What Is Ultherapy? ~ Beauty Tip Of The Week #18

What is Ultherapy?

The short answer? Just the best thing I have ever done.
I had Ultherapy about 2 weeks ago, and I am already seeing the most spectacular results, even though they said I wouldn't see anything for at least a month.

But I'm getting way ahead of myself. Here is the long answer:

Ultherapy is a miracle.


It is the only non invasive treatment that is FDA cleared to lift skin on the neck, under the chin and on the eyebrow. It is also approved to improve lines and wrinkles on the decolletage.
You have no down time, no redness, no bruising - nothing. It is amazing!

Ultherapy before and after. Magic, no?

(By the way, none of these images are pictures of me.)

Before Ultherapy if you needed your neck tightened or lifted, if you maybe had a double chin or unattractive under-chin or jawline profile, or maybe your eyebrows needed lifting, the only option was to go under the knife. It was costly, there was a danger element involved - any time you have an elective surgery there is a risk, and on top of that we have all seen face-lifts gone wickedly wrong.

Ultherapy involves no cutting and stitching, no slicing out unwanted flesh, and no battered and bruised visage to wait out the healing process.
Ultherapy delivers focused ultrasound energy to the same foundation layer typically addressed by surgeons during plastic surgery, without cutting or disrupting the surface of the skin.
The energy initiates the body's natural response to stimulate the growth of fresh, new collagen and to strengthen weak collagen.
Some patients see an initial effect right after their treatment, but the real result happens over the coarse of 2 or 3 months as the new collagen builds, gradually lifting and tightening the skin on the face and neck, and smoothing the skin on the chest.

Unlike lasers and radio frequency therapies, Ultherapy bypasses the surface of the skin and delivers ultrasound energy at the optimal depth, temperature and precision. It also uses ultrasound imaging which allows your technician to see the layers of tissue they are treating, ensuring that energy is both delivered safely and to where it is most beneficial.
The technician draws a grid on the area she is working on and is able to direct the treatment to exactly where it is needed.

Unlike lasers and photo-facial treatments Ultherapy is a perfect treatment to have over the summer, because it is not photo-sensitive, the procedure does not affect the skin's surface and you have no down time.
Think of the treatment like the foundation of a house - it holds everything up and in place.

Ultherapy before and after chin and jaw

How Did I Discover Ultherapy?
As a makeup artist I am always looking into ways for my clients to achieve balance in their faces, and to capture youth without looking like they have had surgery. For years now I have been taking clients, both local Arizonians as well as clients from California and Texas, even as far away as Calgary to see the amazing Dr Blume at the Blume Skin Centre in Scottsdale Arizona. 
Dr Blume and his clinical manager Sandra Caldwell take care of my celebrity clientele and my brides, and everyone in between. 
During visits there I started noticing everyone looking younger, and looking revitalized, and I also started noticing double chins disappearing and necks becoming smoother. Whatever was going on with the staff and the customers in the waiting room, I wanted in on the action!
My clients started having Ultherapy and I would see jawlines becoming crisper, collapsing brows lifting back up, and everyone looking sensational. I watched the progression of people's results over the course of several months, and found the results to be universally sensational.

Ultherapy chin and neck before and after

How Long Does Ultherapy Last?
As with anything you do to your face, be it botox, fillers, lasers - any treatment, the result is 100% dependent on the skill of the technician performing the treatment. If your Ultherapy is performed by a master technician, like Sandra Caldwell of the 
Blume Skin Centre you can expect results to last up to 5 years if you are under 50, and 3 years if you are in your 50's

Ultherapy before and after chin lift

Who Is Ultherapy For?
Ultherapy is not necessarily age specific.
It will lift skin, and especially when combined with fillers can replace or stall the need for a face lift. 
But it is also for people who are not looking for a facelift alternative.
Ultherapy is a fantastic option for anyone who has a double chin or a chin/jaw/neck profile that needs trimming or lifting.

Ultherapy before and after under chin

Ultherapy is also an amazing option for anyone wanting a brow lift. That can be someone who as a part of the aging process has eyebrows that have dropped, or anyone who has a heavy brow that is creating excess skin folds in the upper eyelid. 

Ultherapy before and afteer brow lift

Can Young People Have Ultherapy?
Yes they can. Ultherapy is not age specific.
For brides Ultherapy is a wonderful way to correct or enhance the jawline (think of all those profile photos!) and also to waken and revitalize the eye with a brow lift.

