Beauty last minute

A phone call on Wednesday afternoon: “Doctor, I fly out on Friday. Can anything be done quickly?”

It can. You just have to know what will realistically manage to work in two days, what needs two weeks, and what cannot be hurried at all.

Last-minute offers are sometimes too good to miss — so in summer I get plenty of calls like this. Below is a crib sheet: what I propose to patients depending on how much time is left before departure.

As much time as you have — that is as much as you can do

• A day or two — A lunchtime treatment — exfoliation, oxygenation, immediate glow.
• A few days — A non-ablative laser or thermolifting — improved density and firmness of the skin.
• About 2 weeks — Botulinum toxin, hyaluronic acid fillers.
• Months — Treatments in a series — here the effect is built by repetition.

A series of treatments and an unhurried recovery are a luxury few can afford. My dream as a doctor is to plan a patient's calendar so that she never has to rush anywhere. But reality is sometimes different — and that is fine, because there are solutions for it.

Lunchtime treatments: you walk out of the clinic and look great straight away

That is what we call treatments that give an immediate effect and after which the skin needs no time for healing or regeneration. They do not change how you look — they emphasise what you have, hide flaws and nourish the skin intensively.

The classic of this category is a treatment inspired by hot springs: 3-in-1 skin revitalisation GeneO® for the face, neck and décolletage.

It works in three steps at once — it gently exfoliates the epidermis, oxygenates the skin and helps it take in the active ingredients from the preparations used during the treatment.

How it looks in practice. First I apply a special gel from a capsule to the skin of the face, neck and décolletage. Then I massage the skin with a head holding the capsule, which creates thousands of bubbles rich in CO₂. The bubbles burst on the surface of the skin and trigger the Bohr effect — the body sends oxygen-rich blood to those places. Circulation in the capillaries increases and the skin cells get a signal to renew themselves.

At the same time the microgranules released from the capsule exfoliate the horny layer of the epidermis, which speeds up the absorption of the active substances from the gel.

The gel is matched to the needs of the skin — one variant nourishes and lightens pigmentation, the other is an anti-wrinkle treatment improving density and firmness.

The effect is visible almost immediately: the skin looks as radiant as if you had just come back from a holiday rather than only started packing for one. In sensitive skin a momentary redness of the epidermis may appear — it passes on its own.

A few days left? We go deeper

If the trip is in a few days and the skin could do with improved density and elasticity, I propose a treatment with a non-ablative Nd:YAG laser in Q-Switch mode.

Non-ablative means: it does not breach the epidermis. So there are no scabs, no peeling and no hiding from people. Even so the laser remodels the skin — the cells get an impulse to regenerate and increase the production of collagen and elastin.

The treatment takes an hour and is practically painless. After a few days the skin is noticeably firmer and more elastic.

One caveat, which I always mention: the best results come after 3–4 treatments. One treatment before a trip will help, but the full potential of this method is only seen in a series. That is why it is worth planning appointments in advance — then you look good all the time and can afford a completely spontaneous trip.

And wrinkles? Here the advertising lies a little

Advertising promises that the right cream is enough to make your skin years younger in a few days. The truth is different — but in the clinic more can be done than a cosmetic promises.

Infrared thermolifting

Unlike a classic lift it is non-invasive — instead of a scalpel it uses infrared IR radiation of a selected wavelength (750–1800 nm).

After the treatment the skin is denser, tightened and firmer. Its structure improves and fine wrinkles smooth out — this is visible while the treatment is still going on.

The effect comes from the rebuilding of the skin's scaffolding and arises in two ways:

1. Immediately — through the thermal contraction of the collagen fibres already present in the skin.
2. In the long term — through the formation of new collagen fibres, which happens from 1 to 6 months after the treatment.

So: you will see something straight away, and the rest keeps working for you for another six months.

Botulinum toxin

If about two weeks are left before the trip, an excellent solution for mimic wrinkles is an injection of botulinum toxin (Botox).

Mimic wrinkles appear even in very young people, around the age of 25. They arise from excessive muscle activity in particular areas of the face: on the forehead, between the eyebrows and around the eyelids, the so-called crow's feet.

The mechanism is simple. A muscle contracts when it gets a signal from a nerve fibre. Repeated micro-contractions carve furrows into the skin that add years. By injecting selected muscles with botulinum toxin we stop those micro-contractions — and the skin smooths out.

The face looks best two weeks after the injection. That is exactly the moment to board a plane. In the photos from the first day of the holiday you then see a rested person — before she has even had time to rest.

Fillers — also with time to spare

Filling wrinkles with hyaluronic acid with a needle or a microcannula makes it possible to fill furrows and wrinkles precisely, add volume to selected areas of the face (the cheeks, for instance), correct the contour or fill the lips.

The results are natural and discreet — the preparation melts into the tissue and remains unnoticeable from the outside.

The result is visible practically straight away, but the final effect settles after two weeks. That is why the treatment is worth having at least 2 weeks before the trip.

The moral nobody wants to hear

A lot can be done at the last minute. But the patients who look best are the ones who look after their skin all year round — because then there is nothing to catch up on before a trip, it is enough to add some glow.

So if you have a holiday planned, treat it as a pretext. Not for one treatment, but for starting.

This article was prepared by Joanna Kuschill-Dziurda MD PhD — specialist in allergology and internal medicine, physician in aesthetic medicine.