Dry skin is not only uncomfortable to the touch, but it can also negatively affect your appearance by rendering a rough complexion even after makeup is applied. Dry skin can be caused by weather changes, harsh soaps and sun damage among many other things. We’ve all experienced this inevitable annoyance, and sometimes it’s not as easily fixed with moisturizers. However, there’s many other natural remedies you can practice to correct cracked skin.

Olive Oil Cleanser
Olive oil is an ideal natural oil to implement into your beauty routine when you begin facing dryness. Gently rub the oil into your skin and place a warm cloth over your face afterwards until it cools off. This alternative method leaves your skin hydrated without wiping your skin of its natural oils.

Avocado and Honey Face Mask
This all-natural home remedy calls for just two ingredients: avocado and honey.  Both of these staples are particularly moisturizing and are packed with essential nutrients that will help to sooth your parched skin when applied topically.

Humidify Your Room
This simple adjustment can make the world of difference. Humidifiers release large amounts of water into the air that your skin can absorb while you sleep. Weather conditions can easily suck your skin of all its natural moister, so make the plans to restore your complexion through this must-have bedside accessory. 

Bye, Bye, Washcloth
This may seem like a crazy gesture considering you use your washcloth daily to cleanse your face, but it’s fact of the matter is it’s just too abrasive for your skin. Even if you don’t use a towel to scrub your face, avoid using one to just dry. Instead try using your hands or gentle cleansing brush to lather your face wash, and a soft cotton cloth to pat dry your face dry.

When all else fails, you can find your moisturizing mantra here at The SHAW Center where we offer a variety of different skincare lines with highly effective ingredients that produce incredible results.  


