Category Archives: Microcurrent

Functional Medicine, Energy Medicine and TCM: A Powerful Integration

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By Darren Starwynn, OMD, LAc and Deborah Weiss, LAc, RN

If trendsetters are people who introduce large numbers of people to new, cutting-edge experiences then acupuncturists deserve that term. Although the roots of Chinese Medicine are ancient, its growing acceptance as a viable alternative to the limitations of modern medicine constitutes a new trend.
If you study the history of Chinese Medicine you will see that there have been many trendsetters throughout the various dynasty periods of China that introduced new methods of acupuncture. Many of these were eventually assimilated and would now be considered part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

This process of innovation has continued to this day. We would like to introduce you to some of the most exciting and powerful trends in our profession. One of them is the increasing use of functional medicine as an adjunct to acupuncture practice. The other is the integration of functional medicine and acupuncture with vibrational (energy) medicine.

What is Functional Medicine? How is it a derivative of TCM?

The paradigm of functional medicine (FM hereafter) is systems biology. It is a study of functional relationships in the body.

Observation and study of functional relationships is the observation and study of Energy. Like TCM, FM is a paradigm shift from organ-based diseases to functional dynamic systems and relationships.

Grounded in the Zang-Fu, the Shen and the manifestations of qi and Blood TCM is the oldest continually practiced medicine in the world. Therefore, we believe that FM is the 21st century scientific articulation of TCM.

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FM core evaluations: TCM core evaluation:
genetics Heavenly Qi
diet/nutrition Post-Heaven Qi
environmental exposure External Pathogenic Influences
stress emotions
exercise movement
psycho-spiritual Shen

Both FM and TCM require individualized diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

TCM principle: No one symptom in and of itself holds any meaning outside the context of all presenting symptoms. Connecting all the dots is what gives rise to pattern differentiation/pattern diagnosis.

Both TCM and FM demand critical thinking skills to diagnose and determine optimal treatment.

The need for functional medicine in acupuncture practices. The greatest contribution FM gives to TCM is the scientific articulation of Yin & Yang.

The value of this in practice is two-fold: One, as TCM practitioners we gain a deeper biological understanding of the bio-chemical correlations to energetic patterns. Two, this articulation broadens our communication with both patients and our allopathic colleagues. We can intelligently speak in two languages.

States vary widely in their scope of practice for LAc’s. In Minnesota we cannot order or interpret lab tests. Therefore, I cannot fully practice FM, but what I continually hone from FM is a deeper understanding of pathology, physiology and pathophysiology. This strengthens my TCM diagnostic skills as well as my confidence in choosing treatment options for working energetically, especially treating with microcurrent.

What is energy medicine?

Over the last 100 years many scientists have demonstrated that biological systems are governed by electromagnetic fields. Rupert Sheldrake described a “morphic field” that surrounds all living things and guides their development and function. Harold Burr wrote about electrical fields that regulate and control living things as well as acting as a pattern for their forms. Popp proved that plants and other living things communicate with each other by means of bio-photon emissions.

I had an interesting insight when I visited a contract manufacturing business in Tucson, Ariz. One of their customers had a black box that contained an ultra-violet light source and a spectrometer. This device was used to positively identify pharmaceutical drugs so that dangerous errors were not made when they were given in hospitals. It worked by placing a pill in a holder, irradiating it with UV, and then analyzing the spectrum of colors that the pill emanated. Any drug could thereby be identified by its unique electro-magnetic spectrum. To me this suggests that the ultimate action of a drug takes place after it is metabolized and various colors of light are released. Light wavelengths rather than chemicals themselves were doing most of the therapeutic work.

This principle applies equally to foods, herbs and nutritional supplements.

We can therefore say that energy medicine is the medical art of “cutting out the middleman” of matter. Instead of a patient having to ingest a substance and then expend a great deal of energy and time to break it down, absorb it and process it, needed frequencies can be directly applied for therapeutic effect. Very efficient!

Energy medicine is also information medicine. Cells rely on low voltage electromagnetic circuits to transmit information while chemical circuits are used to transmit energy/power.

Information is yin and Energy is yang. All inputs into the body including food, toxins, stress, emotions are bits of electromagnetic information. Our body receives/absorbs these information bits, and assimilates them into chemical/hormonal signals manifested as energy/qi, Blood, fluids and Shen.

The type of information matters hugely. The human body follows the “accurate information in – accurate information out” and “garbage in – garbage out” principles of computers. The colors of antioxidant foods, the wavelengths of sunshine, positive or negative thoughts or pesticide residues are all information bits that our body “reads” and processes.

