Despite our most superhuman efforts nearly 90 per cent of us have it.  Cellulite.

But now a new crime-fighter, I mean cellulite-fighter, has entered the fray.  It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no, it’s Cellulaze!

All jokes aside, everyone knows cellulite is serious, Cellulaze is a new laser recently cleared by the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S.  Harper’s Bazaar reports on how it works: “After injecting you with local anaesthesia the doctor threads a laser fiber through a pencil-lead-thin cannula and “snips” the septae, melts your fat pockets, and heats the skin from the inside out, which encourages collagen and elastin growth. Barry DiBernardo, a plastic surgeon in Montclair, New Jersey, who was the lead investigator of Cellulaze, describes the procedure: “We are able to turn the laser fiber 90 degrees, so it’s horizontal with the skin; we use it to divide the tough septae that’s pulling the skin down, creating dimpling. Then we turn it 90 degrees down to vaporize the fat. Finally, we turn it toward the surface, where the heat can thicken the skin.” (This is a good thing.) Once those septae are severed, they won’t grow back in that problematic vertical pattern, says DiBernardo. What’s more, the new, eventual collagen and elastin growth (as a result of the laser heat) will leave your skin, on average, 29 per cent more elastic than before. Downtime is minimal; most patients can go back to work the next day, and the best part, says DiBernardo: It lasts.”

It’s still early days so we’ll keep an eye on this technology for you; after all, every girl needs a super hero once in a while.

In the last few years, major improvements have been made to laser hair technology and now, we can officially announce, that Candela has just released the most advanced system yet - the GentleMAX, now available at our very own, neoSKiN!

This exciting breakthrough is suitable for EVERY skin type, both light, and most importantly dark skin types, which to date, have never been favourable candidates for any kind of laser treatments due to an inconsistency of result success.

Unlike other products on the market, the GentleMAX combines the capabilities of the two Best-In-Class lasers - the GentleLASE and the GentleYAG, making it the first ever multiple wavelength workstation. It has the ability to address permanent hair removal, leg and facial vein removal, plus vascular and pigmented lesion removal - the GentleMax can do it all!

This new technology, introduced to neoSKiN clients as of March 2012, debunks the idea that laser hair removal doesn’t work for dark or tanned skin, or worse, that it causes burning and blistering of the skin. The great news, is that the GentleMAX will give everyone the amazing results they have been desperate for, allowing everyone the opportunity to be hair free forever!

So, what skin concerns can be treated with the new GentleMAX laser?

• Permanent Hair Reduction (on all skin types including tanned & dark skin tones)
•  Skin Rejuvenation- Pigmentation, Wrinkle Reduction     
•  Vascular Rejuvenation- Leg Veins, Blue Facial Veins, Hemangiomas, Venous Lakes
•  Pigmented Lesions- Sun Spots/Age Spots, Freckles, Café-au-Lait, Melasma

Check out these successful before & after results from GentleMAX patients:

Call neoSKiN today to book a complimentary consultation and let us treat your personal skin concerns, with the most advanced laser systems available.

CALL 1300NEOSKIN or visit us at www.neoskin.com.au

Fluctuating hormone levels in your 20s, 30s, 40s and beyond can have a massive impact on your body. Changes occur as the levels of hormones increase and decrease causing all sorts of problems for adults. Pregnancy, puberty, medical conditions, menopause and the regular process of ageing can be affected by these hormonal changes. While some hormonal changes cannot be stopped, like those due to pregnancy, there are ways to help reduce the effects of these changes, especially when it comes to your skin, by making a few educated modifications to your beauty regime.

Too much of one hormone and not enough of another can wreck havoc on the health and appearance of your skin, especially during these significant stages of life:

• Teenage years can be a tough time for skin as it deals with increased hormones and the process of adolescence. Hormones released at the onset of puberty are responsible for the appearance of acne during the teen years. These hormones stimulate the skin’s sebaceous glands, creating an oily skin that is more prone to pore blockages and breakouts.
• Pregnancy brings about a shift in hormone production as the body makes changes to support and nourish mother and baby. A hormonal imbalance caused by pregnancy can result in acne breakouts, dry skin, oily skin and skin discoloration.
• Menopause brings about many unwanted skin changes and as the body begins the process of slowing down and menstruation stops, the production of hormones also slows down resulting in skin changes such as excessive dryness and loss of elasticity.
• Certain medical conditions can cause an imbalance in the hormones that the body produces leading to various skin concerns such as excessive sweating, redness, thickened facial hair and blemishes.
• The process of ageing can lead to hormonal imbalances that cause less than desirable effects on the skin. As we age our body produces less estrogen, testosterone and other important hormones resulting in dullness, thinning, discoloration, sagging and fine lines.