Ultherapy before and after chin lift

How Do You Choose A Technician?
This is the single most important decision to make when choosing Ultherapy. 
Avoid Groupon deals (like the plague!) instead opting for a Certified Advanced Technician who can show you before and afters of numerous clients she has worked on. 
There are substantial costs involved for the office performing Ultherapy, so the only way to cut the price is to reduce the amount of energy the technician uses on a client, which in turn will give a marginal result.

I went to Sandra Caldwell, Clinical Manager at the 
Blume Skin Centre in Scottsdale Arizona. Not only is Sandra a Certified Advanced Therapist, but she has performed hundreds of treatments (including treatments on my clients) and her results are consistently amazing.

What Should You Watch Out For?
Watch out for cheap deals. This applies to anything you are having done to your face. I never see fabulous "bargain" botox or filler jobs, in fact discount facial injecting invariably makes up some of the very worst I see. Allowing for the fact that your results will last up to 5 years or more you want to make sure you are going to someone brilliant with a sharp eye for balance and aesthetic beauty.

How Many Treatments Do I Need?
This is a one time treatment. Depending on the area or areas you are having worked on the average treatment will be in the vicinity of an hour. If you are just having a brow lift you will need less time, a full face,neck and decolletage will take a little longer.

Ultherapy before and after brow lift

What Does Ultherapy Cost?
The cost of Ultherapy depends on which areas you are having worked on.
A brow lift runs around $500, which means you will save a huge amount of money versus Botox brow lifting when you consider it will last you around 5 years!
A neck treatment should be around $1500, a full  face costs around $5000

Ultherapy before and after chin and jawline

My Story

I didn't like the way my neck and jawline were looking. My jawline had lost it's crispness, and I felt that my neck was starting to look lined and fleshy. I was also noticing that my brow was dropping, causing the skin on my upper eyelid to look heavy. Which are both signs of having left our 30s.
It was made worse when a local Cosmetic Surgeon cornered me at a social event, telling me I absolutely had to have a brow lift done.
I was horrified!  
I talked to Sandra and Dr. Blume about it for months, going over the best options for me. We looked at the before and after pictures of other Blume Skin Centre clients who had had Ultherapy, but not being one to race into anything I still took my time to make the decision.
I saw a difference within a couple of days of the treatment. 
My neck immediately started looking firmer, smoother and tighter. My jawline is already starting to resemble it's former sharp self and although I never had a double chin, nor was I aware of excess flesh under my chin, the smoothing and firming of that area is sensational!
Everywhere I go people who know me are telling me I look revitalized. I am asked if I have been on vacation, if I have had extra sleep, if I am using a new eye cream. The subtle lifting of the brow area is taking away the heavier upper eyelid, making my eyes look bright and awakened. It's fabulous!
And I only had my Ulthrapy less than a month ago.

Ultherapy before and after chin and neck (with awful lipliner)

Ultherapy before and after chin and neck

Ultherapy before and after brow lift

Ultherapy before and after chin and neck

If you are thinking about having Ultherapy, and are either in Arizona, near Arizona or willing to travel to Arizona (well worthwhile - this is your face afterall!) call or go see the experts at the Blume Skin Centre. 

Blume Skin Centre
(480) 699-7999
8575 East Princess Drive, 
Suite 123
Scottsdale Arizona

3 Bridal Beauty Tips Four Months Before Your Wedding Day

If you have at least four months before the big day I have 3 bridal beauty tips for you!

Lash Out

Most of my brides head somewhere beachy for their honeymoon, and don't want to look totally makeup free even while frolicking in the waves, so I advise them to up their lash game 3 to 4 months before the wedding. A great fringe of lashes paired with a pretty lip gloss not only looks lovely but is super easy too.
I'm not a fan of lash extensions. They look great the first week but then start looking messy, twisting and twirling, falling out and looking patchy. My best friend had them a while back and after 3 rounds of fills all of her own eyelashes broke and fell out.
On the wedding day I love false eyelashes, but my favorite thing is to actually grow eyelashes. I swear by a product called Latisse. Not only does it give you longer lashes, but it makes them grow thicker too.

Latisse before and after

Try starting Latisse 3 or 4 months before your wedding and you will be amazed at how gorgeous your lash-line is by the time your wedding rolls around!



