How Do We Know What Truly Works—and What Doesn’t?

In this post, we’ll go into more detail on how you can determine the best cosmetic procedures for the face, best body contouring options, best anti-aging regimens, and so forth; these expert tips come straight from the CPS providers!

Injectables

Let’s start by looking at one of the best cosmetic procedures for the face available today, and that’s injectables. Statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) shows that the number of minimally invasive cosmetic procedures has increased by almost 200 percent just since the year 2000, which is a testament to the effectiveness of these procedures – they actually do get results.

Injectables, which include Botox and various fillers, offer subtle yet visible results, and they cost quite a bit less than plastic surgery. These treatments are performed quickly and with minimal downtime. Most importantly of all, they are completely safe, FDA-approved, and can help you safely soften wrinkles and reposition facial volume that can be lost with age.

Learn more about your injectable options here.

Laser Treatments

Another option that works well is laser therapy—something that’s been FDA-approved and is increasingly popular in plastic surgery practices across the country. Laser treatments like Sciton’s Halo Laser or TRL Laser have been proven highly effective in minimizing or removing some of the signs of age, including wrinkles, fine lines, age spots, and skin texture issues. What’s more, these laser treatments are noninvasive; many clients are able to immediately go back to work after having laser therapy performed!

The bottom line: according to our plastic surgeons, laser treatments really work—and provide one of the best ways to turn back the clock on your skin.

Learn more about your laser skin care options here.

Body Contouring

Something else that works is non-surgical body contouring. As you seek the best procedures to shape your silhouette, this is definitely a category to consider.

For example, Coolsculpting is something that’s gaining in popularity and offers more applications all the time—meaning more areas can be treated, like the chin and the arms. Coolsculpting treatments are quick and painless, and they come with basically no downtime.

Schedule your free CoolSculpting assessment here.

Profound

There’s also Profound, a new treatment showing 100 percent response rate. Profound improves aging facial skin, including the removal of jowls, and also treats cellulite. This is another one of the best skin tightening procedures and something a lot of our clients have found to be invaluable.

Watch a real Profound RF treatment

What DOESN’T Work – Lip Plumping Serums & Devices

Now that we’ve covered a few of the best skin cosmetic procedures, let’s look at a few things that don’t work quite so well.

We’ll start with a category of products that gets a lot of buzz these days—lip-plumping serums & devices. Celebrities like the Kardashians have touted these products, but according to our providers, they don’t really work at all. In fact, lip-plumping serums are essentially just irritants, and lip-plumping devices just cause temporary swelling, so any plumping effect they have will last for just a few hours. In our opinion, they’re not worth the investment.

Ineffective At-Home Microneedling Devices

Another consideration is the rise in popularity of home microneedling devices—which sadly, don’t work nearly as well as many would like to believe.

Home microneedling is most commonly performed with manual dermarollers or devices that do not penetrate the skin deep enough to treat acne scars, wrinkles, and other skin damage—which means, in short, that they simply can’t offer real results.

Fortunately, there are some powerful alternatives available here at CPS. Microneedling, as well as collagen induction therapy (CIT), involve the use of small needles to pierce the skin in a controlled, precise pattern. This is one of the best cosmetic procedures for the face. The device tightens, lifts, and rejuvenates the skin. It’s effective in reducing fine lines and wrinkles, stretch marks, pore size, and surgical and acne scars. What’s more, there are some effective ways to augment these treatments, either with vitamin injections or with PRP—making them even more effective at rehabilitating the skin.

Watch a real Microneedling treatment

Additional Guidelines for Determining What Works

There’s our quick rundown of some of the best cosmetic procedures—as well as some options that don’t work as well as advertised.

We’ll close by offering just a few quick, general words of advice. The first is to beware of celebrity endorsements. We all see the Instagram posts from our favorite social media influencer telling us about the amazing results they had from particular products. What many social media users don’t realize is that the post is a paid advertisement to endorse a specific product or treatment. No matter what is being promoted or discussed, we always recommend patients do their research prior to making sure it’s safe and effective before spending their money.

Something else that’s important to note is that a procedure might work well for someone else but that doesn’t mean it’s the most sensible solution for your needs. To get a more personalized recommendation, it’s best to spend some time chatting with one of our providers. We’ll listen to what you’re hoping to achieve, then recommend the best way of making it happen.

More than anything else, we’d simply urge our patients to take the time to do their research. Not every product and procedure you see championed on social media is worth your time and investment, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t legitimate options out there! You simply have to do some due diligence to ensure you choose from the best skin tightening procedures.

We’d love to help you make a guided and informed choice. To learn more about some solutions that really do work, reach out to CPS at your next convenience.