Inspector Gadget of the Week! LightStim – LED Light Therapy for Anti-aging, Acne and Rosacea.

May 11, 2011

 

WrSideCord
LIGHTSTIM – LED LIGHT THERAPY LIGHT FOR WRINKLES & ACNE

 

Not everyone can afford to go for high end cutting edge laser treatments to deal with wrinkles, acne, enlarged pores, rosacea, sun damage, etc…  So the question is, is it worth it to invest in one of the latest, cutting edge HOME systems to attempt to fight the battle of persistent skin issues on the home front?  And, does a $300 investment assure that these products will do the trick? Well, let's find out!  I'm testing out a bunch of these systems for you guys, and while it's tricky to ascertain results in the short period of time that I've been using them ( results claim to appear after several weeks and I'm on week 3) I wanted to start tracking my progress now for you.

I was very intrigued by LIGHSTIM, as many facials now incorporate LED light into them.  Here's how it claims to work in the simplest form for easy digestion! ( Links to more scientific data here).

LED :: LED stands for Light Emitting Diode. Diodes give off energy in the form of light. These little diodes are compact, durable, powerful, bright, efficient, and when used in combination with LightStim’s patent pending engineering, produce rejuvenating effects on the skin.

Light Therapy is the use of specific types of light which give off energy that stimulates your cells, thereby increasing the production of collagen and elastin. In turn, this makes your skin firmer, less wrinkled, and younger looking. This is known as LED Light Therapy.

THOUGHTS :: I've been using the red bulbed LightStim (anti-aging, obviously) for a few minutes every day – it says go for THREE minutes in each spot on the face you want to treat for FIVE days a week.   Since it needs to be plugged in (the LED takes too much power for a battery), I am doing it at my desk, often with one hand, while reading email or attempting to type. This is probably not the best way to do it as I can't really hold it in place. I wish I didn't have to plug it in so I could do it while watching TV.  Only thing is, I never watch TV. So, I suppose desk time is best after all.  The light is extremely bright (it comes with tiny goggles if you're so inclined – me – too lazy) but if you press it against your skin tight enough, it won't blind you. Kidding. It's just very strong. Which is what you want.  You don't feel anything, it doesn't even warm up.  It's easy to use – you don't need to prep with any creams, gels, etc.  It's just about finding the right spot on your face and having the patience to hold it still(ish) for three minutes.  Being of the ADD crew, I just want to MOVE IT AROUND, like a Quigi board mouse, before the time is up.  I have no idea why.  It's simple to do on the cheeks, as they are nice and chusion-y and the handle just sort of finds it's place there. A bit more challenging on the forehead where I feel bony and the light does emit into the room as it's not totally covered by skin.  You ARE supposed to close the eye that's closest to the light, btw, when you use it on your cheeks.  

So far, after only three weeks, it's hard to say what's happening.  This is probably because I am not doing it religiously, which I always think is something to take note of.  You want something that is east to commit to.  And while this device is super easy, painless and even fun, it might just be that I'm too busy to really focus!  I do know that my skin is looking quite good and hydrated. My fine lines have been diminishing as of late and I am more than certain that my recent Ultherapy had a quantitative effect – my collagen is continuing to rebuild at the moment.

IS IT WORTH IT? :: If you are in the market for something, ANYTHING that you can do at home that can possibly be beneficial for anti-aging and skin management, I say invest in a LightStim and the NuFace Toning System (more on that tomorrow). It's a bit of an investment, but these both were recommended to me by top aestheticians who use them in their practice. And I have to think, if they are going to bother putting their names on the line, then it has to be worth something.  I do think a big part of it, is diligence and dedication.  There is data to prove these devices take effect – so if you have the cash for this but not the thousands to do a more intensive doctor assisted treatment, I say go fo it.  Heck, if you think it's crap, sell it on Craigslist! 

DATA :: Read this articles for REAL data.

 The Anti-Aging Light may help to: (source)

* Smooth and diminish fine lines and wrinkles
* Reduce pore size
* Increase the skin’s moisture retention & elasticity
* Improve sun-damaged skin
* Firm and tone aged or tired skin
* Smooth the texture of the skin
* Balance uneven skin tone
* Restore skin’s youthful radiance and appearance
* Lighten age spots, sunspots and discoloration
* Soften rough dry skin
* Tighten sunken or saggy cheeks
* Decrease puffiness around eyes

 

LightStim can be bought HERE. 

Here are the three for purchase:

Anti-Aging Light Acne Light
Our Price: $349.00 
Sale Price: $329.00 
You Save $20.00
Our Price: $349.00 
Sale Price: $329.00 
You Save $20.00
Postpone the skin's aging process indefinitely! Acne- a Thing of the Past!
Rosacea Light
Our Price: $349.00 
Sale Price: $329.00 
You Save $20.00
Developed Specifically For Rosacea!