Reduce The Lines
I am a huge fan of Botox. Huge.
So long as it is done by the right person it can be the most brilliant thing ever. 
We've all seen bad botox jobs - here in Phoenix we have the Scottsdale mask Of Horror, a delightfully hideous yet oddly frequent affliction where it looks like someone has grabbed the woman in question by the back of the scalp and tugged her face back. Somewhat Norma Desmond-like these women trawl the shopping streets of Scottsdale, devoid of expression other than the moment immediately prior to a scream. 
It's too fantastic for words.
The really great work however, goes un-noticed, which is exactly how botox should be. A gentle softening of the fine lines and wrinkles, removal of frowns, a slight lift to the brow, an imperceptible lift to the outer corner of the lips. When done correctly by a master technician, Botox is divine.
I recommend Botox to many of my brides/bridesmaids/mothers of brides. 
Generally I have first timers go 4 months prior to the wedding. Botox lasts about 3 months, giving them a chance to experience the effects of it, and then get a little touch up the month before the wedding. Botox averages about 72 hours to take effect. I never want my brides having any injectables the week of the wedding, just in case they bruise or get any needle marks.



 Backfat Buster

Plenty of girls have an extra little roll of love popping out over their strapless dress. Maybe its backfat, maybe its rolling around her under arm. Its one of those places that you can workout and half train yourself to death, but it won't go away.
If you are planning on a strapless dress, a low back dress, or a dress that shows a little something that you want to hide, you may want to think about Coolsculpting. Coolsculpting will grab that extra fat, freeze it, and make it disappear. Its magic! It works pretty much anywhere, but my favorite is watching it take away the roll of fat that wants to seep out over the back of a strapless dress. Coolsculpting takes about 3 months to take full effect, so I advise my brides to have it 4 months before the wedding, givingg them time to have any final alterations done to their dress.



I send my clients to Botox Guru Dr Blume of Blume Skin Centre in Scottsdale. They get Coolsculpted, lasered, get any Botox or filler at Blume Skin Center and I have never had anyone less than absolutely ecstatic with the results.

Read more about Botox here
Read more about Coolsculpting here

New Year New You Fat Busters - What Is Coolsculpting?

Do you have any areas of stubborn fat that just won't budge - no matter how hard you diet and exercise?
Like maybe love handles, inner thighs, or even back fat - rolls of fat that stop your back from looking smooth, or even worse roll over the top of your strapless dress or your bra?

The past few months I have been learning all about non surgical ways to remove stubborn fat. I've been with many clients, from celebs to socialites to brides, to see the amazing Dr Blume and Sandra Caldwell of the Blume Skin Centre in Scottsdale AZ.
Sandra is an expert in the art of Coolsculpting (among many things), and has literally been trimming the fat off ladies.

Coolsculpting is a fantastic alternative to liposuction. Most frequently used to eliminate muffin tops, love handles, belly pooches and stubborn back rolls, it is a non surgical, non invasive, needle free way to slim you down.

Coolsculpting isolates fat cells, freezes them (without damaging any neighboring tissue and without hurting your skin), and eliminates them. Once that fat cell is gone, it is gone for good.

Many of the laser treatments, sonic wave treatments and of course lipo treatments available actually damage other tissue around the fat cells, which leave you with considerable downtime while your body has to heal.

How It Works:

The Coolsculpting machine uses a vacuum type system to suck in the area of fat you want to lose, then freezes it.

The technician identifies the area to be worked on, chooses the correct sized attachment, preps your skin so it doesn't get burned, and then the Coolsculpting machine literally sucks in that area of fat, holds it, and freezes it for 60 minutes.



During that time the client sits back, relaxes, watches movies, reads, sleeps, does emails - basically stays comfortable. When the 60 minutes is up, the technician removes the attachment, massages the frozen fat so that the skin feels smooth, and you're done! Simple, painless, secret. 

Over the next 2 months your body will eliminate the frozen fat cells through your urine. Typically you will start seeing a drastic change in the area worked on in as little as 4 weeks!

I work with many brides who are dieting and working out like crazy to slim down for a strapless wedding dress, and are not getting the results they want - as in there is still a roll of fat oozing over the top of the dress. 
If we have a 2 month lead time, Coolsculpting is the most amazing, super effective way to trim that fat away.
The results are staggering.


Are You A Candidate For Coolsculpting?