Through the advances made in genetics, specifically epigenics, we now know that genes can be unaffected or turned on based upon the information presented to them. This is an important understanding. Many diseases considered partially or wholly genetic such as heart disease, cancer or epilepsy could be switched on by having discordant information fed into the body. Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

FM – EM connections – why they complete each other

Practitioners of functional medicine use blood tests and other intakes to analyze the functions of the body. They look for missing pieces of the puzzle that can be restored using targeted foods and supplementation. This approach can be very effective when performed skillfully.

By adding needed frequencies of microcurrent and/or colors of therapeutic light through well-selected acupuncture points the benefits of functional medicine can be significantly enhanced. There are powerful benefits to both giving needed nutrients and also “cutting out the middleman” by applying direct energy applications. One of the most valuable methods of doing this is the application of microcurrent and color light to Mu and Shu points to directly target the Organs. I have written about this in previous issues of Acupuncture Today.

This synergy is so valuable because we live on many levels simultaneously. It is an accurate statement that we are “spiritual beings having a physical experience.” Our vibrationally dense physical bodies often lack essential nutrients, and supplementing those can improve many functions. Yet our bodies would be dead and inert without our energy bodies informing and enlivening them. Our energy bodies are exquisitely sensitive to colors and frequency fields. Just using physical interventions can eventually feed our energy bodies, but it is relatively inefficient compared to direct energy therapies.

We propose that this combination of functional medicine and energy medicine is a superior approach that can greatly enhance results for acupuncturists and related professionals. We will next present an example of a valuable therapeutic approach that uses both sides.

The Ideal Weight Program – Example of integration of FM and EM

Back to Epigenics – Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger. Post-heaven qi, the information food gives, is the most powerful influence on the body. It is also a factor we have significant control of.

In 1350, a doctor of TCM wrote, “Doctors first, have the find the cause for an illness and determine which disharmony prevails. To balance this disharmony, the first and foremost measure is appropriate diet. It is not until this measure bears no result that one should use medicines.”

Dr. Mark Hyman, in his newly published book, The Blood Sugar Solution wrote; “Lifestyle diseases – heart disease, diabetes and cancer are all fueled by the same preventable risk factors: high blood pressure/triglycerides/sugar/insulin/cholesterol, obesity, physical inactivity and smoking. Medications do not address the cause of our afflictions. Poor diet, physical inactivity, stress and pollutants directly correlate to our level of health.”

These two physicians are declaring the same message 662 years apart! Even our current First Lady of the U.S. Michelle Obama has taken on lifestyle and childhood obesity by engaging school children in planting a White House organic garden.

Not only is the health of our nation at crisis, the financial burden of current allopathic medical treatment of diseases of lifestyle will bankrupt this country, and the root problem still won’t be fixed, just poorly medicated and managed.

Embracing lifestyle changes is the treatment and the prevention. This is the mission of the Ideal Weight Program (IWP).

The IWP is a lifestyle change program. As with any endeavor, its comprehensiveness stands on the shoulders of the marriage of TCM and FM.

I strongly believe that understanding physiology, and therefore, pathophysiology is crucial to ethically and effectively treating metabolic dysfunction. My patients rely on me to understand their imbalance, treat and educate them on how to regain their health.

The IWP addresses diseases of lifestyle and obesity through gentle detoxification, nutrition/metabolic pH balanced diet, exercise, stress management and restoring sleep. Key to the program is the application of a series of microcurrent frequencies to fatty areas of the body. This has the effect of moving stagnated Fluids (structure), and tonifying deficient qi (function). It also can have profound psycho-emotional effects.

This microcurrent treatment strategy, along with lifestyle changes of diet and exercise very assertively and effectively aids in the repair of the Middle Burner, strengthens Liver/Kidney/Spleen Qi and calms the Shen.

Through FM we know the physiology of the digestive system and the pathology of leaky gut and triggered immune responses. Did you know that more serotonin is produced in the gut than in the brain?

As we concentrate my study of Middle Burner physiology through the dual lens of FM and TCM, we continue to develop and refine microcurrent treatment strategies to address the myriad of pathology expression. Microcurrent is such a powerful treatment tool. I lovingly refer to microcurrent as “acupuncture on steroids.”

The Ideal Weight Program has produced more than weight loss in clients. Clients have reported improvements in the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, leaky gut syndrome, diabetes, depression, fatigue and much more.

Conclusion

The combination of acupuncture with microcurrent has totally transformed our clinical practices. They are synergistic in as much as acupuncture opens the portals of the body’s meridians inviting microcurrent to supplement cellular energy. Energy medicine can greatly enhance the effectiveness of nutrition, detoxification, medicinal herbs and other internal medical treatments.