The good news is that medical and skin treatments are available and widely recommended in treating most hormonal skin conditions and concerns. Consult a doctor, dermatologist or skin specialist for the right advice. In the meantime, it is important to follow a few simple steps to compliment your skin regime

• Keep your skin hydrated by drinking at least 2 litres of filtered water everyday
• Exercise regularly to keep blood flow and oxygen delivery to the skin optimal
• Exfoliate the skin regularly to eradicate dead cell layers which block pores and lead to breakouts
• Thoroughly cleanse morning and night and remove all excess oil
• Eat fresh organic fruits and vegetables and vitamin rich foods high in antioxidants

Unsettled hormones can have undesirable effects on your skin but with a little patience and know-how, you can manage these symptoms and enjoy the look of your skin – even during the most unbalanced, hectic crazy times…

Are you unsure about what to wear when getting a spray tan?

Do you forget to turn your mobile phone off for your treatments?

There are several unspoken rules that apply when it comes to booking and attending a scheduled maintenance appointment. From hygiene basics right through to treatment preparation, we have taken the time to share with you our do’s and don’ts…this is simple, beauty-booking etiquette 101.

Be An Eager Beaver: Arriving at your appointment on time will establish a stress-free atmosphere for your treatment, which is beneficial to both yourself and the therapist. Better yet, why not be early - If you are running late, be sure to phone the clinic to let them know – they will really appreciate you doing so!  

Turn Off:  From the moment you enter the clinic doors, hit the silent button, or ideally, take the opportunity to switch off both your phone and your mind completely. Enjoy the peace and quiet - even if it’s just for half an hour.

Fragrance Free: Be considerate to your therapist and avoid arriving for your treatment straight from a sweat session at the gym. This also applies to overpowering perfume and sharing the last puff of your cigarette with the reception area. Arriving showered and fresh is always best!

Keep It Light: Maintain the relaxed, professional atmosphere of the clinic and respect the enjoyment of other clients by lowering your voice and minimising the chatter.  

Find A Babysitter: Treat yourself to some ‘me’ time and if possible, try to avoid the stress of bringing your child to your appointments.

Don’t Be Shy: If you have questions or concerns about your treatment, phone ahead before your appointment and put your mind at ease. Laser treatments and spray tanning have specific pre-treatment requirements and it’s always best to be prepared. 

It’s autumn, it’s cold, it’s for real now, and the question is, to bronze or not to bronze?

We’re not talking about the body; as if!  A deftly and judiciously applied spray tan or fake tan can turn autumn’s wan pallor into a summery splendour.  It’s the face that’s tricky; given that it has to be fake, how do we achieve just-kissed by the sun … not Jersey Shore?  Celebrity makeup artist Tina Turnbow (she’s also a beauty blogger for the New York Times) shared these tan skin tips:

If you don’t need foundation, don’t use foundation: “What you don’t apply is just as important as what you do. I try to let the skin shine through as much as possible. Just spot conceal any blemishes or imperfections with cover-up and use a lightweight tinted moisturizer. I apply most products with my fingertips to help them sink in better.”

Bronze the right spots with the best brush: “Sweep on bronzer with a very fluffy brush so it disperses the product lightly and smoothly.  It should look like a warm glow that came from the sun not from makeup! Target the higher planes of your face, including the forehead, hairline, bridge of your nose, across your cheeks and chin. Brush a bit on your neck to make sure your face and body match, too.”

(Almost) everything is illuminated:  “If you want an even subtler look than bronzer, try a powder illuminizer but don’t apply it all over. You want the tops of the cheekbones to be dewy so rub in a blush that’s creamy and moist for a healthy and youthful look.”

Look at you now.  Stunning (not Snooki).

We are going to coin it the ‘Metrosexual Movement.’ Research has shown that young to middle aged males are spending far more on their appearance than ever before.

The male ‘grooming’ market is expected to double in size over the coming years; a growth we can confidently say is due to a greater emphasis on the importance of appearance and changing attitudes among men. It is now socially acceptable among macho male groups, from footy players to gym junkies, to look after their skin, treat themselves to a massage or facial or even – gasp, dabble in a little botox!

Skincare for men, more specifically, male anti-agers, is an area that is becoming more prominent. Similar to women taking care and being aware of their skin, it is clear that Australian men also have those niggling fears and anxieties when it comes to aging skin.

