A new study just published on Feb 2011 in the journal of cancer makes a strong argument for applying hyperbaric oxygenation therapy (HBOT) for those patients who have had either surgery or radiation therapy for brain tumors. The study followed patients who had been treated with HBOT and there was a marked improvement in cognitive [...]
» Click Here to Read the full ArticleHyperbaric Therapy Promises to Speed up Healing
Mar 25, 2009 LOS ANGELES (CBS)
The Chambers Are Used For a Number Of Conditions, Including Anti-Aging. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) was initially used to treat divers suffering with decompression sickness, but is gaining popularity in treating some medical conditions, such as circulatory problems, infections and wounds. The chamber releases 100 % oxygen to damaged tissues. According to the Beverly Hills Center for Hyperbaric Medicine, the oxygen then allows the body to heal itself naturally. Other conditions treated by HBOT are: sports injuries, anti-aging, asthma, allergies and Lyme disease, the Malibu Hyperbaric Medicine Center said. To find out more about the chambers and the treatment, click on related links or call the Beverly Hills Center for Hyperbaric Medicine at: (310) 551-1375. They are located at: 1125 S Beverly Dr # 405: Los Angeles, CA 90035.
Go! New York Report: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Apr 8, 2009 Reporting Dr. Holly Phillips
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
For centuries, people have searched for the fountain of youth.
Now, some think they’ve found it inside a hyperbaric chamber. Oxygen is crucial for proper healing of the body’s tissues, whether it’s skin, muscle, or bone. Usually, simply breathing provides enough. But a growing number of people are now using specialized air chambers to increase their oxygen flow in order to, hopefully, turn back the hands of time. It may look other-worldly, but some say it’s pure healing. “We treat a variety of illnesses,” pulmonologist Dr. Ralph Potkin says. Dr. Potkin runs a center for hyperbaric medicine, where he treats patients in hyperbaric chambers that deliver oxygen at levels higher than atmospheric pressure. Divers use it to treat the decompression illness commonly known as “the bends.” “Maybe 20 years ago, we realized that it had dramatic healing properties,” Dr. Potkin says. “The King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, put hyperbarics in the headlines when he was photographed inside a chamber which some say he used to stay youthful. In the eighties, Jackson was burned during an accident while filming a Pepsi commercial. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is commonly used for burns, carbon monoxide poisoning, bone infections, and serious wounds. Off-label uses include treatments for migraines, anti-aging, cerebral palsy, and autism. Rosie Ferri Carnevaletti was a patient of Dr. Potkins, and she lived to 101 years old. “Granny was the type of person who had an adventurous spirit,” her daughter says. Carnevaletti’s long battle with diabetes sent her into what she dubbed “the tube,” but she returned every day because she loved how she felt afterwards. “She felt more energized, her mental acuity was sharper,” Carnevaletti’s daughter says. “Her whole color was totally different.” Dr. Potkin says the process itself has anti-aging qualities. You go in here for an hour – you can’t have your beeper, you can’t have your cell phone,” Dr. Potkin says. “While you’re getting all this relaxation, your body is being rejuvenated with pure oxygen.” The average hyperbaric oxygen treatment lasts between 30 and 90 minutes, and can range in price from $100 to $1,000 dollars. Many insurance providers and Medicare will cover a limited number of treatments if they are for medically approved conditions
Healing Effects of Oxygen Available Exclusively at Rancho Mirage Facility
January 30, 2009 Nicky Vallee
The medical staff at Rancho Mirage Hyperbarics is pleased to announce the exclusive use of Clear Chambers at the desert’s most sophisticated post surgical and healing facility, specializing in oxygen therapy. “Patients often have many questions about Hyperbarics treatment,” said RMH Medical Director Howard S. Baer, M.D. “The use of Clear Chambers alleviates a common concern of potential claustrophobia. The tranquil, calming and healing effects of pure oxygen are enhanced when patients can also see their surroundings.” Clear Hyperbaric Chambers combine high concentration of oxygen (100%) and increased pressure that causes large amounts of oxygen to be dissolved in the patient’s blood and other fluids. Because of this hyper-oxygenation, white blood cells that destroy bacteria are more efficient at clearing infections. “People are continually amazed by the healing power of oxygen,” said Bill Hubble, owner of the facility. “The use of Clear Chambers for our Hyperbarics treatments allows patients