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Lunch Time Beauty Fixes
Got a lunch hour spare? You can have a wrinkle-free forehead or bigger boobs in under 60 minutes, but is a quick fix too extreme?
I'm on the slippery slope to 30 years of age. (OK, I'm 29.) So, nagging thoughts about ageing and changes in my appearance have begun to enter my head.
In the past, I've always relied on my so-called "good Italian genes" to get me by. But I have begun to worry about little things, like the skin around my eyes getting a tad craggy and a yellowing of my teeth, after sipping on one too many green teas.
In the name of research, I have set out to uncover the latest fast beauty fixes that can be done in your lunchbreak. And, as I've found, the list is endless...
Meghan Fraser, the marketing and group manager of Clearskincare Clinics, says it's a hub for career women whenever noon rolls around: "Our most popular lunchtime treatments are laser hair removal and cosmetic injecting - particularly anti-wrinkle injections. These can be done in 15 to 30 minutes - depending on how many areas are being injected - and a client can return to work, with colleagues none the wiser."
Lana Laufer, the manager of Sydney Body and Beauty in the city, says, for them, it's medical-grade facials, body contouring, and infra-red wraps. The latter requires being wrapped up mummy-like and sweating buckets as the temperature soars. "The manufacturers tell us that the treatment provides the same energy usage as a 2.5-hour cardio workout," Laufer says.
Wendy Gilbert-Grey, at the helm of Edgecliff non-invasive clinic Hairstop and Body Mechanique, recommends skin microdermabrasion, electrolysis and cellulite-busting endermologie for your lunch hour. There's also technology used that is said to be "a bit like doing 1000 sit-ups while you're just laying there - it really works out your muscles," Gilbert-Grey says. The treatment involves the muscles being stimulated by a strong, adjustable electric current to encourage tone and centimetre loss. Sounds deliciously lazy.
It doesn't end there. Double Bay clinic Cosmos Cosmetic Medicine will soon offer lunchtime surgery-free boob jobs, whereby a gel-type filler is injected into the breast and can last as long as two years. Practice manager David Segal predicts it will be hugely popular: "The date for the product arriving in Australia is yet to be confirmed. However, we already have a waiting list and are starting to consult for the 'Boob Jab' next month."
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Not all are convinced by the convenience of lunchtime treatments, however. Helena Frith Powell, who explored all manner of fast beauty fixes, from anti-wrinkle treatments to lipo, for her book, To Hell in High Heels (Arrow Books), says she found the most important thing is "staying elegant, sane-looking and true to myself". "While trying to look good for your age is one thing, a desperate obsession with ageing is unhealthy [and] the more extreme measures you resort to, the more they will come at a cost, financially and possibly physically." While a treatment may only take a lunch hour, it's not always a decision to be made lightly.
YOU TRIED IT
ANTI-WRINKLE INJECTIONS
Bondi executive assistant Lucy, 34, gave the needle a go: "I'm pretty impulsive and up for anything and I found it didn't hurt at all - it just felt like a little tiny pinprick. I had the basic 20 units [of an anti-wrinkle injection] - that's the least amount you usually get - between and around my brows. It wasn't red afterwards really, though there can be a tiny bit of bleeding. It took 10 days to show results and lasted about three months. The first month I found it hard to show expression, but it got better!"
MICRO-DERMABRASION
Sutherland journalist Jane, 22, had the non-invasive skin treatment: "It's like a full-on facial. It hurt a little and took about 45 minutes. It felt like this little pen, spraying crystal beads on my face and then them being sucked up. My face looked a bit red afterwards, but my skin also was just fresh and younger-looking straightaway. The shiny, glowing look lasted about two weeks, but you could still tell I'd had it done for a good few months after that."
FRECKLE REMOVAL
Cronulla advertising account manager Leila, 25, tried lamprobe therapy: "To be honest, it was painful, but I think the end result was of great benefit. The therapist used a little wand device, which had an electric current going through it. It felt like it was burning, but I couldn't smell anything! It took about 10 minutes on the freckles on my face, neck and chest area. Later, they just scabbed and fell off!"
