July 31, 2006
Subject: Rejuvenation Information

Hi Rhio,

Don't know if you still keep this info up, but found some good information on your site from several yrs. ago. I noticed you were talking about a machine going by different brand names that uplifts the muscles of the face through micro-current. I wonder if you still send charts outlining the treatment.

I have been going to a naturopathic doctor having this treatment done, but wondering if it is the real thing. It has to be kept up. Supposed to stimulate collagen production. Called a Diamond machine. Is used also for pain.

In the event you still do this, my address is:

_______

I especially have enjoyed this Rejuvenation information. I turn 59 next Monday, and I am constantly trying to work natural means of staying healthy and looking young….I am definitely fearful of the knife.

I know that now there are a lot of not-so-invasive therapies like thermage, mesotherapy, etc….but don't know what the take on those is….

Have also wondered about the fat injections.

Thanks for your column,

Cheryl

Dear Cheryl,

If you were using the micro current machine, you probably wouldn't need to find out if it was the right one because you would be seeing the undeniable results. Of course, there are other types of machines out there, but I have tried a few of those and they haven't worked for me.

I am in the middle of a video shoot now for a few weeks, but I will keep your email and find the chart that I have and send it to you.

With thermage, I have seen mixed results, sometimes there is improvement and other times the treatment actually adds indentations (not wrinkles) into the skin. If the indentations are in the right place then it can give your face a sculptured look, but if they are in the wrong place… not good. Thermage works on the principle that radio waves damage the underlying layers of skin and then the body in response will build up more collagen. That's the principle. but it doesn't always work in practice. Sometimes the body will build up collagen in the wrong area, and not in the area that you want. What I have seen from faces damaged by thermage is that a very long course of hyaluronic acid supplementation will gradually, over a couple of years, start to fill in the indentations. Most hyaluronic acid supplements are not vegetarian, but Solaray puts out a triple-strength hyaluronic acid supplement that is vegetarian. I do not think that thermage is a safe bet, although it may work better on a saggy neck area because if you get some indentations on the neck, the neck then appears tightened and lifted somewhat.

With mesotherapy, there may be more success, although there is a topical system for getting rid of cellulite that works equally well, is cheaper and is partially natural (meaning that some of the ingredients in it are natural and some are not). To find out about this, go to: www.healthyrevelations.com

Now when it comes to fat injections, I feel more optimistic because although, of course, it is not a natural system, yet it does employ a substance from your own body that when transplanted to another area correctly gives the possibility that the fat cells will take hold and colonize in the new area. They will create a pathway to get nourishment and become an integrated part of your body in their new location. The danger here is that if too much fat is put in and it colonizes then it never goes away (well, maybe over many years it will), but you see what I mean. So for fat injection to really give a good result, you need a practitioner who is somewhat of an artist and looks at your face as a sculpture.

There is also the added danger with fat injection that a person on a raw food diet may not be able to handle the amount of anesthesia that is used, unless they use local anesthesia. I am not sure about that (if local anesthetic can be used) and would have to do more investigation. If it is only local anesthesia, then it might be ok, but if it general anesthesia, then there might be a problem for raw foodists, who in many instances cannot take the amount of drugs or anesthesia that a non-raw foodist could handle. This is not because a raw foodist is weaker than a non-raw foodist, but because we are healthier and our bodies are cleaner and thus a drug that would normally be ok in a dense body, the same amount of drug injected into a cleaner, light body has a stronger effect… sometimes it could be dangerous. In other words, a raw foodist would probably need, if they were going to do this, a lesser amount of the anesthesia or drug, but how are you going to explain this to an allopathic medical doctor? And what lesser amount would still do the job and not be injurious to you? If you are not a raw food enthusiast, then the foregoing would not apply to you.

With blessings and peace,

Rhio