Noninvasive and minimally invasive cosmetic treatments and procedures sometimes get meshed together when being marketed and described, and it’s fairly easy to see why they do.  They both seem fairly benign when being compared and contrasted to more invasive plastic surgery procedures such as a facelift or breast augmentation, but in my opinion they should indeed be distinct within their descriptions and be two separate entities. For instance, light to medium chemical peels may be considered “lunchtime” peels or touted to have little to no downtime…but in fact, a medium strength chemical peel can be quite traumatic and for all intents and purposes should be considered an invasive procedure. It is my belief that there shouldn’t be a meshing of these two terms because the bottom line is…noninvasive is indeed noninvasive, and minimally invasive is indeed minimally “invasive.”

Now having said that…I’d like to share with you a few treatments and procedures you can indeed look into having done at a cosmetic surgeon’s office. Most of these are very safe (generally speaking) and can certainly be very effective for those seeking ageless beauty. However, keep in mind, that even though these treatments show fairly dramatic results (quickly), many are only temporary and should be viewed as an enhancement to your daily skin care regimen, not as a replacement.

Injectables:
Cosmetic injectables such as Botox and Restylane are wildly popular and certainly effective. As you probably know, Botox injections are used to relax the muscles of the face which ultimately relax the fine lines and wrinkles that have formed because of the over use of those particular muscles. Think of smile lines and frown lines…both are lines that have formed over years due to the repetitive use of the respective musculature.  Restylane type injectables are fillers that supplement and increase volume in the face that has been lost from aging, and other environmental attacks. Injectable fillers are typically made of hyaluronic acid which increases volume and is a naturally occurring substance within our skin.

Dermabrasion:
The other treatment that I consider quite safe in general is dermabrasion (or microdermabrasion). This treatment is used to soften irregularities such as fine lines and wrinkles and scars. It is basically a scraping of the topmost layers of the skin. It does indeed provide permanent results; however, it’s important to remember that as we age new wrinkles will most likely appear.

These procedures are fabulous when the patient is well informed and the doctor is well-qualified…but again, they are best used when considered as an enhancement to a quality daily skin care regimen.