Yahoo Finance The new tightening and tweaking cosmetic treatments to look out for in 2022
Glossy New Yorkers tend to look glossier than almost anyone else on the planet. Some of this expensive sheen is down to their top-to-toe designer labels; some is their perfectly coiffed hair. But much of the credit must go to the pioneering tightening and tweaking cosmetic treatments on offer in Manhattan.
Happily, where New York leads, London almost always follows, and a number of these science-led therapies have now landed on our shores – and offer measurable results. Evoke is more than just a facial but miles off a facelift: a hands-free skin tightening device that clamps onto the face and then goes to work (painlessly, apparently) to take off the years.
Then there are clinics offering treatments for cosmetic hair issues far beyond basic baldness, and new body micro-needling and Profhilo to smooth flabby under-arms. Thread lifts, meanwhile, are re-thought with newer and longer lasting benefits. All of this is done with a 2022 approach to treatments: skin ethnicity, for example, will be a key factor in treatment tailoring, and skin therapies are tweaked for what works well on Zoom. Thinking of getting a little work done this year? Read on.
The best cosmetic treatments to try
Hands-free treatments
‘Evoke’ is the latest machine from Inmode, California-based manufacturers of the Bodytite and Morpheus8 face and body tightening systems so popular at leading non-surgical cosmetic clinics. The company leads in the research of hands-free devices, which are becoming ever more-popular in pandemic times.
Evoke is a machine that fits over the head as a pair of headphones would do, with radio-frequency-delivering units attached. These units clamp around the lower cheeks, jawline jowls and beneath the chin, delivering radio frequency (RF) energy that “remodels” facial tissue through disrupting deep layers beneath the dermis; the manufacturers claim the treatment improves skin texture and tightness over time.
Each treatment lasts around 45 minutes and optimally works over a course of two or three treatments spread out over a period of around six months, all dependent on each client’s needs. Now available in the UK, ‘Evoke’ can be compared to a milder form of other RF treatments, though is said to be much less painful.
Body needling
Top practitioners agree on one thing: these days, client knowledge of non-surgical treatments for face and neck is ever more expert. In 2022, new solutions for loose skin on upper arms, flabby abdomens and knees, papery chest and décolletage issues will top treatment lists.
“We are launching a new combination of Secret RF followed by Body Profhilo - ideal for skin laxity in areas of the body that reflect the ageing process,” says Park Lane, Mayfair-based practitioner Dr Preema Vig.
‘Secret RF’ uses microneedles to deliver fractional radio frequency (RF) energy to all layers of the skin, with minimal damage to the skin’s surface.” Dr Vig explains how she also uses Secret RF to erase photodamage, stretch marks and acne scars. “Unlike other RF devices which only deliver energy to the upper layers of the skin, Secret RF claims to work within deeper layers of the dermis, to ‘revitalise and regenerate tissue’, which improves skin quality over all.”
Meanwhile Profhilo Body is the only injectable treatment specifically designed to address body skin laxity in upper arms, chest and shoulder area and abdomen. The product uses a high concentration Ultrapure hyaluronic acid. In particular, research results conducted by the manufacturer for Profhilo have shown strong positive outcomes in treating inner-arm skin looseness.
Hair raising
Angelina Jolie’s red-carpet hair extension disaster at the Eternals premiere in Rome back in November 2021 proved how even the most professionally applied pieces can fail the fabulousness test. Therefore, boosting treatments for one’s own hair are the only way to go in 2022. For those despairing of genetic or age-related hair thinning or quality concerns, more and better hair procedures will be popping up on top clinic menus.
Doctor Munir Somji of London’s drmedispa clinic offers a triple treatment for thinning hair which combines minor surgery, injectables and light: “We are layering up our surgical treatments with non-surgical hair growth support protocols such as Regenera [which uses stem cell therapy] and Calecim hair growth serums.” Dr Somji also offers the newest versions of hair transplants. “We have found that both treatments followed by Dermalux LED light therapy are improving the quality and quantity of hair in our patients.”
Also on the radar for 2022 are hair, and more specifically, scalp products containing the same ingredients as facial skin enhancers, including AHAs, peptides and hyaluronic acid. Consider Including one such product into your routine for extra 21st century oomph.
Old Ideas, New Formulations
The 2022 version of a threadlift facelift where barbed thread is placed along naturally occurring contours beneath the skin with a fine needle, is much improved from the original 1980s version. Back then, simple surgical suture thread was used, which would sometimes snap or lose it’s barbs on the way into the skin, resulting in uneven lines and scars.
Top dermatologists now work with a stronger thread made from new formulations of PDO (Polydioxanone) which dissolves easily while maintaining the collagen inducing barbs in place. These stronger threads can be more deeply placed, too. The threads alongside new, bio-active fillers feature in an innovative combination facelift performed at Dr Pamela Benito’s Belgravia clinic. “Threads combined with collagen stimulation are growing as an alternative to a surgical facelift,” says Dr Benito. “Working with Dr Wassim Taktouk we have devised a ‘LightLift’ treatment at our clinic which utilises Ellanse [filler] to stimulate collagen and rebuild volume; Silhouette Soft threads lift and contour, with very little downtime afterwards.”
Ellanse is one of a growing range of dual-acting, ‘biostimulating’ fillers, a term describing the triggering effect the product causes in skin tissue. Its manufacturers claim the product promises to lift, volumise and enhance skin, long term. The formulation contains microscopic spheres suspended in a carrier gel - the gel is absorbed by the body as the spheres jump-start collagen production at the site of injection.
Reassuringly-named Silhouette Soft threads gently hook into lower dermal layers via small barbs along the thread. Skilled dermatologists working with these products are finding the dual effect of skin repositioning and rejuvenation on faces showing early to middling signs of aging may replace all but the most dramatic surgical face lift.
Skin Ethnicity takes centre stage
At her London clinic, Dr Amiee Vyas focuses on the different needs of skin depending on ethnicity when it comes to improving skin quality, re-shaping, smoothing out scars and anti-aging. This was also a topic at the ASDS (American Society for Dermatologic Surgery) conference in the USA and is gaining ground as an industry shaper. In America, dermatologists in female, male, transgender, ethnicities and specific genetic conditions are building specialist cosmetic practices, particularly on the West Coast.
London’s Dr Vyas explains, “Quite often darker skin tones are not compatible with energy based devices such as lasers and can hyper or hypo pigment after treatment.” Lasers or peels may overly darken or lighten scar areas on ethnic skin, making a problem worse. Dr Vyas claims that a skin plan including bespoke micro-needling, Profhilo, clinic peels, filler and medical-grade at-home skin care can offer the best results.
This article is kept updated with the latest information.
