Fighting effects of aging

By Mickey Furfari
Times West Virginian

FAIRMONT January 29, 2008 07:46 pm

— Time and sun exposure can be detrimental to a person’s complexion. But, fortunately, there are a handful of products and procedures out there to help treat and prevent the appearance of lines and wrinkles as the normal effects of aging set in.
Dr. Beth Santymire-Rosenberger, a dermatologist with Appalachian Spring Dermatology in Fairmont, said that there are “hundreds and hundreds and hundreds” of over-the-counter products available today — all varying in price — that boast significant wrinkle-fighting powers.
But aside from Retin-A, a popular and effective prescription topical Vitamin-A derivative cream, she said most of these products do not work.
“Most things you purchase over the counter do not work very well if at all,” Rosenberger said. “(Retin-A) is more superior than anything you can purchase otherwise.”
Rosenberger said she has been prescribing Retin-A to patients who want to reduce wrinkles and keep their skin looking young for 20 years or more and is applied once a day at night time. She said a six-month treatment of Retin-A costs $60, which is significantly cheaper than buying loads of less expensive products that do not do the job.
“It is a very simple and inexpensive thing people can do for their skin,” Rosenberger said. “It makes a dramatic difference not only in reducing wrinkles, but keeping skin looking young.”
She said there are also over-the-counter versions of Retin-A, called Retinol and Retinaldehyde, available as well. But while they work better than other over-the-counter products, Rosenberger said they are not as effective as the true Retin-A prescription.
Dr. Jeffrey Dodson, a dermatologist at Mountain State Dermatology in Fairmont, agreed that Retin-A is the more effective than any over-the-counter wrinkle treatment on the market today.
“Nothing has been clinically proven like Retin-A or Retinol products have,” he said.
Dodson added that the only other product that has had any real effect on treating wrinkles is a normal, everyday sunscreen. He explained that sun exposure is one of the biggest causes of wrinkles, and sunscreen can not only prevent them by helping to block the sun’s strong rays, but also help treat them.
And as far as stronger treatments go, both Rosenberger and Dodson said Botox cosmetic injections are the most popular and efficient.
Botox is a protein complex that is injected into patients’ faces and relaxes the muscles so they do not make such dramatic expressions, thus reducing the cause of wrinkles. Rosenberger said, if done correctly and by a certified physician, Botox is an extremely safe and low-maintenance procedure.
“Botox is simple, fast, and the risk is very little when done by a physician using real Botox,” Rosenberger said.
She said anyone can request Botox injections and that the average price for a treatment that lasts three to four months ranges between $200 and $300. And while many people get concerned that this type of treatment will leave them expressionless or cause significant pain or other issues, Rosenberger, who receives Botox injections herself, assured that this has never happened in all the years she has been performing the procedure.
“A lot of people get really worried they will look funny or look expressionless, but if it is done correctly, it looks very natural,” she said, adding that after getting used to a slight difference at first, patients generally do not even feel it.
Rosenberger also said that the procedure itself does not take long and is not very painful, feeling only like several small pin pricks when it is being done.
Dodson also said that Botox is the most popular and accessible procedure he performs on patients to reduce wrinkles, but he said another more permanent procedure is laser resurfacing.
Costing anywhere from $500 to $1,000, Dodson said this treatment is good for tightening more fine lines, generally not caused by normal muscle movement.
Both Dodson and Rosenberger also mentioned fillers as other procedures they do in the office to help treat wrinkles. Dodson said these fillers help treat deeper wrinkles found beside the mouth and down to the nose.
E-mail Mallory Panuska at mpanuska@timeswv.com.

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