Every time I open a magazine or listen to TV there is a promise of effortless beauty. Really, the only version of this kind of beauty in the world is in Nature. Also beauty can really mean anything as it is truly in the eye of the beholder. However, today’s standards for most of us, male or female have gotten out of control, and we are held to not only a model pretty or handsome type, but more importantly a youthful type. Of course we can work out, wear trendier clothes, keep our weight under control and eat properly, but what we all strive for is to actually look younger that we are. Also, the newest emphasis is to do it all naturally AND effortlessly! (or at least pretend that we don’t go for botox or surgeries or spend hours under the dryer). Let’s look at some of the latest “effortless” beauty trends that include electrotherapy, laser hair therapy and surgeries!
First on the list is a Facial Toner. Believe it or not you CAN put a little gadget on our cheeks that uses electrotherapy (ouch?) to beef up the muscles that attach to your cheeks so that they stay up higher and appear fuller on your face. This is a hands free device which actually looks like a set of headphones on your cheeks and just beautiful and painless on the model (unless this photo was taken with the device turned off!) No price is in the ad…not good.
There is also an Ab Stimulator. This seems to do the same thing for your abdominal muscles that the facial toner does for the apples of your cheeks. Electric pulses stimulate the muscles of your abdomen which is supposed to replicate doing sit ups or other exercise. I still can’t get over the possible ouch factor, and don’t think you could walk around in public with one on and keep a straight face!
Another effortless muscle builder is the calf implant (or bicept, thigh, even butt implant) to make it look like you actually spend time in the gym. ALL of these options though definitely come with an ouch factor and not only to the body, but to the pocketbook! Also, I don’t think I would consider surgery nor the use of the requisite pain pills that go with it are really natural!
Laser hair removal is not new. Many people use it to remove hair on the arms, underarms, genitals (major ouch) and for chest and back hair. The use of this “zapping” type of laser needs to be done by a professional with the proper training and who have a very strong stomach for some of what they see! Laser hair removal can only be used on darker hairs though as it cannot easily detect lighter hairs and the process is more random, and with multiple trips and a high cost factor it is not effortless again to the purse! As each follicle is killed, the good news is that it will never grow another hair. The bad news is that it will never grow another hair…in case you change your mind or fashion goes back to the 60s. (Which it WILL, eventually)
On the other hand, laser hair restoration using cool, non detectable lasers to actually be a treatment for thinning hair is rather new on the market. It has been used in salons for some time as a female hair loss treatment, but it involved going into the salon for a 20 minute treatment every other day for months and then maybe down to once a week at the least until you decided to give up due to high gas prices, tight schedules or having everyone wonder just what WAS she doing going to that salon SO often? For men, it was even more of a question. Now, however there IS a home use device called a laser hair brush or a laser hair comb. It is made to be used every other day for 15 minutes a time and can be taken on the road as it just looks like a large paddle brush. It uses cool lasers so there is NO ouch factor, and runs on rechargeable batteries. One brand even comes with a hands-free stand so that you are not holding