Debi Weiss is director of Transition to Health in Oakdale, Minnesota. She has been a nurse for over 37 years and a licensed acupuncturist for 12 years. She is the developer of the Ideal Weight Program, an integration of functional and energy medicine.

source:acupuncture today

Battery-Powered Microcurrent Devices can Relieve Pain & Depression

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London : Scientists have been exploring the healing powers of electricity, particularly microcurrent therapy (MCT), involving a plethora of domestic gadgets that seemingly relieve pain, gout or depression.

Named Alpha-Stim and Microdoctor, these devices powered by a few AA batteries deliver a tiny current to the skin which cannot be felt through clips or sticky pads.

They are being touted as treatments for everything from joint pain to back pain to headaches, gout, multiple sclerosis and even depression.

Our bodies are composed of billions of atoms which produce electrical signals that run almost instantaneously through the body as nerve signals, controlling all bodily functions both conscious and unconscious.

MCT device companies claim injury and illness upset these signals and the treatment resets our natural electrical currents, aiding healing and reducing pain, the Daily Mail reported.

MCT involves electrical currents measuring less than one milliampere while a lightbulb may use about 500 milliamperes.

“New applications are mostly used for pain relief and soft tissue injury,” said Tim Watson, professor of physiotherapy at the University of Hertfordshire.

His team concluded that microcurrent is most effective when used for significantly longer than the daily 20 minutes recommended by most manufacturers.

Joanne Thompson, 32, a photographer who lives in Cambridgeshire with her husband Steve, 41 and their daughters, Ella, eight and four-year-old Amy, reported remarkable results.

She developed depression four years ago after her youngest daughter was born with a rare bowel condition.

“For the next two years I suffered panic attacks and had severe side effects from the medication – tummy upsets, nausea and weight gain. A friend of mine had been using a machine called Alpha-Stim. She suggested I try it alongside the pills. I was sceptical at first, but did some research and was impressed by the clinical studies and testimonials,” she said.

“You attach the clips to your ears and turn it on. I used it daily for two to three hours and would fall asleep with it. Within two months I felt a definite lift in my mood. After three months I felt I was able to cope with everyday life. It was a gradual process,” said Joanne.

Source: IANS

MIcrocurrent Facials, Botox’s New Best Friend

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Electric facials, which have been beloved by insiders for decades, are finding a new set of fans

Fifteen times a week on average, Robert Schwarcz, MD, a New York City–based cosmetic surgeon, injects patients with Botox. For certain individuals he also writes down a phone number on a piece of paper and tells them to make an appointment. It’s not for a dermatologist or a colorist with a flair for youthful-looking highlights. The number is for Angela Kulangi, a facialist at Total Skin, a day spa that specializes in electric facials that deliver, via small wet sponges, low levels of microcurrent—1/1,000,000 of an amp (a light bulb runs on less than one ampere)—to stimulate the muscles of the face and neck. “If the patient has been using neurotoxins for more than three years, and if she has genetically thin skin and slim facial musculature, I’ll make a gentle suggestion for her to see Angela,” says Schwarcz. “I like the idea of providing a plumpness to a nonactive muscle and generating controlled muscular activity.”

This same youthful fullness is what everyone who opens a jar of hyaluronic acid cream or books a filler session is attempting to retain or replicate. And it’s not that the botulinum toxins—Botox, Dysport, and the recently FDA-approved Xeomin—are in direct opposition to that end. In fact, the toxins do not act directly on muscles—they bind to neurotransmitters, preventing them from signaling muscles to contract. Initial medical use for the toxins wasn’t even related to wrinkles or anti-aging. In 1980, doctors began using it to quiet uncontrollable blinking and relax muscles that cause eyes to cross. The cosmetic neurotoxin revolution began in 1987, when two Vancouver-based doctors discovered the neurotoxin’s smoothing effect on “the elevens,” the frown lines between the eyebrows. Derms and nonderms alike promptly took it one better, using injections to create lift. When a neurotoxin is shot into a muscle that pulls downward, say, in the brow area, the antagonist muscle that pulls upward is left unopposed to dominate. Add to that carefully placed injections to relax the frontalis muscle, which creates the “worry lines,” those horizontal ones across the forehead, and doctors could mimic the effect of a brow lift without picking up a scalpel.

If a muscle is immobilized, even temporarily, “it will use less energy and have a tendency to atrophy,” says skin physiologist Peter Pugliese, MD, author of the textbook Physiology of the Skin, who notes that researchers soon figured out how to make this atrophy yield short-term aesthetic benefits. Dermatologist Fredric Brandt, MD, whose New York and Florida–based practice is the largest user of Botox in the world, explains that one can, like a sculptor, dramatically slim the jawline by injecting a large amount of a neurotoxin into the masseter, the primary “chewing muscle” that runs along the side of the face. “It is reversible,” Brandt says. “But one treatment will last for a year.”

However, atrophy can have a downside—which is where, for some doctors, electric facials come in. These doctors believe that, in the wrong hands over time, neurotoxins could cause the face to lose desired fullness, and so they are prescribing microcurrent as a noninvasive companion to neurotoxin injections to diminish any loss in muscle tone. In fact, dermatologist Nicholas Perricone, MD, steers his patients away from using neurotoxins at all, believing microcurrent, plus the right diet and topicals, to be the best anti­wrinkle strategy. Electric facials, whether done at home or in a spa, he argues, help build “convexities” in the face. “Convexities are what make you youthful,” he says. “That is critical. If you look at the cheekbones, the forehead, the temples, the jawline of someone young, they come out in an arc away from the face. They bulge out. Around the age of 40 to the midfifties, the convexities go flat. From 60 up, they can go concave. Electrostim keeps the muscles plump and active, preventing or correcting loss of the convexities.”

The idea of using electric current to stimulate muscles sounds both high-tech and barbaric, but in truth it has been in practice for hundreds of years. For that we can thank Jean Jallabert, a professor in Geneva, Switzerland, for credibly reporting in 1748 that he alleviated paralysis in a locksmith’s right arm by using a 90-minute series of electric shock sessions over the course of several months. In 1982, researcher Ngok Cheng, MD, at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, led a study that provided hard evidence of microcurrent’s role in cellular vitality by proving that microcurrent increased levels of ATP—the fuel a cell needs to function—in lab-rat skin cells by 500 percent. Orthopedic surgeon Robert Becker, MD, compiled multiple studies in his 1985 tome The Body Electric, citing the role of electricity in cell regeneration. For decades, microcurrent has been used in different frequencies and waveforms to treat everything from wounds to migraines to chronic pain. Professional athletes and anyone who has had physical therapy have often experienced an electrostim machine, as orthopedists routinely prescribe microcurrent to aid in the repair of ligaments and muscles.

On a muscular level, the microcurrent acts like a personal trainer to tone and shorten muscle fibers. On a dermal level, as Pugliese, the skin physiologist, notes, there is serious anti-aging action going on. Pugliese has spent more than five years analyzing microcurrent’s effect on fibroblasts by biopsying skin before and in between microcurrent treatments, and has found a statistically significant increase not only in the production of collagen and elastin, the skin’s main structural proteins, which degrade with age, but in that of glycosaminoglycans, or “GAGs,” the viscous material in which the proteins are embedded. “When you see a nice plump cheek like a baby’s and you pinch it and it feels very good and snappy,” he says, “that’s GAGs.” And, according to Perricone, the long-term benefits are more than skin-deep: If you have a microstimulation machine, “you don’t have to have perfect genes,” Perricone says. “When I first started working with celebrities, I assumed they were genetically gifted and had perfect symmetry.” But now he knows that symmetry can be made: “Not only can we use electrostim to increase our muscle mass, we can accentuate one side of the face by working it harder than the other to give a more symmetrical appearance.”

Electric facials are on the menu everywhere from Perricone’s New York flagship spa to Four Seasons hotels to Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door salons. Professional-grade microcurrent machines emit a positive and a negative current via two wands, probes, or sponges. When the probes are placed a few inches apart on the face, a circuit of current travels from one point to the other and “stimulates” the tissue in between, Perricone says. The current is subsensory, which means all one feels is the gliding of the rods and perhaps a slight tingle. Customers often fall asleep midfacial. The other option is to DIY with an at-home device. Suzanne Somers teamed up with engineer Rodger Mohme, who previously led the team at Apple to shrink a desktop computer down to laptop size, to create the FaceMaster, a vanity-table version of a large in-spa machine. The only handheld microcurrent device with FDA approval is the NuFACE, created by Carol Cole, a SoCal facialist who got tired of lugging her gigantic machine up into the Hollywood Hills. It emits the same level of current as a pro machine (you can get a 30-minute poolside NuFACE treatment at the Four Seasons Maui for $125), but the micro-amps deliver via two fixed metal probes.

ELLE editors tested both the FaceMaster and NuFACE in our offices and found they instantly increased circulation for that glowy, plump-but-not-puffy look that lasted for a few hours. But, in our untrained hands, the DIY could not provide microcurrents’ more sophisticated, bespoke effects. With the right expertise, microcurrent can be used to dramatically, if temporarily, shape the face. It’s no wonder celebrities have become insatiable consumers of electric facials, especially during awards season. “The pop lasts for about five hours,” says facialist Melanie Simon, whose skin-care company, Circ-Cell, is partially backed by Lynn Harless, aka Justin Timberlake’s mom. Madonna and Kate Winslet are outspoken fans of Tracie Martyn’s trademarked Red Carpet Facial, a proprietary treatment that incorporates mild electrical current. Regular microcurrent sessions were rumored to be Princess Di’s beauty secret. And according to an industry source, J.Lo just spent $22,900 on her own professional-grade CACI Ultra (no word on whether she’s administering them herself).

Depending on where the probes are placed, either above the origin or insertion point of a muscle, and how many seconds they’re held there, users can smooth a furrowed area by stretching the muscle or add lift by shortening the muscle. “If you lift from the cheekbones toward the hairline, it will make your eyes more almond shaped,” says makeup artist Kristin Hilton, who travels between New York and L.A. to work on clients including Uma Thurman and Milla Jovovich. “You can even create an arch in the eyebrows.” Hilton keeps NuFACE in her makeup kit so she can “sculpt and lift” before she applies a client’s makeup. “I’m a skeptical person,” Hilton says. “For me to like something like this is unusual. But I use it for five minutes on each side, pulling upward. Everything’s tighter. You look more awake. People know something’s different, but they don’t know what. Usually they say, `Did you get your hair cut?'”

The exact protocol for combining Botox and microcurrent has yet to be written, but most proponents agree to wait a few weeks post-injection before getting a facial. According to Charles Boyd, MD, a plastic surgeon with practices in Michigan and New York, “In the first 24 hours after an injection, you could potentially move the Botox from a muscle where you injected it into a muscle you did not intend,” he says. “That doesn’t mean it’s going to move from your forehead to your neck, but maybe from your eyebrow to your upper eyelid.” Simon’s clients wait two weeks post-Botox for an electric facial, then return for monthly follow-ups (per skin’s renewal cycle, which is 28 days). “Botox and electric facials are great companions. I could spend hours smoothing lines out and then my clients will walk out the door and make the expression that caused the wrinkle 1,000 times that night,” Simon says. “Botox is very efficient at knocking out expression wrinkles. Electric current fixes everything else­—it’s the cherry on top.”

Source:elle magazine

Electronic Stimulation of Muscles to Fight Wrinkles Giving facial … – Softpedia

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When considering the methods available to fight the most troublesome signs of old age, wrinkles and saggy skin, we all know that they are quite limited: either Botox, which freezes the muscles of the face, or fillers that add more volume to the face, making it plumper. However, as of late, a third option has started gaining more ground: electronic stimulation of the facial muscles is supposed to fight wrinkles and other signs of aging, a piece in the Daily Mail reveals.

Electronic stimulation of the muscles is definitely not a new technology, as some of us have probably already used it on parts of our bodies that needed more toning, thanks to home products that work the abs, bums and thighs. However, it’s just now that it’s starting to be used for the face, after research has shown that, by working out the muscles, wrinkles and saggy skin appear later on and are less obvious than without the extra “exercise.”

“Latest research has shown that it’s loss of volume, as much as wrinkles and sagging skin, that contributes towards making us look old – hence the explosion in the number of women opting for plumping fillers. […] Experts believe working the facial muscles regularly can do just that. But while exercising muscles in the body is relatively straightforward, giving facial muscles a good workout is harder. This is where electronic stimulation, or electro-stim, comes in. Essentially, it involves running a micro-current to the facial muscles, which causes them to contract, firming the muscles and consequently making them bigger.” the Daily Mail writes.

Of course, this is a procedure that beauty salons all over the world have been using for years. Still, it’s just now that it’s becoming widely accessible, with home options being released, which means any woman (or man) in need of a good facial electro-stim can do so for a fraction of the cost – and hope that what some doctors say about plumpness and volume being the closest thing to the fountain of youth holds water. In the UK, for instance, Slendertone Face comes out next month at Harrods and women are so hyped about the product, that there is already a waiting list of more than 2,000 customers.

“For [£299] you get what looks like a pair of high-tech headphones and a rechargeable headset system with a hand-held controller. The idea is that the two pads, which transmit electrical current through the skin, sit on either side of the face, in front of the ear. At this point is a specific nerve that has branches to all of the major muscles of the face, treating the whole face in one go.” the Mail writes. Studies say this device, along with the many others like it, works wonders: to determine if this is actually true, all those interested have to get in line and brace themselves for a long waiting.

source:softpedia

What is Microcurrent stimulation?

