News & Politics

Secrets to Looking Young

Washingtonians aren’t asking doctors to make them look 20 years younger but to do something subtle—take, say, five or ten years off. That, experts say, is easier than ever.

I don’t want to look frozen or fake like the celebrities in People magazine” is a sentiment dermatologist Mark Jaffe hears almost daily. His Bethesda office is usually packed with patients waiting for him to administer a little Botox to smooth away their worry lines or a laser treatment to erase all those years when they believed in tanning.

“People are conscious of their appearance and want to look better, but the difference in the Washington area is that they’re looking for a much more subtle rejuvenation,” says Jaffe. “Plus there’s a fear of going into hiding for too long to recover from anything dramatic—we work a lot and have busy social calendars, so there’s no time for that.”

As more Washington women and men count on quick cosmetic procedures like Botox to look their best, how have we managed to avoid becoming a sea of overpuffed and perpetually windblown faces? What’s the secret that keeps some of us looking relaxed and refreshed—as if we actually get eight hours of sleep a night?

Call it an M&M approach: maintenance and moderation. That means fewer nips and tucks and more nonsurgical treatments that require little or no downtime.

“If you want to look younger without announcing to the world that you’ve had work done—like 90 percent of my DC clients—this is the time to do it,” says dermatologist Elizabeth Tanzi, who practices at the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery. “There are effective noninvasive treatments that can stimulate collagen growth so the skin actually rejuvenates itself over time, and injection techniques that look so natural—not like you have someone else’s face but your face a few years ago. It’s why I love practicing in DC—people aren’t trying to look 20 years younger here. It’s more like five or ten.”

Whether you’re looking for a quick fix or prefer a subtler, slow approach, read on for the latest in aesthetic treatments.




More: