It’s one of the most non-invasive — yet truly dramatic — avenues for “breaking up” those little veiny spidery things we get on our skin — like on our face and/or chest — and it lasts a long, long time.

Beryl Reker, my new guardian angel, is also the Paramedical Aesthetician at Dr. Joel Meyers’ Spa in Longmont.

She performed 3 IPL treatments on my face, neck and chest — and now my face, neck and chest truly looks years younger — the skin is lovely and clear and looks like it’s never suffered a gazillion summers of sunshine.

Here’s a bit more about IPL directly from Beryl’s office:

“Intense Pulsed Light^TM (IPL) skin treatments using the photorejuvenation process represent a breakthrough in age-defying skin care. This technique treats skin damage non-invasively — there is no disruption of the skin’s epidermal surface. IPL treatments address the effects of photoaging, brown spots, vessels, and sun damage with low risk of complications and no recovery time.

“IPL is the gold standard for photorejuvenation. This FDA-cleared, patented technology provides dramatic results for a variety of benign conditions, including age spots, sun-induced freckles, symptoms of rosacea, birthmarks, unsightly veins, acne scarring and other blemishes — even unwanted hair.

“Why choose IPL over other treatment options? Laser resurfacing and deep chemical peels often send patients into hiding, as they wait for redness and swelling to subside. Microdermabrasion addresses skin irregularities, but is not effective against all complexion problems including redness, flushing and broken capillaries. Face lifts and other surgical procedures are far too invasive for younger patients and “baby boomers” who simply want to revitalize their appearance without recovery downtime.”

It’s yummy. It’s relatively affordable and it’s effective. So sayeth my friends and family when they view my “new skin.”

If you’ve read previous A New Face blog posts, you know that I tripped upon a Paramedical Aesthetician named Beryl Reker — who has the skin of a 30-year-old and who is in her late 50s — and she’s taught me a thing or 1,200 about everything I’ve been doing wrong to have health skin (and everything I’ve simply not been doing).

I posed this question to her recently: What can a girl on a budget — say, less than $500 — do to secure and retain healthy skin?

Here’s her answer — I could do a lot, apparently.

This list is not necessarily in order of importance — but is more meant to be a comprehensive approach to skin health and beauty.

1.

Genetics plays a roll, but if that’s working against a person, nutrition and health habits are the number one thing.

2.

Effective Sun block, reapplied every two or three hours, even if one just begins using it,  can make a dramatic difference in skin. (See previous post for what “effective” entails — it’s not your average, over-the-counter sun block — and makes a world of difference to skin health.) 

3.

Retin A was originally developed to treat acne, but we learned that Retin A users’ dermis becomes thicker and stronger. Retin A use for just six weeks shows significant difference. It’s a fast-acting medication. 

4.

The average person’s skin “sheds or turns over” every 28 days in you’re in your 20’s. It takes 45 days by the time you reach 50. Get educated about true skin health – the clock can be turned back! Skin health can return to that 28-day cycle.

5.

Regardless of age, a 30-year-old or a 50-year-old needs to protect their against free-radicals. Vitamins A, B, C,and E are effective in neutralizing the free radicals that break down healthy cells. Think of the old “Pac Man Game.” It’s like those free radicals go into tissue and munch on healthy cells. A good antioxidant on skin neurtralizes free radicals, so those free radicals are not munching on healthy cells.

What you ingest, however, doesn’t necessarily reach skin in processing. It’s critical to treat the cells bi-directionally by eating healthily and treating your skin topically to reach the cells directly.  

However, a 50-year-old will want to physiologically change tissue – restructure the tissue – to strengthen and thicken. At 50, it takes 45 days for skin to turn over — the cells are dead and absorb light rather than reflect light.  The goal is for the skin to look luminescent which is what happens when light is able to reflect off the epidermis.

 6. 

There is quite an arsenal of effective ingredients out there that will get your skin in good shape.   Here are a few: 

Peptides – are small and are able to penetrate to the deeper layers of skin.  They signal the body that new collagen needs to be produced. 

Growth Factors – these are proteins that promote the organization and maintenance of cells and tissues within the body.  They play a major role in the healing of skin damaged by the sun’s ultraviolet rays (sun damage by UVA= aging skin!) 

GLX Technology – an advanced fusion of clinically demonstrated benefits of glycolic acid and natural antioxidants.  Again, protection, prevention and correction.

L-Ascorbic Acid, Hyaluronic acid, Arbutin, Kojic Acid, Aloe, Lactic Acid, Alpha Lipoic Acid – all are powerful, all are accessible to the average person.

Vitamin B3 in the form of niacin. Niacin thickens all 3 levels of skin and renders added protection. Vitamins A, B, C, and E are all important for the integrity of the skin. You don’t need an expensive moisturizer. Moisturizers simply hydrate skin.

The bottom line is that in a clinical formula, a combination of these powerful ingredients will help you turn back the clock.  A qualified clinician will be able to evaluate your skin and develop a program specifically for you.

I’d never had a chemical peel until this summer — and, after 2 “mild” and 2 “medium” chemical peels, I’ve got to admit — I love the skin I’m in.

My arms look youthful, smooth and “light,” for lack of a better adjective. Beryl Reker, Dr. Joel Meyers, M.D.’s Paramedical Aesthetician, thought that a couple of chemical peels would return my sun-, wind- and age-damaged arms to their used-to-be-lovely state.

