Articles, My Magazine... 
Welcome to my magazine and articles section. If you have thoughts and ideas about skin care, body care, aromatherapy or any related topic I would like to hear from you!
There is a growing tendency for many to look at going overseas for cosmetic surgery, though this may seem to offer a tempting opportunity to have surgery on the cheap, there are warnings that you may not receive quite what you bargained for. There are also warnings that this is placing a strain upon our own National Health Service. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, after a survey, found that there are three main concerns. These are aftercare, language barriers and lower standards. Further research by the British Assocaition of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons showed that nearly a third of its membership had to spend time sorting out problems from overseas surgery - and 26% of their patients needed emergency treatment with a third opting to have surgery here to correct errors. This is not to say that you should not go abroad, but that you should make more positive checks if you are thinking about overseas surgery. Checks should include a check of your surgeons credentials, making sure that the hospital is regulated to standards at least similar to ours and above all, to make sure that you know about follow up arrangements and the complications that may arise from the procedure you are having. There are many excellent surgeons overseas who perform work to the highest standard, all one is saying is that one must be more aware and check carefully. You should also check carefully any medical insurance issues and how any complications will be treated once you return to the UK. Please make sure you have a thorough consultation with the surgeon who will be performing the surgery before making any financial commitment. If you require further treatemnt after returning to the UK and/ or corrective treatemnt, this can cost far more than if one had stayed here for UK based treatment. Further, the NHS is not best pleased when it is asked to pick up the pieces when an overseas treatment trip goes wrong. Though at present, the NHS will treat people with complications arising from overseas cosmetic surgery, this matter is under review and you may soon find that you will have to pay. When we go and visit a beautician or an aesthetic clinic, we want to be pampered and relaxed. That said, it may be the first time a professional has looked at our skin. It is important, therefore, that the person who is doing the looking knows what they are looking at - and that is also one of the reasons why I do not give out information about skin conditions and product reccomendations over the telephone. (Apart from my being a beautician and not a medical aesthetician). A professional must be able to recognise if they are looking at acne or blackheads or something much more serious. As a consequence, they will then be able to stop treatment and warn you accordingly. For example, continuing treatment, particularly laser procedures on potentially cancerous skin lesions can worsen the problem. Facial pigmented lessions, be they small or large, can be distressing for many. These lesions may be (broadly speaking) harmful or just a cosmetic nusiance and this will determine the treatment. The important point is to know which is which. As a consequence, the skin cancer clinic may find themselves looking at benign pigmented skin lesions but the aesthetic practitioner may be looking at skin cancer. Diagnosing facial pigmented lesions is difficult for the general public as much as it is for non-skin experts. The main issues being seborrhoeic keratosis and a melanoma. Suffice it to say that before you embark on any form of treatment, professional analysis - especially for those who have a history of high UV exposure (sunbathing!) is crucial. A professional will examine any new lesions closely to make sure it is not lentigo maligna or melanoma - both of which can mean trouble and need specialist treatment- especially if it is a solitary occurance and this will involve close (literally!) inspection. Your specialist may need to look further than the surface and dermoscopy (a technique allowing for a quick and easy "picture" of the structures within skin lesions) may be called for. Do please remember that skin cancer, if caught early enough, can be treated. If your aesthetic practitioner tells you that something needs to be looked at, then this does not mean a high street "Mole Clinic" - you should go to your GP or to a reputable skin cancer clinic. Overseas (Cosmetic) Surgery..... Skin Problems & Warnings.... 
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I have just read a very interesting article written by Mr (ie Dr) Vik Vijh, consultant plastic and reconstructive surgeon at University Hospital Birmingham and published in "Body Language". I am not going to reproduce the article as a awhole but felt that it would be useful to paraphrase a few of the points made. Bigger Breasts? Interestingly, the point is made that the following herbs, reputed to promote breast enhancement, have no published medical trials to support any increase in breast size: Blessed Thistle, Damiana, Dong quai (incidently, in vitro studies have also shown potential induction of breast cancer with this herb), Fenugreek, Fennel seed, Pueraria mirifica, Saw palmetto and Wild yam. There are, however ways of achieving breast augmentation without invasive surgery. As I always, I would remind you that I am not a Doctor and that you should always take proper, professional advice in these instances. There are few, if any, herbal answers to increasing breast size and Dr Vijh suggests that one should be very wary as the use of herbal treatments can increase the risk of hormonally-dependant cancers. It is suggested that the only one which may - and "may" is stressed - help are hops, which contain 8-prenylnaringenin, a phytoestrogen a weak plant oestrogen structurally similar to human oestrogen. Macrolane is an example of an injectable filler which may be used a temporary filler which is then metabolised by the body over a period of about 9 months. It is intended for those seeking small to moderate enlargement and for breast contouring and is not suitable for those with ptosis of the breast, pronounced skin laxity or if you are looking for substantial size increase. Cost is around £2,800 with "top ups" costing about £1,400 - so not a long term solution. It is vital to have this augmentation undertaken by a well qualified person as where the filler is placed is critical. The article also talks about lipofilling, which is using fat from another part of the body, such as the thigh