to be more relaxed.” Hyperbarics Clear Chambers can be used to treat a wide range of illnesses and injuries, some of which are considered “off label” and usually not covered by insurance. These include stroke, multiple sclerosis, Lyme’s disease, traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries and more. Common medical conditions, usually reimbursable by insurance, that have been shown to benefit from Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy include: Radiation Tissue Damage, Diabetic and Selected Non-healing wounds, Reconstructive Surgery, including compromised skin grafts and flaps, Crush Injury, Limb Salvage, Reattachment and Amputations, Exceptional Blood Loss Anemia, Decompression Sickness (Bends), Thermal Burns. Hyperbarics treatment also causes vasoconstriction which deceases swelling and edema, shortening the healing time and promoting better healing for reconstructive and plastic surgery patients. For more information about Rancho Mirage Hyperbarics and its specialized treatment, call 760-773-3899 or go to www.RanchoMirageHyperbarics.com.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy gaining in popularity
28 Feb 2009
Doctors have discovered breathing in pure oxygen can give people with wounds that won’t heal a new lease of life. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was seen as a last resort for those suffering from injuries that did not respond to treatment, but at a privately run clinic its success has meant it is gaining in popularity. After part of his leg was amputated four years ago, Malcolm Fleck was in agony and could hardly move. His stump was ulcerated and infected and as a last resort he tried hyperbaric oxygen therapy. “I had 11 operations in four years and this is getting rid of it where antibiotics and so-called well, modern medicine can’t,” Mr Fleck says. The technology has been used by divers suffering from the bends for decades, but now it is becoming an accepted part of mainstream medicine. Patients sit inside the chamber breathing pure oxygen through helmets under pressure. It is this combination that accelerates healing by up to 80 percent. With titanium implants inserted into her neck, Paparoa schoolteacher Audrey Campbell was in constant pain. She could not stand, let a long work. Having tried numerous treatments in the past she was cynical at first, but now she’s a convert. “I wouldn’t have believed it, it’s a really positive experience,” Ms Campbell says. Both patients are now breathing easy as the pain subsides and their recovery takes off
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) – Potent Anti-aging Therapy
In myriad of documented cases HBOT has produced remarkable and miraculous benefits for a wide variety of serious medical conditions. HBOT has also been clinically proven to produce a more efficient immune system, rapid regeneration of cells, and works as a potent anti-aging therapy. Simply stated, significantly increasing the delivery of oxygen to all tissues throughout one’s body results in improved health and vitality. Many are familiar with hyperbaric pressurized dive chambers from their knowledge of SCUBA diving. The chamber is used to save the lives of divers who have resurfaced too quickly and gotten the bends as a result. The hyperbaric chamber recreates the underwater pressure so that rapidly depressurized nitrogen in the diver’s blood will not cause life threatening and painful embolisms. For most of us, this is the extent of our knowledge of a hyperbaric chamber. HBOT stands for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Hyperbaric means increased atmospheric pressure. At sea level, with the entire earth’s atmosphere of air above our heads, we live at an average pressure of 14.7psi (pounds per sqaure inch) or 1 atmosphere. By breathing pure oxygen in a chamber that is moderately pressurized, dramatically increased amounts of oxygen will be safely delivered to all tissues in the body even to places that have restricted blood flow or blockages. Although the history of hyperbaric oxygen therapy goes back to 1662, it is not until the 21st century that HBOT is finally emerging as a major medical therapy, both curative as well as preventative, that produces considerable improvement in our overall health. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has been used around the world for over forty years in the prevention and improvement of debilitating conditions and in the enhancement of overall health
Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair
12-Mar-2009 Contact: Camillo Ricordi
