The Times (Times Newspapers Limited.)
- Clipping Loc. 466-80 |
Pummelling unlocks faces frozen by Botox Kevin Dowling | 315 words DEVOTEES of Botox and other forms of cosmetic surgery are turning to "power massages" to bring their frozen faces back to life. Muscles paralysed by Botox injections are repeatedly pummelled by hand to make up for the exercise they lack and to restore blood circulation. Some treatments involve the masseur or masseuse putting their fingers inside a client's mouth to massage the cheeks from the inside.
"The skin becomes dull and waxy looking with Botox," said Nichola Joss, a beauty therapist who charges more than £200 for a 90-minute facial, including the power massage. "The skin needs to be fed and the massage gets blood flow back and skin tone and colour is improved." Joss, whose clients include Kate Moss, Liz Hurley and Joanna Lumley, compares the massage technique with a gym workout. "If you want a toned, defined body, you work out; the same goes for the face," she said.
"If you are a Botox user, your muscles are not getting the chance to be worked." Botox is now widely used by younger women. However, some, such as Kylie Minogue, have turned their backs on the jabs because they want to grow older gracefully. She said: "I'm preferring to be a lot more natural these days." Botox treatments — which contain the botulinum bacterium — are injected to restrict the action of tiny muscles in the face which eventually cause wrinkles through repeated creasing of the skin. However, the lack of movement means blood flow to the area is slowed, starving the skin of oxygen and white blood cells and leaving it stiff and dry.
Cyrille Blum, a west London-based cosmetic surgeon, is sceptical about the benefits of massages for patients who do not have the cigarette-paper thin skin that can result from using too much Botox. "If you inject Botox and massage at the same time it makes no sense," he said. "It's like hitting the brake at the same time as the accelerator."
==========
A great workout with FACEXER will keep your muscles strong and healthy.
The Times (Times Newspapers Limited.)
- Highlight Loc. 472-75 |
Kylie Minogue:
"If you want a toned, defined body, you work out; the same goes for the face," she said. "If you are a Botox user, your muscles are not getting the chance to be worked."