I'm on the slippery slope to 30 years of age. (OK, I'm 29.) So, nagging thoughts about ageing and changes in my appearance have begun to enter my head.
In the past, I've always relied on my so-called "good Italian genes" to get me by. But I have begun to worry about little things, like the skin around my eyes getting a tad craggy and a yellowing of my teeth, after sipping on one too many green teas.
In the name of research, I have set out to uncover the latest fast beauty fixes that can be done in your lunchbreak. And, as I've found, the list is endless...
Meghan Fraser, the marketing and group manager of Clearskincare Clinics, says it's a hub for career women whenever noon rolls around: "Our most popular lunchtime treatments are laser hair removal and cosmetic injecting - particularly anti-wrinkle injections. These can be done in 15 to 30 minutes - depending on how many areas are being injected - and a client can return to work, with colleagues none the wiser."
Lana Laufer, the manager of Sydney Body and Beauty in the city, says, for them, it's medical-grade facials, body contouring, and infra-red wraps. The latter requires being wrapped up mummy-like and sweating buckets as the temperature soars. "The manufacturers tell us that the treatment provides the same energy usage as a 2.5-hour cardio workout," Laufer says.
Wendy Gilbert-Grey, at the helm of Edgecliff non-invasive clinic Hairstop and Body Mechanique, recommends skin microdermabrasion, electrolysis and cellulite-busting endermologie for your lunch hour. There's also technology used that is said to be "a bit like doing 1000 sit-ups while you're just laying there - it really works out your muscles," Gilbert-Grey says. The treatment involves the muscles being stimulated by a strong, adjustable electric current to encourage tone and centimetre loss. Sounds deliciously lazy.
It doesn't end there. Double Bay clinic Cosmos Cosmetic Medicine will soon offer lunchtime surgery-free boob jobs, whereby a gel-type filler is injected into the breast and can last as long as two years. Practice manager David Segal predicts it will be hugely popular: "The date for the product arriving in Australia is yet to be confirmed. However, we already have a waiting list and are starting to consult for the 'Boob Jab' next month."
read on below advertisement
Not all are convinced by the convenience of lunchtime treatments, however. Helena Frith Powell, who explored all manner of fast beauty fixes, from anti-wrinkle treatments to lipo, for her book, To Hell in High Heels (Arrow Books), says she found the most important thing is "staying elegant, sane-looking and true to myself". "While trying to look good for your age is one thing, a desperate obsession with ageing is unhealthy [and] the more extreme measures you resort to, the more they will come at a cost, financially and possibly physically." While a treatment may only take a lunch hour, it's not always a decision to be made lightly.
YOU TRIED IT
ANTI-WRINKLE INJECTIONS
Bondi executive assistant Lucy, 34, gave the needle a go: "I'm pretty impulsive and up for anything and I found it didn't hurt at all - it just felt like a little tiny pinprick. I had the basic 20 units [of an anti-wrinkle injection] - that's the least amount you usually get - between and around my brows. It wasn't red afterwards really, though there can be a tiny bit of bleeding. It took 10 days to show results and lasted about three months. The first month I found it hard to show expression, but it got better!"
MICRO-DERMABRASION
Sutherland journalist Jane, 22, had the non-invasive skin treatment: "It's like a full-on facial. It hurt a little and took about 45 minutes. It felt like this little pen, spraying crystal beads on my face and then them being sucked up. My face looked a bit red afterwards, but my skin also was just fresh and younger-looking straightaway. The shiny, glowing look lasted about two weeks, but you could still tell I'd had it done for a good few months after that."
FRECKLE REMOVAL
Cronulla advertising account manager Leila, 25, tried lamprobe therapy: "To be honest, it was painful, but I think the end result was of great benefit. The therapist used a little wand device, which had an electric current going through it. It felt like it was burning, but I couldn't smell anything! It took about 10 minutes on the freckles on my face, neck and chest area. Later, they just scabbed and fell off!"
Story: Carla Caruso