The Top 10 Reasons to Have CoolSculpting

1	I don’t love my love handles
2	Two words: summer vacation
3	Make my time at the gym look like I’ve been to the gym
4	Show up at the reunion in the same jeans I wore then
5	Hate wearing breath-defying body shaper undergarments
6	Put my bag in overhead without hesitation
7	Wear spandex without embarrassment
8	I eat right, so I deserve to look right
9	Make my birthday suit my best outfit
10	I want my body back

The most crucial element when choosing to have Coolsculpting is making the decision of where to go.
I don't advise getting a deal on groupon or looking for cut-price treatments. Generally you will get what you pay for.
I recommend going to a technician who not only specializes in Coolsculpting, but who has an eye for aesthetics. You don't want great gaping holes in your body because an inexperienced $10 per hour employee is making the Groupon cost effective for the business!
If you are anywhere near Arizona, make the trek to the
 Blume Skin Centre and see Sandra. She has been taking care of my client's complexions, laser services etc for years. She has an incredible eye for perfection and completely understands the beauty aesthetic. 

How To Get Younger Looking Eyes

Did you know the first place that you show signs of aging 

is in the eye area?

Between fine lines and wrinkles, bags and dark rings, and general fatigue, your eye area can make you look perpetually tired and much older than your years.

Luckily for us we live in an era with endless quick fixes that can fast track us to a youthful, revitalized look in no time at all.
So lets have a look at some options:

Skincare

If you're not a) using quality skin care products or b) using the correct ones for your skin, the rest is all pointless.
Make sure you gently cleanse away all traces of the day's eye makeup with an eye makeup remover, every night before bed. No excuses.
Follow that with a good, hydrating eye cream both morning and night.
The skin around your eyes is the thinnest, most delicate skin on the body. You need to use products specifically designed for it, that don't weigh it down, and that keep it nourished.

Makeup

Rather than recreating the eye du jour, use eye shadow colors and techniques that work your eye shape and your level of aging. You can be young but prematurely aging, or you can have extra years on you and have much more youthful eyes, so the age number is irrelevant, its the stage of  aging that counts.
If you are looking heavier under the eyes or have darker circles, using dark eye shadows or eye shadows that have a lot of blue content or murky dull berry based tones can make your entire eye area look heavy.

Color Correct Rather Than Conceal

Rather than packing on concealer that just makes they under eye area look weighed down with makeup, and that gives the under eyes a grey, ashy look, instead opt for a color corrector. Colors opposite one another  on the color wheel cancel one another out. If you are seeing blue/grey under the eyes, cancel it out with a  color corrector in the pink-orange color group. Keep it super sheer.
I like to mix a little color corrector with a drop of luminizer and a tiny amount of eye cream. It keeps the under eye hydrated, keeps the correcting product nice and sheer and emollient, and the luminizer helps pop the tiniest bit of light from the area, keeping it looking light and bright and alive.

Latisse

One of the signs of aging is the thinning of the lashes. One of the most fabulous things you can do to make your eyes look youthful is to create a thick, full lashline.
Latisse officially takes about 16 weeks to create a thick, full, luscious fringe of lashes, but I see it happen much more quickly. Using Latisse every night will give you lashes to rival falsies, take 5 years off your look, and even give the illusion of the eye being a little lifted. It's spectacular!
Don't believe me? Try the iLash Studio app from Allergan. Upload a pic of yourself (selfie!!) and in less than a minute see the new, improved you with lashes to die for.

Tear Trough Fill

Want to take it a step further? Try a Tear Trough Fill
One of the most amazing things I have ever seen in terms of instant youth is the Juvederm Tear Trough Fill. 
As we age we lose volume under the eyes, leaving us with a light absorbing hollow that leaves us looking perpetually tired and much older than our years.
I send endless clients (brides, celebs and ladies who lunch) to Dr Blume of the Blume Skin Centre in Scottsdale AZ for a quick shot of youth. Its all about technique, so you only want someone completely brilliant tackling the issue. And the result is instant. No waiting for anything to kick in - right before your very eyes, you will see 10 years melt away.
The tear trough fill is comparatively inexpensive and  lasts well over a year too. Its the perfect pre-holiday party season pick me up!

(As a side note, of all the people I have sent to Dr Blume, I have never had even one who wasn't completely ecstatic with the result. Going to the right person is everything!)