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Microcurrent Stimulation is a painless, non-invasive treatment that uses  small barely perceptible impulses of square-wave direct current at low voltages, delivered through electrodes in contact with the skin overlying key nerves around the eye. This current is applied to key points around the eyes, helping to increase blood flow to the macula, the portion of the retina affected by macular degeneration. 

This treatment is adapted from a FDA  approved therapy used to treat other disorders.  In preliminary studies by the Macular Degeneration Foundation this treatment has improved both visual acuity and color perception.


Who Want A Surgical Face Lift?

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Not everyone wants to go for a surgical face lift. However, you can get some of the benefits from non-surgical options, if you know the right one to choose. A face lift isn’t something everyone would choose, but there are some ways around that, to get rid of bags and wrinkles without a surgical face lift. Let’s have a look now at some of your choices.

In recent years, the technology has advanced so far that many procedures which were unthinkable then are now actually quite common. There are laser or micro-current face lifts or Thermage (R) skin tightening, which are just some types of non-surgical face lift which have become available in the last few years. They can be really effective and all are non-invasive procedures with few or no side-effects.

People of both sexes are opting for Thermage (R). This non-invasive anti-aging procedure is very effective and what is also great is that it is within the reach of most people’s pockets too. Thermage (R) encourages the development of collagen in the skin by applying heat to certain areas. Each treatment lasts approximately an hour and has few side-effects. The side-effects you do have will probably only last a few days.


Microcurrent Face Lift

A microcurrent face lift is otherwise known as a bio-ultimate face lift. It is a very effective non-surgical face lift using slight electrical currents. It is a treatment which people usually find quite affordable. The electrical current triggers cellular changes, reducing wrinkles and fine lines, as well as reducing the adverse effects that the sun has on skin. It will also improve skin tone. The microcurrent face lift is scientifically proven to significantly reduce the signs of aging.

Laser Face Lift

The laser face lift is non-invasive, involving neither anesthesia nor incisions. The laser face lift resurfaces the skin, tightening the outer layers of skin so wrinkles and fine lines are reduced. There should not be any scarring. You may experience some discoloration immediately after the laser face lift but that should not last long. It is a highly effective anti-aging which can be quite easily affordable too.

Wrinkle Creams

Don’t be fooled into thinking that a good wrinkle cream has to cost you the earth. You can find a great wrinkle cream without breaking the bank and that is especially good news to those people who, because of thin or sensitive skin, would not be eligible for other anti-aging skin treatments.

There are also face lift creams, which contain amino acids such as alpha hydroxy acid and acetyl hexapeptide. These help to tighten up the skin and minimize wrinkles and fine lines.

You should ensure that any wrinkle cream you select carries a money-back guarantee. The first wrinkle cream you try may not work for you so you don’t want to lose out financially on it, do you? Also remember that with wrinkle creams, more expensive does not necessarily mean better. The choice of wrinkle cream is a personal thing.

Diet

OK, I’m not going to tell you again that ‘you are what you eat’. Oh wait, I just told you. Oh, well, it’s true anyway. If you eat well it will help you achieve healthy skin that will enable you to look years younger. Many anti-aging diets are now marketed, such as the raw food diet, the Okinawan diet, and the GI diet.

However, you don’t need to choose a specific diet. You can just choose to include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables into your diet. These are full of antioxidants, which help to keep you looking young. Also, you should make sure that you drink enough water which will also help to keep your skin healthier and looking younger. Antioxidants help your body to detoxify and get rid of free radicals which age you prematurely. Also, water hydrates your skin so it is plumped up, making wrinkles and fine lines look less obvious.

So, if you feel a surgical face lift is not for you, you have several other options open to you. Now you’re equipped with that knowledge of the most effective alternatives to face lifts, you can make the right decision on your own anti-aging option.

Turn back the clock on your skin’s appearance with the anti aging wrinkle serum cream works! Which one delivers the results? See this review page by Marcus Ryan for reviews of ultimate face lift beauty tips that work, including this review of the Athena lift cream that works in just 7 minutes to have you look 10 years younger.

Microcurrent helps Eagles’ offense get back in the game

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PHILADELPHIA — What if the Eagles held a practice and only half the offense showed up?

Despite the optimism voiced by quarterback Donovan McNabb and running back Brian Westbrook, that’s the predicament head coach Andy Reid is facing all week, leading up to a Sunday night game in Chicago.