Stem cell infusion and hyperbaric oxygen treatment improve islet function in diabetes. Tampa, Fla. (Mar. 12, 2009) – A study to determine if patients with type 2 diabetes can benefit from a combination of autologous (patient self-donated) stem cell infusions (ASC) and hyperbaric (above the normal air pressure of ) oxygen treatment (HBO) before and after ASC has found “significant benefits” in terms of “improvements in glycemic control” along with “reduced insulin requirements.” The combination therapy could decrease type 2 diabetes morbidity and mortality, said the authors, who published their study results in the latest issue of Cell Transplantation (Vol. 17 No.12). “Autologous stem cell therapies are an emerging set of therapies with promising results and low side effects profiles,” said corresponding co-author Esteban Estrada, MD, of Stem Cell Argentina. “In addition, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, used primarily in the treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning, air embolism suffered by divers, and as an enhancement to wound healing, has been shown to increase stem cell mobilization and the release of endothelial progenitor cells via a nitric oxide-dependent mechanism.” The clinical trial evaluated the safety of ASC-HBO combination treatment in 25 patients with type 2 diabetes. According to the researchers, it is well known that with type 2 diabetes, there is an ongoing inflammation of the pancreas. Their hypothesis suggested that mobilizing stem cells would cause the growth of blood vessels (angiogenesis) and release factors that would result in the local differentiation of progenitor cells with a resulting anti-inflammatory effect. Diabetes, they added, has been shown to impair progenitor cell mobilization, a problem that local stem cell infusion could remedy. Once more, the effect of the hyperbaric oxygen therapy, they hypothesized, would be to increase stem cell mobilization in such a way as “to target more than one crucial reparative step” to counteract the chronic injury that attack the endothelial progenitor cells and the islet cells. “Overall, our results show that a close follow-up with intensive diabetic management alone could not be the only cause of the positive, progressive and consistent outcomes we obtained in this trial over one year of follow-up,” said Dr. Estrada. “A decade ago, research had explored stem cell transplantation and hyperbaric oxygen therapy as stand alone treatments. This study highlights the potential benefits of using an unusual combination therapy to treat diabetes” said Dr. Cesar V Borlongan, Associate Editor of Cell Transplantation and Professor at the University of South Florida College of Medicine
Hyperbaric Oxygen Breathing Life Into Patients
4/09/2009 Keego Harbor, MI
The hyperbaric chamber is being used as a common treatment for a wide variety of medical conditions.
What appears to be a vessel from a science fiction movie could be the key to longevity. Hyperbaric chamber treatment is becoming more popular in hospitals and is being seen as a legitimate form of treating illness. Medical science may just have discovered the fabled fountain of youth. Hyperbaric oxygen chambers have previously been used to treat divers who suffered from decompression illness or “the Bends”. About 20 years ago, medical science discovered the healing properties of hyperbaric oxygen chambers. Many are used to treat severe muscle, bone, and tissue damage as well as carbon monoxide poisoning. The treatment has also been known to help with migraines, anti-aging, and cerebral palsy. A study also showed that hyperbaric oxygen treatment increased brain activity in children with autism. Treatments allow patients to breathe 100% pure oxygen within the hyperbaric oxygen chamber as opposed to the roughly 21% pure oxygen received in the atmosphere. The increased oxygen concentration allows the most abundant element in the human body to enter the blood stream in a higher concentration. Hyperbaric oxygen treatments have been shown to rejuvenate cells and in some instances bring dead tissue back to life. Experts are noticing the undeniable benefits of hyperbaric oxygen chambers. The treatment has gained esteem within the medical community and many hospitals have been offering this treatment to patients. Some medical insurance companies will cover a limited number of hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatments for medically verified illnesses. Hyperbaric oxygen chambers are surging in popularity and are available for home usage. Some companies offer smaller versions of the futuristic fountains of youth for rent or purchase. Hyperbaric oxygen chambers are becoming more common in homes of children with autism as well as people suffering from cancer. Replenishing the body of its most abundant resource has reported undeniable positive results in mood and overall vitality. The idea is finally gaining the popularity and esteem as an alternative form of medicine that it deserves. Learn more about the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen treatment at www.HyperbaricChamberTreament.com
Extra oxygen may be next trend
March 12, 2008 by Jim Faber / | McClatchy Newspapers
Hyperbaric chambers are gaining elective popularity.
