guinea pig.

Explaining the treatment, Dr. Deborah Sarnoff, a Long Island dermatologist who works with Ellman International who developed the technology, noted,

Two women who are 50 didn't pull then same genetic card. They can have different problem  areas" they want to address. With the Pellevé wand, "There's a lot of control, like painting," she said. "With something like a chemical peel, it's all or nothing."

Upsides:

-no injections — Not a filler, so no foreign substances in the face. Plus, good for people who are freaked out by the toxin aspect of Botox/Dysport, etc. Plus no frozen face look.

-no anesthesia — Dr. Sarnoff explained that you need the patient to participate, letting the doctor know when the area he/she is working on is getting too warm.

-no pain — A warming sensation and maybe some mild swelling and redness on the fairest of fair skins.

-no downtime — This is expected to be the biggest area of popularity. You can get a treatment in the morning to look your best for a bash that night. (Remember the episode of Sex and the City where Samantha goes to Carrie's book party with a neon red face after a chemical peel.)

-targeted — Dr. Sarnoff  likes the wand because you can concentrate specifically on the places you want to treat. You can also treat areas that usually require more invasive action, like crepeyness under the eyes, on the neck, even arms and legs.

- if you've had other stuff done, like lasers or chemical peels, you can still do this.

Downsides:

- As always, getting a bad practitioner.

- May take  several treatment to achieve the affect you want

- It doesn't volumize or change physical structures — for instance, if you have super droopy jowls, that will still be the case. It's you with your former tighter skin, which  may be all you want or need.

- Not for brown/age spots or broken blood vessels.

- About $500 for a target area, like around the eyes; about $1500 for full face (actually not bad compared to other procedures).

Anecdotal:

One woman who'd had a facelift at 50, has now had Pellevé at 62, and claims the results look like shortly after her facelift.

Results seem to last 6 months or longer

This is not a recommendation; I'm just telling you, 'cause I'd want to know. But I might try; I'll let you know… stay tuned.