Bye-Bye Wrinkles — Hello Second Skin

Face-On - Face-Off — wearing a second skin mimicking ideals of youth and beauty to mask reality sounds like a plot of a sci-fi movie, or does it? Thanks to the experts at the MIT lab, who put in a steady ten years of research to create second skin, it is now a very real phenomenon. This bottled miracle in a jar will be soon available to the public to wipe off wrinkles as easy as 123 — 1.The material (currently being called XPL) is applied to the face like any cream 2. It is activated with a catalyst gel and 3. Voila you have an immediate tightening effect, which mimics the mechanical and elastic properties of healthy, youthful skin while banishing imperfections and smoothing out wrinkles. The petitioners searching for the fountain-of-youth see this as a major breakthrough in our fight against wrinkles and more. 

What is XPL?

Second skin (XPL) is a silicone-based polymer that when applied on the skin as a thin coating, mimics the mechanical and elastic properties of healthy, youthful skin. It works in two stages. Firstly a polymer gel containing alternating silicon and oxygen atoms is applied across the skin to create a perfectly fitting mask. Second a liquid platinum catalyst is applied on top, which encourages new bridges to form between the atoms, in the same was a vulcanized rubber is created. The chemical reaction immediately causes the material to harden yet staying very flexible at the same time, this reaction tightens and compresses the skin underneath erasing eye-bags and wrinkles.

The material (XPL) has been tested rigorously at MIT labs for safety and effectiveness in several studies where it has shown to hide eye-bags and ameliorate skin wrinkles with the added bonus of improving skin hydration. These results automatically qualify the second skin as a super-hero product, which not only covers up the skin defects giving up the illusion of perfect skin but also improves skin hydration working as a top-of-the-range moisturizer. At night it can be peeled off as the effect last only 24 hours.

Acting as an invisible layer covering skin vulnerabilities the prospects of using “second skin” in dermatology could be limitless it could be employed to help treat skin conditions with barrier defects such as eczema and other types of dermatitis, even used as under occlusion drug delivery system and of course it can also be adapted to provide long-lasting ultraviolet protection or camouflage system for pigmentation disorders.

Braun Beauty Unboxed

As a dermatologist I feel that today’s modern girl needs to be in-charge of her own self-preening-and-pruning routines and to do so successfully she needs to have efficient tools at her disposal as well as the right knowledge about her skin and hair needs. Braun one of the world’s leading Tech Giants pioneering in at-home beauty and self grooming devices has been at the cutting edge of innovations always playing a crucial role in giving the power of self-grooming back in hands that need it. In order to empower girls to take charge and be in full control of their skincare and hair removal needs Braun recently held the “Beauty Unboxed” event in Dubai. This fete ceremonialized the unveiling of the new Silk Expert IPL (at-home permanent hair reduction device) as well as served as a saturnalia to highlight Braun Silk- épil 9 (home epilation system) and Braun Face Spa (facial skincare device).

The venue for the event — the Royal suit at the Waldorf Astoria Dubai served wonderfully as the perfect and pristine backdrop to emblazon Braun’s beauty and self-grooming devices to the glamour-loving Middle Eastern media and consumers. More than fifty social & print media editors and writers bore witness to the unveiling of the brand new Braun Silk IPL device. An introductory session explaining the ins-and-outs of the gadgets followed by Q&A conducted by the lovely Laura Buckwell and the two leading dermatologists from the region Dr. Hala Fadli and yours truly (Dr. Shazia Ali) evoked the event in a big educational as well as fun way. The freshly stirred, enlightened and intrigued audience ensued canvassing female skincare and grooming needs over extravagant cups of Mary Antonitte style high tea and snacks. Afterwards everyone got a chance to test drive Braun’s latest gizmos first-hand. Question were popped, myths were busted, and all in all everyone went home ready to take charge of their own beauty needs empowered by Braun.

Braun Silk Expert IPL:

The latest self-grooming gadget powered by Braun — the Silk Expert IPL (Intense Pulse Light) is specially created for at-home permanent hair reduction. It has been approved by the US FDA for efficacy as well as safety, and is currently the fastest and safest IPL technology for permanent visible hair removal in the market.

How Does It Work? — IPL works by focusing special wavelengths of light on the pigment (melanine) in our hair. The brown or black color in the hair absorbs the light and singes the root leading to permanent hair reduction. It works on all hair types and colors, except blonde and white.

Safety And Efficacy — The safety of the device is ensured by special touch sensors, which only fire when the device is in full contact with the skin, preventing scattering of light and accidental eye damage, hence you don’t even need to wear protective goggles while using it.

The device is also fitted with unique SensoAdapt™ skin tone sensors, which continuously reads your skin tone (80x per second) and automatically adapts the light intensity for best efficacy and safety. This feature ensures that there is very little to no chance of getting skin burns or pigmentation when using the device.

Braun Silk- épil 9

Silk- épil 9 is the most trusted hair epilator in the market that gives you up to 4 weeks of hair-free skin, as it plucks hair out from the root. It is fast, efficacious and most easy way to remove hair compared to any other methods available for at home hair removal e.g. waxing, threading or shaving. All my patients tell me once you experience Silk- épil 9you can never go back to halawa (and the mess!!).