Someday soon Haelen Hyperbarics will reach across the nation and its hyperbaric oxygen therapy will be an everyday part of the nation’s health care, if the management team’s vision comes true. The Hilton Head Island, S.C.-based company already has its hyperbaric chambers set up at two island health care centers. The company plans to open centers in Raleigh, N.C.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Austin, Texas; Savannah; and Memphis by the end of the year, said Andrew Kolb, company president. But that’s just the beginning. Kolb and Rodger Itkor, the company’s vice president of marketing, foresee a push to take the company’s health treatments national within the next two years. A hyperbaric chamber is an airtight chamber that patients lie in for about an hour, breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized atmosphere. The extra oxygen helps speed the recovery process on everything from broken bones to neurological disorders, Kolb said. Hospitals also have the chambers, but they are used typically for only a few things covered by insurance, like wound recovery or tissue damage from radiation. At Haelen’s locations in the LifeSpan building and the Hilton Head Health and Wellness Center on the island, services are elective, meaning it’s not covered by insurance and patients pay out of pocket. Popular reasons for using the island facilities include treatment for chronic pain from conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, sports injuries and recovery from cosmetic surgery, Kolb said. The first new treatment center will open at the American Institute of Healthcare & Fitness in Raleigh on April 1. The West Palm Beach location is scheduled to open in mid-April. Itkor, particularly, is thinking big. Sure, the company will make money, but he sees Haelen’s value going far beyond that. “You have a tremendous effect on the health and wellness of the entire nation, helping people to live longer,” he said. “It’s fantastic.” Hyperbarics are popular in Asia and Japan, but still haven’t reached the mainstream here, Kolb said. The topic did receive national press attention when then-Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens claimed hyperbaric oxygen treatments helped his broken leg heal faster, allowing him to play in the 2004 season’s Super Bowl.
Opening of a new health renewal center in the heart of Beverly Hills
2007/07/27 18:23
Press Release from: Absolute Health of Los Angeles
“Opening of a new health renewal center in the heart of Beverly hills”. Combining a multi-specialty approach to holistic healthcare, with the latest generation of equipment. Dr Alicia Burke, Chiropractor for 8 years in Los Angeles, has just create a new health renewal center named Absolute Health of Los Angeles in the heart of Beverly Hills. This new clinic is providing several services : Chiropractor, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Colon Hydrotherapy, Light Rejuvenation, Massage Therapy, Acupuncture. Absolute Health of Los Angeles offers State of the Art Health, healing and beautifying services for individuals seeking and intimate facility with a variety of treatments. Each practitioner provides their signature treatments tailored to your needs. The practitioner’s having years of experience and have practiced in Europe, Asia, United Kingdom, and throughout the United States. “We are providing services for the entire body. Many Americans wait until the body fails structurally and mechanically. Many wait until the body cries out in distress before seeking some sort of intervention. I have decided to build a place where people in all phases of health are educated about their personal health status, empowered to make changes and motivated to adopt lifestyle that promotes long term wellness free of multiple prescription drugs that so many people over the age of 50 are required to take due to poor health decisions over the previous years.” says Dr Alicia Burke – Clinic Director. As a group of holistic healthcare providers, Absolute Health of Los Angeles values first and foremost the quality of care patients receive and their right to participate with their providers treatment options. Absolute Health of Los Angeles adopts a team approach that through communication insures that patients receive a treatment plan that is comprehensive and balanced with both Eastern and Western Modalities. The providers take into account patients schedules and time constraint, Absolute Health of Los Angeles is a one stop health and wellness center. About Dr Alicia Burke : Dr. Alicia Burke is a leading Los Angeles Chiropractic practitioner whom is dedicated to the complete health and well being of her patients, family and friends. With a bachelors degree in Physical Education and Health in hand, Dr. Burke taught at an inner-city school and later became the Athletic director for a East Los Angeles school district. She graduated Cum Laude with a Doctorate degree from Life Chiropractic College West, a leading chiropractic college in San Francisco. She was awarded Excellence in Clinic for Outstanding Patient Care throughout clinic internship, and was named Chiropractic Student of the Year 1997. Dr. Burke maintains a license to practice Chiropractic in California. She has also completed the National Boards Parts I, II, III, IV and Physiotherapy examinations accepted throughout the United States