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In days not too long ago, many people regarded cosmetic surgery as an expensive exercise in vanity. Now, in an age when people are living longer than ever before, and remaining in the work force longer, the question of vanity goes out the window. Consider this: for the first time in history, women are living long past their child-bearing years. Not only that, they are expecting to have happy, vibrant lives. No longer relegated to being only grandma, and waiting to die, woman feel it is their right to be as attractive as they can be, well into their 60’s and 70’s. If that involves cosmetic surgery, well then, they are worth it. 
The attitude regarding “surgery vs. vanity” has changed drastically for men, as well.  More men are availing themselves of a variety of procedures as a way to boost the odds of getting and keeping good jobs. With competition for jobs increasing for both sexes, the issue goes far beyond vanity – it’s become an economic necessity.
Sometimes the decision regarding the “worth” of surgery, or of “surgery vs. vanity,” is easier to make if you equate the care and maintenance of your appearance to the maintenance of a piece of property. What would you think of the owners of property who allow it to become ramshackle? The doors and windows are sagging, the stairs are chipped, the whole place looks neglected and out-of-date? You wouldn’t think much of them. Why would you give your own appearance any less attention than a piece of property? You wouldn’t. You shouldn’t. You don’t have to.
One of the more popular, least invasive, appearance enhancing procedures done at the SHAW Center is the SmartLipo Necklift. For both sexes, the first sign of aging is a “double chin”. Fat accumulates around the neck and jaw, pulling down the entire face. 
According to Dr. Shaw, “SmartLipo actually has the ability to tighten the skin by heating the dermis from the underside and causing contraction.” Dramatic results can be obtained in one procedure, erasing years off the faces of happy men and women. 
Don’t let doubts, uncertainties and too much worry about the opinions of others hinder your decision to update your look. There are so many new procedures available to improve your appearance. Dr. Lawrence Shaw and the SHAW Center invite you to call us for a consultation.
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Periorbital lines around the eyes have been called laugh lines or worse – crow’s feet. But the fact is they are still just unsightly crinkles and creasing around the eyes alluding to your true age.
If you prefer to keep your age a secret, consider treatments to rid the skin around your eyes of crow’s feet. The SHAW Center offers many wonderful treatments to disguise, reduce or altogether eliminate crow’s feet.
If you are noticing the beginning stages of crow’s feet, try a chemical peel or microdermabrasion procedure to remove the outermost layers of skin, resulting in a softer, smoother appearance. The use of a topical retinol cream after the procedure can help accentuate the results.
Dermal fillers such as Juvaderm, Restylane/Perlane and Radiesse and others offered at the SHAW Center are non-surgical injectable agents that can effectively treat facial lines and wrinkles. The fillers offered at the SHAW Center contain all natural substances such as hyaluronic acid and/or calcium hydroxylapatite. Dermal fillers promise a smoother, more youthful appearance of the skin.
Light/RF treatments can also solve your crow’s feet woes. The SHAW Center uses we the latest light technologies from Lumenis, Syneron and Alma to eliminate wrinkles via skin tightening procedures ranging from in-office light laser procedures to surgical laser systems for more dramatic results.
The SHAW Center offers the following laser procedures: Intense Pulse Light Laser (IPL), ReFirme and Alma 360.
Procedures to eliminate crow’s feet can also be used to correct laugh lines around your mouth, worry lines on your forehead and other age-revealing facial creases.
As always, if you are considering any procedure, seek out professional experts such as the ones at The SHAW Center who are available to meet with your for an in-depth consultation designed to discover your age-defying needs.
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So you’ve had a little lift, a nip here or a tuck there – does it have to become public knowledge?
The choice is yours
Choosing to have cosmetic surgery is certainly nothing to be ashamed of, especially as popular as it is today. However, even if you decide to have a minor augmentation such as Botox or something more apparent like breast enhancement or liposuction, don’t feel obligated to share the news. After all, it’s really no body’s business but your own, right?
Be selective about who you tell
If you decide to share your news, be choosy about who you tell. You don’t have to announce it to everyone in your neighborhood coffee house, but it’s probably smart to discuss the decision beforehand with your spouse or partner and your parents. And your best friends who will probably want to know why you look so much more amazing as of late.
If you are undergoing a major augmentation that will require some downtime, you may need to inform your boss in case you need to take some time off of work. However, just because you tell your boss does not mean your facelift has to become the topic of water cooler gossip. If you choose to be discreet about your cosmetic surgery, ensure that the people you do tell (including your boss) will use the same discretion.
Be prepared
You don’t have to tell anyone if you don’t want to. However, you may want to be prepared with a response if a close friend or family member asks if you have had something done. You can choose to be honest, coy or share the most intimate details. Once again, the choice is yours. If you’ve decided to enhance your look with cosmetic surgery, be proud of your new look.
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BEFORE
AFTER
 Many women are unhappy with their appearance due to what they deem a “double chin” due to excess fat around the jaw and neck. Others are unhappy with loose skin in that same area (the “wattle” as many refer to it thanks to Richard Fish’s obsession with it on the now-defunct “dramedy” Ally McBeal).
With just one procedure, the SmartLipo Necklift at The SHAW Center, women can say goodbye to unwanted neck fat and loose skin, regain confidence and smile back at the reflections in their mirrors.
The SmartLipo Necklift can take years on a woman’s appearance by eliminating excess fat as well as tightening the skin in one simple procedure.
The procedure does not actually suction fat; however. The SmartLipo device used at The SHAW Center has two laser wavelengths – one that melts fat via laser and the other for tightening loose skin.
According to Dr. Shaw, “SmartLipo actually has the ability to tighten the skin by heating the dermis from the underside and causing contraction.”
Oftentimes just one procedure can give women the appearance of women 10 years younger with minimal downtime and scarring.
In fact, SmartLipo is recommended due to its minimal scarring. The procedure can be completed though a tiny one-millimeter-wide incision. For dramatic results, the procedure can be combined with liposuction.
The SmartLipo Necklift is the ideal option for women that are not in need of an entire facelift, but want to do some subtle contouring to help them look younger and feel better about their appearance. The SmartLipo Necklift can also be combined with other facial sculpting procedures for enhanced results and a more youthful look overall.
As always, schedule an appointment at the SHAW Center to discuss your interest, questions and concerns with Dr. Shaw regarding the SmartLipo Necklift and/or any other procedure.
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If your goal in getting a facial is just to be pampered, chances are good that you’ll find what you’re looking for. there’s really no downside. People who have had facials often report feeling relaxed after the treatment has finished.