Braun Beauty Face Spa

Braun Face Spa consists of brush exfoliaters for the face specially designed for all skin types including sensitive skin. It also comes with the “Beauty Sponge” attachment to help apply your daily skincare products (moisturizer, anti-aging serums, etc.) or makeup more efficiently.

To bring you into the insider circle I’d also share with you the myth busting Q&A session that took place at the “Braun Beauty Unboxed” event.

Epilation Myths:

1. Epilation makes the hair grow back thicker.

Dr. Shazia: False! Your hair texture (size & width) is determined by genetics and your hormones levels — not by your choices in hair removal methods. Epilation and specifically Silk- épil 9 pulls the hair from the roots so it doesn't affect the growth and the texture of your hair or skin at all.

2. You have to wait for a particular hair length to epilate and hair grows back sooner.

Dr. Shazia: True while waxing and threading — False while epilating with Silk- épil 9. This epilator is fitted with special micro-grip tweezer technology that can pluck even the teeny tiniest of hair follicles (up to 0.5mm) bringing you to a new level of epilation precision. With the Silk- épil 9 you also get the new added exfoliation brush that when used before or after epilation guarantees that tiny hair are not buried under the skin and are properly exposed for epilation, thus preventing the in-grown hair, and ensuring smooth silky skin throughout.

3. Long-lasting yes, but the trade-offs with epilation include red dots and ingrown  

Dr. Shazia: Sure, when you yank/pull body hair from the root, tiny red dots will appear but that only proves you’re human. This skin reaction fades away in just an hour or two. By using the epilator in your bath you can reduce the red dot phenomenon as the softer skin and relaxed pores show less red reaction. Additionally you can use the cold gel pack that comes with the epilator to reduce redness as well. Using exfoliation brush before epilation also reduces red dots and pain, which is why the new exfoliation brush will definitely be your hero.

4. You can’t do anything to reduce epilation pain.

Dr. Shazia: False — I think this is the biggest myth when it comes to epilation. The Silk- épil 9 epilator head is specially designed to vibrate while you epilate this feature confuses the nerves and reduces the pain. Silk- épil 9 also provides you with a gel pack that when popped into the freezer and used before and after epilation helps reduce pain very efficiently. Being able to use the wet option of the Silk- épil 9 epilator in the shower helps relax the pores and soften the skin, which in turn helps reduce the pain and you can have a more comfortable and soothing experience.

Skin & Beauty Myths:

1. Exfoliation is enough to maintain younger looking skin

Dr.Shazia: This is a bit of a myth, maintaining healthy youthful skin calls for more than one step. Proper cleansing, regular exfoliation and persistent use of skin moisturization as well as anti-oxidants makes up the foundation for healthy skincare. The best way to ensure your anti-aging products are giving you the biggest bang for your buck is by ensuring they are being soaked up by your skin properly hence deep pore cleansing and exfoliation every week are very vital. The new exfoliation brush from Braun face Spa swipes away dead skin cells leaving skin soft and clean without damaging your skin, which is exactly the right way to keep your skin feeling and looking young.

2. If I have sensitive skin, it is not advisable for me to exfoliate

Dr. Shazia: That’s partially true — if you have sensitive skin you should not use regular exfoliators containing crystals or brittle particles as they can damage the skin. But Braun sensitive face exfoliation brushes are completely safe to use because when they were being designed Braun took into consideration the sensitive skin as the key focus for treatment. The sensitive brush from Braun Face does not over rub or strip the skin and is the best solution for delicate, dry and sensitive skin that requires a softer touch so you can get a gentle cleansing treatment that is luxurious and thorough yet not damaging.

3. Blackheads relate to cleanliness and can be scrubbed away.

Dr.Shazia: Blackheads are usually related to sebaceous skin, hormones and bad diet as well as bad skincare routine. In case of oily or combination skin if you do not scrub away sebum, and dead skin on regular basis blackheads become predominant. You can keep them under check (even eliminate them completely) by proper deep exfoliation on regular basis using the Braun beauty brush as your champion.

Bonus Round — “Makeup Myths” –

1. Using makeup to contour the shape of your face (nose, cheeks, chin, etc.) can look funny.

Dr. Shazia: Believe it or not people can always tell when you’ve overdone the ‘corrective’ shading.  If you are not a contouring expert: blending dark and light shades of color, highlighting, and contouring can look funny as if you have stripes on your face (I call accidental makeup with color skid marks). Proper blending is the secret to perfect contouring and to master this art “Braun Face” with its Beauty Sponge attachment can come to your rescue, it absorbs just the right amount of product to let you build your color in layers instead of slathering it on all at once and you can use the rounded edges for hard-to-reach spots or delicate areas around the eyes for a perfect foundation look. The same brush can also be used to apply moisturizer to your skin for a complete glam look.

The most important message in the end is that you need to clean and maintain the brushes and beauty sponge on regular basis. Discard old ones and replace them with fresh ones every few months to make sure proper skin hygiene is maintained. This will also guarantee the best results with all the different brushes and sponge.

Final Message — Girls take joy in your beauty self-reliance and bask in the glory of all the self-grooming gadgets available at your tips that empower you to be In-charge Of your own beauty.