A Slice of the Pai

What causes those wretched wrinkles?
Heredity: One look at your parents and grandparents and you know what’s in store for you.
Sun damage: Collagen deterioration is accelerated by the sun’s rays.
Muscle pull: Consistent tension in an area due to a habitual facial expression can result in a permanent furrow, eg. frown lines, crow’s feet and smile lines.
Gravity changes: Age makes collagen and elastin degenerate in the dermis and makes the skin sag.
Sleep creases: Pressing into the pillow may cause lines on the face.
Fat loss and redistribution: A shake-up of this cushion in the third layer of the skin results in its redraping in the fourth and sixth decades of life.
Erratic lifestyle: Irregular eating and sleeping habits, over-indulgence in alcohol, smoking and stress.

How can one fight them? Application of mild moisturiser, sun-screen, night creams with ingredients like retinoid, vitamin C, esthers, kogic etc.
Intake of anti-oxidants (combination of vitamin A, C and E and minerals), under medical advice.
Dermato-cosmetic and dermato-surgical procedures, facials, galvanic procedures and others act as preventives. While filler injections fill out the wrinkles, botox injections relax the muscles and chemical peels and dermabrasion rejuvenate the texture of the skin. Dr Pai uses Swedish Botox injections which inject Hyaluronic acid, whose effect lasts for 4 to 6 months. All these treatments cost between Rs 1,000 and 12,000 per sitting and should be done only by experts.

I’m always sceptical about surgical intervention, especially for cosmetic reasons. But Dr Pai assures me about the safety and points to her gorgeous face and says, ‘‘If it’s any help I’ve been using Botox and filler injections on myself.’’

Blush: Kemps Corner: 022-23682255/23638699, Bandra: 022-26454880/ 26511651Andheri: 022-26361578