For others, a facial is primarily a way to improve the look of their skin. The body’s natural processes can dull facial skin. Your skin constantly sloughs off dead cells. These cells can clog pores and give the skin an aged look. Daily exposure to the sun and other elements also take a toll on the skin [source: Angier].

Facials are believed by many to fix these common skin problems. Exfoliation, with astringents, masks or peels, can reach deep into the skin’s upper layer to strip away dead skin cells and reveal newer cells underneath. Treatments such as oxygen facials are said to help boost growth of new skin cells and soften the skin to eliminate lines, at least temporarily. Other procedures included in facials use electric microcurrents to stimulate facial muscles and — again, temporarily — give the skin a firmer, tighter look [source: Saint Louis].

Of course, a facial isn’t a magic cure, and you have to be willing to take proper care of yourself to look and feel healthy. Even the world’s greatest facial won’t do much good if you chow down each day on greasy foods and consider channel surfing the ultimate in daily exercise. Still, many people who get facials find benefits. Skin often looks and feels better after a treatment, even if the improvement is temporary.

In addition to the potential benefits, a facial, like most other treatments, isn’t without risks. For example, you might have an allergic reaction to some of the products being used or find that they increase breakouts on your skin. There’s also the chance that an accident will occur, such as getting burned by a dripping steamer or getting sick from equipment that wasn’t properly sanitized. You might not be able to avoid all risks, but doing your research and speaking with the spa or salon staff beforehand is always a good idea.

You now know what a facial is, and you know what to expect. So how much will the whole thing set you back? That’s up next.

Read More Here  http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/beauty/skin-treatments/facials3.htm

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Every year, millions of patients visit the dermatologist office complaining of skin problems including fine lines and wrinkles, persistent red complexion, sun spots, acne scars, large pores and other blemishes. Various treatments, including microdermabrasion, chemical peels and laser resurfacing have been used to improve these conditions. Intense pulsed light is a new, non-ablative technique to treat the above described conditions and is also called photorejuvenation.

How does IPL (Fotofacial) work?

The IPL hand piece delivers high intensity pulses of broadband light that is different from the narrow band light of lasers. IPL, which stands for intensed pulsed light, is non-ablative meaning that is does not damage the surface of the skin. The intense light is delivered to the deeper parts of the skin (dermis) and leaves the superficial aspect of the skin (epidermis) untouched. There are different versions of IPL available on the market that target different structures in the skin. The PhotoDerm VL targets vascular lesions such as spider veins and vascular birthmarks. The PhotoDerm PL targets pigmented lesions such as melasma and age spots. The PhotoDerm HR and Epilight target hair. The thermal effect of IPL also causes production of new collagen, leading to improvement in wrinkles.

What are IPL’s advantages?

As discussed above, IPL does not damage the skin surface, unlike dermabrasion and laser resurfacing. Therefore, there is virtually no recovery time.” Treatments take approximately 30-45 minutes. Patients can apply makeup before leaving the office and return to work the same day. There is also minimal pain with IPL, unlike laser or radiofrequency resurfacing which both require topical anesthetic. Also, with IPL, a larger area can be treated at one time than with laser treatment.

What are IPL’s disadvantages?

Given that there is little damage to the skin surface, several treatments may be required to see the desired effect. For best results, approximately 4-6 treatments, spaced 3 weeks apart, are needed. Side effects can include transient redness and increased or decreased pigment in the treated area. Minimizing sun exposure can reduce these side effects.
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