Male consumers are definitely feeling the pressure when it comes to restoring and maintaining youthful good looks. With the likes of Don Draper from Mad Men and Ryan Reynolds as the face of Hugo Boss setting the standard for male grooming, woman have been sent into a tizz over their handsome, fresh faced good looks.

Today, men are viewing skin clinics in a much more positive light. Recent reports have stated that men, not only find them rejuvenating, relaxing and re-energising but also a great way of managing daily stress and a kinder way to detoxify, pamper and nurture their mind and body.

More than ever, men are incorporating facial and skin treatments into part of their lifestyle. The most popular male spa treatments worldwide are

• Massages:80%
• Facials : 10 to 15%
• Body scrubs & masks : 5 to 10%

The metro-sexual spa-goer is on the top of the list of 2012 trends in the spa and skin clinic industry. So, if your man isn’t already on our client database, then he is missing out (or hiding from his fears!).

Make an appointment for your man today and watch him get addicted to feeling ‘oh-so-young again’.

The first time we heard about telomeres we said just one thing in reply - Tell.  Me.  More.  Because we all spend a lot of time worrying about anti-aging from the neck up; but what about, gulp, from the neck down?  And what about, oh no, anti-ageing on the inside?

Emerging science (which won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 2009, so, you know …) has found a link between short telomere length and increased signs of ageing.

The New York Times describes it like this: “Telomeres are tiny caps on the end of DNA strands.  When cells divide and replicate these long strands of DNA, the telomere cap is snipped, a process that is believed to protect the rest of the DNA but leaves an increasingly abbreviated telomere.

 Eventually, if a cell’s telomeres become too short, the cell ‘‘either dies or enters a kind of suspended state,’’ says Stephen Roth, an associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Maryland who is studying exercise and telomeres. Most researchers now accept telomere length as a reliable marker of cell age. In general, the shorter the telomere, the functionally older and more tired the cell.”

There is a habit, though, that researchers believe keeps strands long and strong.  Exercise; vigorous exercise.  Quite simply, at the molecular level, vigorous exercise has an anti-ageing effect.  From middle-age, the fitter a person is the younger their cells are.

Now where are our sneakers?

Anna, 34

General Manager, search recruitment agency

Anna didn’t need a moment, not a second, to think when we asked about her biggest beauty disaster – “Wearing a gorgeous dress to a ball and only shaving the back of my legs, where the split was, and then picking up a very handsome man.  But I had the hairiest shins!”

It’s little wonder that laser hair reduction became one of Anna’s most loved neoSKiN treatments.  “Laser hair removal, dry hair shampoo and tubular mascara are the three beauty things that changed my life”, she said.  “I first had laser about three years ago and I’ve had six or seven sessions.  I would get it done, now, just once a year.  It feels like a bit of an investment at the start but think about the time you spend having to worry about getting to the waxer, or ingrown hairs, or, like me, having hairy shins when you go to a really big ball.  It’s worth it.”

IPL rejuvenation, too, makes it on to Anna’s list of must haves - must do.  “After I had my son, he’s two-and-a-half, I got some hormonal changes on my forehead.”  IPL fixed that.

And microdermabrasion?  “Yes.  Microdermabrasion instantly gives you a lift.”  She looks at her watch before laughing, “I really wanted to get one done today”.

Beauty tip: “I really make sure I eat well and I take spirulina and fish oil.  I try not to eat too much raw food too … I eat food that’s lightly cooked so you can take up the nutrients more easily.  A Chinese doctor told me that.

BB creams. You’ve seen them already, probably, but what are they for? And are they a have-to-have, really?

BB stands for “Blemish Balm” or “Beauty Balm” and it’s a product that was actually born 60 years ago. German dermatologist Dr. Christine Schrammek first created the product to protect and heal the delicate skin of her post-op patients.

The cream not only soothed and protected skin, but also covered redness. Later, BB cream was embraced in Korea after the country’s stunningly-skinned-starlets credited their camera-ready complexions to the innovative cream. In South Korea BB creams account for 13 per cent of the mass-market make-up segment.

So what’s the story? The BB cream is positioned as a product that brightens skin in the same way a primer does, evens out the complexion like a lightweight foundation, covers blemishes like a concealer, has the hydrating properties of a moisturiser, soothes skin like an anti-inflammatory, contains UV protection, has the sort of anti-ageing ingredients more commonly found in serums … and it can leap tall buildings in a single bound. OK, everything except that last one.

The Garnier BB cream is the product most people have seen here but internationally Clinique, Estee Lauder, Dr Brandt and Smashbox, among others, have released their own versions so there may be one just right for you.

And just talk to someone else about leaping tall buildings.