or stomach area (abdomen). This proved controversial as their were probelms with fat necrosis ("dying"), oil cysts and calcification. Further, some treated areas could be mistaken for cancer during breast screening. Techniques have now improved but as only a limited amount of fat can be introduced at a time, the technique requires considerable commitment by the patient. Moving on from this, we now have the use of stem cells and techniques are being developed to use these in conjunction with the fat tissue to provide and more long term and self-sustaining solution. Finally and of great interest for modest breast enhancement is the use of "Brava" breast enhancement. This involves the use of two semi-rigid polyurethane domes, placed around the breast, attached by silicone gel bladders. Pressure is maintained by a battery-operated pump. This provides a modest increase in volume though you have to wear the device for 10 hours a day for 10 weeks. This results in swollen and oedematous breasts which then gradually reduce during the non-wear period. One should be aware, though that many are disappointed when the breasts revert to normal size and then feel that they need a more permanent augmentation. At the end of the day, the article concludes, the most promising field lies in fat grafting, with or without stem cells. That said, much of this work remains experimental and there is a need for longer term studies. For the full article and how to obtain more information, please go to: www.bodylanguage.net
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That Summer Sun! Sunscreens are vital as summer approaches. You need these to filter out harmful Ultraviolet radiation which damages the skin. There are three UV categories to consider: UVA, UVB and UVC. There are others, but we are not concerned with those, here. UVC we do not need to worry about as most of this is got rid of by the Earth's atmosphere - but you can get exposure to UVC from some pond sterilisation lighs, if they are not used properly. UVA was considered the least harmful though we now know that UVA affects the deeper layers of the skin and so indirectly damages DNA. UVB causes molecular lesions in the DNA (medically called "pyrimidine dimers" or translated - holes!) These holes are what we are worried about, because it is they that are the primary causes of skin cancer. Limited exposure to the Sun and so to UV light, specifically UVB, helps us to produce Vitamin D - but too much, irresponsible exposure, causes erythema (redness of the skin), supression of the immune system, premature ageing and of course, skin cancer - melanoma. Tanning is basically, the bodies defence mechanism against UV radiation. The amount of brown pigment, melanin, in the skin increases (hence the tan) and the purpose of the melanin is to absorb the UV radiation and get rid of it as heat. UVA gives a quick tan, by oxidizing melanin already there, UVB takes longer because it stimulates the body to make more melanin. By now, you should understand that if the body has a defence mechanism against something, it is probably not a good idea to encourage it. Do not be terrified of the Sun - a "bit of colour" is helpful, apart from making you look and feel good - just recognise that you have that colour because your body is defending itself and as you only get the one body (!) it is a good idea to take care of it and act responsibly. So, what can you do? Use sunscreen! That SPF you see indicates "Sun Protection Factor" really, it should be "Sunburn Protection Factor" - it is not actually that much of a scientific measurement, either, as it is based on using human volunteers to put the cream on and see how long it takes before they go red! (the erythema from UVB radiation). At present, it is the best we have, though. There is another very important issue. In order to acheive the suggested SPF - you have to slap on at least 2mg per square centimeter - which is quite thick, indeed, about TWICE as thick as most people would normally apply! In real terms, then a quick rub over will give you about one third protection of what the lable says. Of course, if you have a dip in the sea or the pool, even if the product says "waterproof" you can lose up to half of the efficiency of the sunscreen. So, if a product says "waterproof" read "will keep you going from when you come out of the pool, to having a quick rub off, to re-applying your sunscreen". UVA radiation causes about 20% of skin redness (erythema) and can cause darkening of the skin's melanin pigment. In 1991 Professor Diffey, at Newcastle University, helped produce the "Boots Star Protocol" (Yes, Boots the Chemist!) as a method of measuring UVA/ UVB protection and showing this as a star system. 1 is the lowest and 5, the highest protection. The best UVA protection is provided by products that contain zinc oxide, avobenzone, and ecamsule to name a few. Titanium dioxide probably gives good protection, but does not completely cover the entire UV-A spectrum, as recent research suggests that zinc oxide is superior to titanium dioxide at some wavelengths. Active ingredients have a combination of organic and inorganic filters. Inorganic filters reduce by refelecting or scattering UV rays and organic filters work by absorbing some of the radiation. Organic filters work by absorbing UV radiation. Zinc Oxide, however, is difficult to apply and unattractive in it's "raw" form. A way around including "difficult" products such as zinc oxide has been found in nanotechnology, that is, making things very small - but again, maufacturers have to be careful as with small molecules, these can be absorbed, perhaps, too readily by the skin. I sell a number of sun protection products on this site and these include: Sunceutic (Titanium Dioxide) SPF50, Zinclear (Zinc Oxide) SPF30, Heliocare Cream (Titanium Dioxide/ Z-Cote) SPF 50, SkinCeuticals (Titanium AND Zinc Dioxide) SPF30 and Theraderm (Zinc Oxide) SPF30+. If you have post-procedure (eg laser, etc) then the Skinceuticals or Zinclear or Heliocare are indicated. Tto help with dark spots - SunCeutic. The thing to remember is this. Whatever you buy, sun protection is not an exact science. The sun we have here, in the UK, is totally different to the sun in the Med - and much, much more different to the sun you will experience in, say, the Gulf States or in Africa. If it is your first time on, say, Safari think at least DOUBLE what you would use on a UK hot Summer's day. No matter what cream or lotion you use, you will not become immune to prolonged exposure to the sun. Don't forget the inside as well - plenty of water, for good hydration is a must. Be sensible. Be safe - cover up! 
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