Good morning from Austin, where it’s been 100 degrees all weekend. As per my long-distance-relationship tradition (he lives here, I’m in New York), before hopping on the plane I took an exhausting “Everything Shower.” It involves 15 different products, but I feel absolutely reborn and aerodynamic once I…finally… reemerge from the bathroom.
Then, on arriving in Texas, the heat couldn’t stop me from getting out to practice my mid-30s obsession, bird-watching (yes, I’m a cliché). |
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This Week I Tried: To Get Rid of Those Broken Capillaries |
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I have this one broken capillary on my cheek—bright blue, about an inch long—that drives me crazy. Only a full-coverage, very matte foundation seems to do the job when it comes to hiding it—but for somebody who is running late practically every single morning, that simply won’t do.
While visiting one of my most trusted dermatologists, the double-board-certified Shereene Idriss, MD (more on this appointment at a later date), I mentioned it in passing. Five minutes later, I was in the treatment chair with a pair of titanium laser goggles blocking my vision. She went to work with the Vbeam Pulsed-Dye laser, zapping not only the capillary itself but also the surrounding tissue. (“You need to both collapse the structure but also cut off the blood source to it,” she told me of the technique, adding that mine was “a big one!”) The pain level was about a 5 for the maybe 20-something little shocks, which basically felt like being flicked over and over again on my cheek.
It isn’t totally gone—Dr. Idriss did say I’d likely need three appointments to make it actually disappear, with occasional follow-ups—but it is certainly much softer in appearance. I’m already thrilled. |
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Last week, The New York Times reported that ovarian cancer may not come from the ovaries at all, but from the fallopian tubes. We tapped writer Ellen O’Connell Whittet, who pushed to have her own fallopian tubes removed last year, to share her experience. |
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Q: Good afternoon, I am a 65-year-old woman and am interested in learning tricks to reduce wrinkles. I do not like cosmetic surgery, but believe there are tricks that can be done to improve facial lines around the eyes and mouth. Sincerely, Gwendolyn
A: Hi, Gwendolyn! There’s a lot of chatter about peptides right now—injectable, topical, inhalable…—and while the FDA is out on the effectiveness of most of them, topical Argireline sounds like something you should try.
When applied to the skin, it’s thought to relax muscles in the same manner that Botox does, no jab needed. I’d use the product as a spot-treatment (i.e., just like neurotoxins!) around the mouth, corners of the eyes, etc.
Happy slathering! |
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Have a beauty or wellness trend you're curious about? I want to know! Email me at [email protected]
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