The Lights

The Anti Aging Light

Anti-Aging Light

Helps to diminish fine lines and wrinkles, firm and tone your skin and restore your skin's youthful radiance and appearance.

The Acne Light

Acne Light

If you have teen or adult acne and are looking to kill the acne causing bacteria, reduce inflammation and rejuvenate your skin using blue light acne therapy.

The Rosacea Light

Rosacea Light

If you have been plagued by small bumps, blemishes and redness from Rosacea, this is what you’ve been looking for!

The Professional Anti-Aging Light

Professional Anti-Aging Light

For skin-care professionals and doctors we offer the Professional 2-panel Anti-Aging Light for LED Light Therapy.

The Professional Combo Light

Professional Combo Light

For skin-care professionals and doctors interested in treating clients for esthetics and dermatological services.

The Professional Acne Light

Professional Acne Light

For skin-care professionals and dermatologists who treat clients with acne, we offer the Professional 2-panel Acne Light

LightStim cross section of LED Light Therapy

How the Acne Light Works

LED blue light therapy helps to kill the acne causing bacteria, reduce inflammation and provide a general rejuvenation effect on the skin.

Acne begins when the pores become clogged or blocked and bacteria starts to grow, resulting in whiteheads and blackheads. The whitehead or blackhead releases its contents onto the surface of the skin and either heals or, it can rupture and inflammatory acne can take place.

How the Acne Skincare Light Works

The combination of blue, red and infrared lights in the LightStim Acne Light get down to the core of the acne causing bacteria. The red lights help to reduce inflammation while at the same time, the blue lights help to kill the acne causing bacteria.

LightStim's technology was developed by a doctor and a scientist. We at LightStim care about health and beautiful skin. Feel free to call or email us with any questions you might have.

Click here for a more detailed and technical explanation

Click here for external references on LED Light Therapy

 

 

Tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” today – May 10 – for scoop on the dangerous, underground world of – EGAD! – BAD BOTOX!!

May 10, 2011

Botox is everywhere and it’s easy to get lured by the attractive pricing, but how safe is cheap Botox and who is administering it?  
 
“The Dr. Oz Show” takes an in-depth look at the dangerous underground world of Botox in a hidden camera investigation.  The show is a revealing look at how willing people are to allow a complete stranger to inject an unknown toxin into their faces.  According to Dr. Oz, the average price for a Botox treatment is $398, so if you see something advertised for $100, you should be weary.  Discounted Botox treatments usually mean that it isn’t Botox or the person administering it isn’t a trained professional.  
 
To see more of the investigation and find out what questions you need to ask before you choose Botox, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show,” tomorrow, Tuesday, May 10th.  Check local listings for time & channel information.

Considering Liposuction to rid you of stubborn fat forever?? Read on. New studies prove you can’t fool mother nature…


After Liposuction, the Fat Returns — Just in a Different Place

http://healthland.time.com/2011/05/04/after-liposuction-the-fat-returns-%E2%80%94-just-in-a-different-place/ 


TIME – Amie Ninh <http://news.google.com/news/search?

pz=1&amp;cf=all&amp;ned=us&amp;hl=en&amp;q=author:%22Amie+Ninh%22&amp;scoring=n>

‎May 4, 2011‎


The flab-busting procedure is now the most popular plastic surgery in the US, with surgeons siphoning fat from the love handles and saddlebags of nearly half a million patients each year. But a new study finds a downside: fat, easily sucked away, …


Liposuction May Lead Fat Deposition in Other Parts of Body

http://topnews.us/content/239558-liposuction-may-lead-fat-deposition-other-parts-body  

TopNews United States


Opposing Views  http://www.opposingviews.com/i/after-liposuction-can-fat-return-to-treated-areas 


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/weekinreview/01kolata.html


With Liposuction, the Belly Finds What the Thighs Lose


By GINA KOLATA


THE woman’s hips bulged in unsightly saddlebags. Then she had liposuction <http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/surgery/liposuction/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier>  and, presto, those saddlebags disappeared.


Photo after photo on plastic surgery websites

 http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/plasticsurgery/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier

make liposuction look easy, its results transformative. It has become the most popular plastic surgery, with more than 450,000 operations a year, each costing a few thousand dollars.

But does the fat come back? And if it does, where does it show up?

Until now, no one knew for sure. But a new study 

 <http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/ncurrent/pdf/oby201164a.pd

led by Drs. Teri L. Hernandez and Robert H. Eckel of the University of Colorado, has answered those questions. And what he found is not good news. 