Five of the Eagles’ 11 offensive starters did not practice on Wednesday, and another — wide receiver Kevin Curtis — was working with the scout team and is a long shot to play this week.

“It’s a challenge for the guys who are hurt. It’s a challenge for the guys who may have an opportunity to step in, if we’re not able to go,” said McNabb, who sat out of practice Wednesday with the chest contusion he suffered during the first half of a 15-6 victory over the Steelers last Sunday. “You never expect to have this many guys banged up at this particular time.”

Reid would probably forfeit Curtis, tight end L.J. Smith, fullback Tony Hunt and even Pro Bowl right guard Shawn Andrews if it meant he’d have McNabb and running back Brian Westbrook fully healthy in time to play the Bears.

Both essential cogs expressed hope that their recoveries would be quick enough that they’d take Soldier Field Sunday night.

Asked if he’s given any thought to sitting this one out, McNabb replied, “No. There’s not a chance in my head. I expect to be out there.”

Westbrook was more equivocal. The Pro Bowl back sprained his right ankle on the first play of the second quarter against Pittsburgh and left Lincoln Financial Field on crutches.

“I’m optimistic about getting out there and being able to play (against the Bears),” he said Wednesday. “I’ve been rehabbing pretty hard, pretty aggressively. I’m doing basically everything I can to be able to get out there on the field on Sunday night.”

Westbrook said the lack of physical repetitions in preparation is not a significant obstacle to success in the game.

“I know the system pretty well, and I study in the classroom as well as at home,” he said. “I talk to the coaches and go over the different schemes that they have, the different ideas that they have seen from the defenses, and just go out there and play ball.”

Westbrook said his rehab regimen has him in the trainer’s room for as long as three hours a day, and it includes stretching and a “microcurrent” machine.

He also said he’s been spending three hours a day in his own personal hyperbaric chamber, compared to his usual hour.

If he were doubtful for the Bears game, the Eagles would almost certainly not tell anyone, since Reid doesn’t want to make anything easier for Chicago. Incidentally, Westbrook suffered a minor injury — an MCL sprain — in Week 3 last year, and Philadelphia milked that decision process all the way to the Meadowlands before finally opting to sit him against the Giants.

Reid is playing his hand close to the vest again.

“It will be a race,” he said. “But we will see how he does here in these next couple of days.”

Top Five Hottest Holiday Beauty Quick Fixes

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Gioventu Skin & Body Spa Reveals the Most Advanced Anti-Aging Treatments

Last update: 11:05 a.m. EDT Oct. 7, 2008
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif., Oct 07, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — With the holidays just around the corner, many Americans will begin looking for a quick-fix “fountain of youth” in an injection or operation, in order to look their best for holiday get-togethers. Gioventu Skin and Body Spa recommends a more holistic route, revealing alternative therapies that rely on a unique convergence of advanced technology and potent ingredients designed to reverse the signs of aging, naturally.
Five Best Anti-Aging Treatments of the Season
“New advances in skincare combine highly efficacious ingredients with fast-acting, results-driven technology,” says Vicky Rivera, co-owner of Gioventu Skin and Body Spa. “The hottest treatments allow women to look instantly more youthful, just in time for the holiday season.”
  1. Botox in a Bottle. The new vegetable-based EWR Complex creates immediate anti-aging results in minutes. With a formula of 93 percent active ingredients, rapid and sustained results are hailed as better than Botox or StriVectin-HS.
  2. Liposome Collagen Treatments Defy Fine Lines. Age-defying liposome collagen treatments reduce the appearance of wrinkles by minimizing muscle contractions around the eyes and lips. Utilizing a low level of electricity known as microcurrent, tiny electric impulses trigger chemical reactions at a cellular level to enhance the production of collagen and elastin. This treatment firms and tones, effectively improving puffiness, dark circles, expression lines and wrinkles.
  3. Instant Non Surgical Facelift. This painless, non-surgical, non-invasive facelift conducted with nanotechnology creates instant firming, plumping and uplifting results.
  4. Ultrasonic Exfoliation. New hand-held technology achieves ultrasonic peeling and exfoliation at high speeds of up to 20,000 Hz oscillations per second. A complete facial make-over is achieved in less than 10 minutes.
  5. Look 10 Years Younger in 10 Days. Clinicians can now sculpt and contour the face and body through non-surgical muscle re-education. Utilizing a technology called Polychromatic Infrared Light, this new treatment increases cellular activity, revitalizing and regenerating skin without downtime.
SOURCE: Gioventu Skin & Body Spa

Anti aging center uses Microcurrent to treat aging skin

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Baby boomers concerned about those inevitable lines and wrinkles that come with age now have another local treatment option.

