Time to strip

Time to strip

Years, that is. Reveal that face beneath the sagging and crinkling

Ready to strip down? Maybe it’s time to get revealing…with your face. You can shed some serious years by stripping away the layers of time and exposure.

You look good. But think of how great you look after a week-long retreat to Kauai, where the beach, tropical breezes, and a lomi-lomi massage and mai tai or two get your glow going. Of course, you can always achieve that glow right here, in downtown Vancouver, over your lunch hour. Really.

Whether you’re in your 20s or pushing 50 and beyond, you’re probably feeling the ravages of time. It’s natural and inevitable—fun and sun take a toll. Skin gets thinner, less resilient and produces less elastin, collagen and hyaluronic acid—and that means less volume and lift in the face. It’s the three Ds of aging: deterioration (wrinkly and crinkly), descent (droopy and saggy) and deflation (hollowness). So how to combat the onslaught? Get a little lift—a refresher that’s still you, just better (we’re not talking The Hills’ Heidi Montag or Joan Rivers here).

At Pender Medi Spa you can get that remarkably refreshed look with a non-surgical facelift. No cutting, no pain, no recovery. The simple treatment is performed in the swank spa with state-of-the-art technology in under an hour by a certified medical doctor—one who teaches other MDs how to perform the same procedures. Dr. Ralph Bieg, a North Vancouver GP and recognized trainer at the Physician Training Centre, has been providing patients with therapeutic and cosmetic fixes for a decade—everything from a 26-year-old new mom having her cheeks boosted (weight-loss post-baby can result in loss of volume in the face) to a 60-something woman getting overall smoothing and plumping with the same filler and Botox (and looking like she just had the best holiday).

Of course, it’s not all about vanity. There’s a holistic approach here; if you feel good about yourself everything else seems to fall into place. And that might come from a mini cheek lift or just a facial. You can enhance yourself inside and out, and whatever your budget (non-surgical facelifts start from $1,500).

One of the most effective tools Dr. Bieg uses is the dermal filler, traditionally used to diminish the nasolabial folds (a.k.a. marionette lines or the grooves running from the nose to the corners of the mouth). But now these safe biodegradable products (made of hyaluronic acid, a naturally occurring sugar in the body; brandnames include Juvéderm and Restylane) literally fill-in falling faces—plumping lips, tightening the jaw, regaining cheek volume and softening lines (all reversible).

Gravity’s a bitch, but you can reclaim the contours of your face and smack that bitch back. And there’s virtually no bruising involved. These fillers even stimulate your own body’s natural production of collagen. That means your hour-long visit to Pender Medi Spa will last a lot longer than that week in Kauai. Think 18 months or more. The fillers also come pre-mixed with a painkiller (and all injections are performed by Dr. Bieg himself). So there’s no pain but major gain. Because, really, we could all use a little lift.

For a free consultation at Pender Medi Spa, call 604-929-3299 or go to pendermedispa.com for more info and to see inspiring before-and-after photos.

Although Pender Medi Spa is seeing plenty of young women—and men (gravity doesn’t play favourites)—come in to free fresh faces from under gravity’s thumb with a non-surgical facelift, there are other effective treatments available. There’s laser scar and vein reduction, glycolic chemical peels and microdermabrasion—an eye-opening treatment that uncovers the true age of your skin.

[To be continued…]

Before and after photos

Words | Barb Sligl

Photos | Ron Sombilon