In the study, the researchers randomly assigned nonobese women to have liposuction on their protuberant thighs and lower abdomen or to refrain from having the procedure, serving as controls. As compensation, the women who were control subjects were told that when the study was over, after they learned the results, they could get liposuction if they still wanted it. For them, the price would also be reduced from the going rate.
The result, published in the latest issue of Obesity

http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/symptoms/morbid-obesity/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier>

was that fat came back after it was suctioned out. It took a year, but it all returned. But it did not reappear in the women’s thighs. Instead, Dr. Eckel said, “it was redistributed upstairs,” mostly in the upper abdomen, but also around the shoulders and triceps of the arms. 

Dr. Felmont Eaves III, a plastic surgeon in Charlotte, N.C., and president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery <http://www.surgery.org/>, said the study was “very well done,” and the results were surprising. He said he would mention it to his patients in the context of other information on liposuction.


The finding raises questions about plastic surgery. Liposuction has been around since 1974 and is heavily advertised. Why did it take so long for anyone to do this study?


Maybe it’s because such a study is very difficult, said Dr. Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Washington University School of Medicine. It takes a team of researchers, and money. Fat must be measured precisely, with scans.


And surgery, said Jonathan Moreno, an ethicist at the University of Pennsylvania who has studied the field, is not like other areas of medicine.


“A lot of it has to do with the culture of surgery, which is literally hands-on,” he said. Surgeons, he added, often feel a deep connection to their patients that makes it difficult for them to agree to clinical trials that involve randomizing patients.


Another problem, Dr. Moreno said, is that different surgeons have different skills and different techniques. Surgery is not like taking a drug, where one pill is just like every other.
So instead of doing rigorous studies, surgeons tend to innovate, inventing their own procedures and publishing anecdotes about patients, a practice that can be misleading.


But in this case, the outcome did not depend on the surgeon. It depended on the biology of fat. And obesity researchers say they are not surprised that the women’s fat came back. The body, they say “defends” its fat. If you lose weight, even by dieting, it comes back. And, the study showed, if you suck out the fat with liposuction, even if it’s only a pound, as it was for subjects in the study, it still comes back.


“It’s another chapter in the ‘You can’t fool Mother Nature’ story,’ ” said Dr. Rudolph Leibel, an obesity researcher at Columbia University.


Some researchers have their own anecdotes. Dr. George Bray, a professor of medicine at Louisiana State University, once saw a young woman who was so distraught by her protruding abdomen that she had an operation to slice off some of her abdominal fat.


“Her lower abdomen was considerably thinner,” Dr. Bray said. “But the areas above it picked up the extra fat.”


Then there are the studies with laboratory rodents that had fat surgically removed. The fat always came back. And, like the women in the new study, the rodents got their fat back in places other than the place where it was removed, Dr. Klein reported. They grow new fat cells to replace the ones that were lost.


The same thing happened to the women who had liposuction. It turns out, Dr. Leibel said, that the body controls the number of its fat cells as carefully as it controls the amount of its fat. Fat cells die and new ones are born throughout life. Scientists have found that fat cells live for only about seven years and that every time a fat cell dies, another is formed to take its place.

But why wouldn’t the women grow new fat cells in their thighs? The answer, Dr. Klein said, may be that liposuction violently destroys the fishnet structure under the skin where fat cells live.


Nonetheless, the women in the study who had liposuction were happy, Dr. Eckel said. They had hated their hips and thighs and just wanted that fat gone.


As for the women in the control group, when the study ended and they knew the results, more than half still chose to have liposuction.

 

Pasty winter legs? Shorts not an option? Then, get some glow! SHINE BRONZER by CARLENE.

 

 

Home-bronzer

 

Summer weather is just around the corner and I am dying to slide into my new J Brand short shorts. But after a winter’s hibernation, my gams are not looking their fabulous golden tan self. Luckily I’ve found just the thing to give my skin that sexy summer glow, Shine Bronzer by Carlene K. Cosmetics.

Shine Bronzer, incredibly light and moisturizing, contains vitamins A, C, and E as well as anti-aging and firming ingredients. Plus, unlike a “fake tanner”, the Shine Bronzer dries quickly without streaking and gently washes off with warm water. That’s right, simple, easy, instant summer tan! Perfect for a quick application after a work out at the gym, or when making that last minute fashion change into perfect little backless cocktail dress.

And best of all, my skin looks amazing! The Shine Bronzer has given my tan a polished, even look that shimmers. Love it! Created by celebrated makeup artist Carlene K. while working with the Pussycat dolls, it is clear why celebrities like Kristin Cavallari and Nicole Scherzinger are adding this Shine Bronzer to their runway look.

Summer weather, bring it!

xx

Tara

Shine Bronzer by Carlene K. Cosmetics 

Comes in three shades $29 USD:

Golden Goddess (light shade)
Bombshell Bronze (medium shade)
Cocoa Queen (dark shade)

Check their website for more information: http://www.carlenekcosmetics.com/store/index.html