Sharon Hladik, a licensed esthetician, has opened The Anti-Aging Skin Clinique at 40 Woodstock Avenue.

Unlike Botox treatments that require needle injections, Hladik offers non-invasive, alternative treatments to help reduce signs of aging.

Hladik uses various natural methods for body cleansing or detoxification, which includes the removal of stored toxic products from the blood, bowel, liver, kidneys and a significant amount stored in body fat.

The non-evasive treatment starts with what’s called micro-current therapy. Hladik said it’s a natural treatment that involves the delivery of micro current to the face and body using conducting wands that are applied to acupuncture points.

She said the method eliminates toxins in the skin, helping to speed cellular metabolism and increase the body chemical that fuels cells by as much as 500 percent and reconstituting the two major proteins in the skin, collagen and elastin.

Hladik said that her treatment is especially desirable for people who want to avoid the evasive procedure that accompanies Botox treatments. But unlike botox, she said her micro-current treatment isn’t a quick fix. “It’s just that it takes longer over time but is safe and effective,” said Hladik, a graduate of the Artistic Academy of Hair & Aesthetics in Morris Plains, N.J.

She said her clients typically undergo 10 to 15 weekly sessions. That’s followed by booster sessions every six to eight weeks.

Clients also have to do their part through diet and exercise, she said.

Hladik said most of her clients are part of the baby boom generation, those born between 1946 and 1964.

“Men and women are concerned about their looks,” she said. “We live in a very vain world.”

The Anti-Aging Skin Clinque offers a foot cleanse with micro-current ionic stimulation. It’s a half-hour foot bath that helps release toxins from the body. Hladik also provides nutritional assessments, facials, body waxing, eyelash and brow tinting, massage and reflexology.

NuFace

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The NuFace® device is the first and only hand held device FDA approved for OTC (over-the-counter) facial toning and stimulation. The NuFace® device safely and effectively improves the appearance of the face through the use of microcurrent technology, gentle electrical stimulation. A noninvasive approach to facial rejuvenation, the NuFace® device is used to advance muscle tone in the face and lift and smooth the skin within 5 minutes. The NuFace® device will deliver instant facial rejuvenation results and with regular use will continue to provide long term facial strength and tone.

This battery operated device is an extension of your daily skincare regimen. Apply the Derma-Gel to your skin areas to be treated, then, following the natural contours of your face, simply glide the NuFace® device for an instant visible lift. Upon completion of treatment, utilize the Optimizing Mist to promote continual hydrating and firming.

The NuFace® device works by combining a unique electrical microcurrent waveform discharged from the dual probes. The probes are designed for optimal contact with faces of all shapes and sizes. The device continually alternates between the positive and negative probes and allows you to adjust the current settings for a personalized comfort level.

The NuFace® Kit includes the following:

  • NuFace® Device
  • (8.45 oz.) Derma-Gel
  • (8 oz.) Optimizing Mist
  • 9-volt alkaline battery
  • Instructional DVD
  • User Manual
  • One year warranty with 30 day money back guarantee

“Where Botox has made the anti-aging market turn on its heels, the NuFace® device is a new innovative skin health product, NuFace® makes skin appear tighter and well toned” – Dr. Peter Pugliese, February 2008

Benefits of microcurrent:

  • Non-invasive facelift with immediate results
  • Lift and tone the facial muscles and skin tissue
  • Reduce and eliminate fine lines and wrinkles
  • Improve facial circulation
  • Improve hypergimentation and acne
  • Increase product penetration
  • Complimentary with other advanced professional treatments such as microdermabrasion, LED, Oxygen, IPL, ultrasound, laser treatments and injectables
  • Pre and post operative care (consult physician before use)

Results:

  • Reduction of fine lines, creases, and wrinkles
  • Skin hydration and revitalization, resulting in smoother and softer skin
  • Decrease of puffiness and edema
  • Restoration of the “pink glow” of youthful tones
  • Visible firming and contouring, lifting overall drooping features
  • Tightening of sagging jowls, doubling chins, and fatty cheeks
  • Shrinking of enlarged pores
  • Reduction of blackheads and acne
  • Reduction of scars and pitting
  • Reduction of dark circles and puffiness under eyes
  • Reduction of the symptoms from Eczema, Melasma and Rosacea

Microcurrent is:

  • For all skin types
  • For all ages
  • Used and recommended by skin care professionals

*NuFace® is the first and only hand held device FDA approved (class II medical device) for facial toning and stimulation.