She was right.

In this ongoing blog, I’m writing mostly about Beryl and her magic. One sheet of information she gave me explained the differences in chemical peels. I thought it enlightening — you might also.

Here it is in its entirety:

Chemical Peels

There are three main types of peels. Light peels are most commonly performed using alpha hydroxyacids. These are naturally occurring acids found in fruits and other foods. Alpha hydroxyacids have proven to be effective in treating dry skin, acne, liver or sun spots, diminishing fine facial wrinkles, decreasing pore size, and improving skin texture. Light peels are usually performed in a series of six to eight peels, each peel two or three weeks apart. This type of peel leaves the skin with a red glow that only lasts for a day or so.

Medium peels are usually performed with trichloroacetic acid. These peels are only performed once every couple of years. Medium peels have the same benefits as light peels and in addition remove larger wrinkles and precancerous skin lesions because of deeper penetration. The draw back is that a medium peel makes the skin on the face look like severe sunburn for one week. If one has multiple precancerous skin lesions this is better than using Efudex, which makes the face look sore for six to eight weeks. A person having a medium peel must stay in for one week to recover from the procedure. This type of peel is also better than liquid nitrogen because it treats small precancers that are too small to be seen with the naked eye. Like a medium peel, liquid nitrogen also takes one week of recovery time but is only good for treating larger precancerous skin lesions.

Deep peels with stronger chemicals get rid of large wrinkles and can have results as dramatic as a face-lift. This type of peel has a recovery time of 1-2 months. This peel is being done less since the introduction of laser resurfacing.

If you know Beryl, you also know that you very much want her skin.

In this blog, we’re going to visit and revisit Beryl a bit. Why? Because she’s got the very best skin I’ve ever seen on a woman “over 40.”

What the hell. I’ve attached a photo of her — before she “did” her skin — and after.

She’s Dr. Joel Meyers M.D.’s skin “wizard,” and here’s a bit from when she and I conversed about sun block, why and when to use it, and how I’ve managed to blow what should have been a decent contribution to my retirement fund on years of inadequate sun block.

Me to Beryl: What are the TOP THINGS women (or anyone) can do — that cost little to nothing — to preserve the life of their skin?

 Beryl (this is a partial answer; come back for continuation of this conversation):

“Genetics plays a roll, but if that’s something that may be working against a person, then nutrition and health habits are the No. 1 thing.

“Using sun protection effectively is equally important. First, putting it on just once in the morning — unless you’re really going to sit in an office all day long — won’t do it. 

“Sun block needs to be reapplied every two to three hours if you’re out in the environment. I’ve seen it: Having someone start using a good sunblock can make a dramatic difference in their skin.

“There are two kinds of rays: UVA, the aging rays — and UVB rays, the burning rays.

“Most over-the-counter sun blocks contain chemicals — not minerals. A “chemical” sun block will allow the UVA — or “aging” rays — through. Zinc and titanium dioxide is a mineral combination in some sun blocks that reflect both UVA and UVB rays away from your skin. The combination is like putting a film on your skin that reflects the rays away. Whole Foods and REI are more cognizant of sun blocks and the minerals in them.

“Here’s what the number means on sun block:  If you burn in 10 minutes and you put an SPF 30 on, you’re protected 30 times as much as if you put nothing on in that 10 minutes against UVB (burning) rays.  However, activity, i.e., sweating, swimming, etc., reduces the effectiveness of the original application. 

“It’s important to reapply sun block so that you’re building protection – even if it’s chemical. It protects you from being burned.

“Look hard for minerals in a sun block. Blue Lizard is one of them, which you can order online. REI has a zinc oxide sunblock. Look for mineral percentages of 9 or 10 and over.

“Also, if you put a chemical sunblock on, you have to wait 20 to 30 minutes before you’re protected. The mineral protects immediately.”

Yikes. No more Walgreens-brand block for me.

This story will culminate in a feature of me getting a bunch (4 – 6) cosmetic procedures done over the summer, including a face lift and surgical removal of “eye bags” –

But first came Beryl.

Beryl is Dr. Joel Meyers, M.D.’s “Paramedial Aesthetician,” but don’t let that phrase scare you.

Forget that phrase.

She’s known — by her colleagues, her boss and her clients — as “Beryl, Have You SEEN Her Skin.”

Before Dr. Meyers would do any work on me, he insisted I have a consultation with Beryl. I met her and said, immediately, “Whatever you’re doing — I don’t care if you sleep standing on your head or drink cod liver oil for breakfast — I’m doing IT.”

So we’re going to talk a lot about Beryl. She’s a walking encyclopedia of all things concerning “unbelievable — and mostly unknown — skin health.” I thought I knew and had read just about every damn thing on the planet about healthy skin.

I’d read nothing, apparently. I didn’t know, for example, that 90% of the sun block we buy doesn’t do 50% of what it needs to do to protect skin from the sun’s damaging rays.

I never thought about how having one’s hands unprotected on a steering wheel — over the course of decades — is the one, biggest age-escalating thing we all do (that makes those age spots appear like SIRENS one day.

Skin health and cosmetic counters and minerals and a whole slew of things are coming up here on “A New Face.”

Stay tuned.

Cathie

The past few months have been … interesting … tune in here to learn what I never did about skin, health, new procedures that, just a few years back, never existed — and what it all means to turn 54 — and love the way you look.