Anti-Aging Treatment – Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Oxygen Zone press release
May 17 2007
Since the Sumerian’s civilization some 5000 years ago, people have dreamt about staying young and having eternal life. Their king Gilgamesh searched for the plant that can make him young again, if not immortal. Gilgamesh dives into the sea to pick the plant, but loses it later, while bathing, because a snake slithers up and eats it. Medical Science follows Gilgamesh voyage with more or less success … challenge to extend human time limit is old as human race and is the base of many serious medical research regarding man and his existence. Anti- aging medical experts know that many illnesses connected with aging could be avoided or slowed down through optimal cell health. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy helps to create the optimal environment for cell essential processes. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy known as HBO therapy or HBOT, has been used since 17th century for treating various medical conditions but is still not accepted by mainstream medicine, some doctors are dismissive some are even hostile, nevertheless many doctors do use HBOT along the side of their official medical treatment. Side effects of oxygen use are broadly studied but practically they have been ignored. Due to such therapeutic characteristics, J. H. Jacobson opened his lecture at The First International Congress for the Use of Hyperbaric Oxygen (Amsterdam, 1963.), by words: “The use of oxygen under pressure higher than atmospheric, represents a progress which, by importance, may be measured by introduction of blood transfusion and antibiotics in the treatment.” Hyperbaric Medicine, HBOT, is based on only one medicament: the pure oxygen, breathed under the pressure higher then atmospheric, in special equipment – hyperbaric chambers. The origin of the most deceases (or their consequence) is a lack of oxygen: hypoxia or anoxia. Hyperbaric oxygenation (HBOT), if it is used at the right moment, stops the suffering of cells, tissues and organism in hypoxia or anoxia, leading to the recovery, regeneration and complete restitution if destruction already took a place. The main functions of human system, is to deliver oxygen through blood to all parts of the body. The heart of healthy human pumps daily 8 000 lit. of blood, and the body consumes 368 lit. of oxygen. The highest consumers of oxygen in human body are digestive system, brain tissue, muscles, etc. We live in a toxic world today – the air we breathe, the food we eat, environmental contamination, stress, depression, alcohol, cigarettes. The latest scientific research suggests that even degenerative diseases do not occur because we get older but because the lifestyle we follow does not provide optimal conditions for us to blossom. Most of what is called aging – from sagging skin and falling hormone levels to raised cholesterol and blood pressure – is premature and preventable. Many of today’s illnesses as well as premature aging are caused by lack of oxygen. The body accumulates a certain amount of toxic waste from the food. When food is metabolized and broken down in the body, it leaves certain residues, which give way to either alkaline or acidic potentials of pH. These residues appear to most strongly influence body pH levels and can lead to serious health problems, weight gain, poor athletic performance, low energy levels and premature aging if continuously too acidic or too alkaline. Without enough oxygen, human body does not function properly and it cannot get rid of free radicals, uric acid, fungal and bacterial infections. When the pH of the body becomes too acidic it results in tiredness, stress, fatigue, excess weight, poor digestion, aches and pains, and disorders that are even more serious. The body becomes imbalanced and overly acidic because of eating too many acidifying foods like processed sugar, meats, dairy, coffee, alcohol, etc… As the body becomes more and more acidic, bad bacteria, yeasts and other microforms proliferate in the body. The body uses many systems in order to buffer acids including breath, mineral reserves, and fat. HBOT helps reduce acidic build-up and rebalance pH by buffering these residues and removing them from the body, helps the cleansing and repair of tissues, helps maintain proper insulin production and use. Hyperbaric chambers assist the body help itself and getting rid of all harmful toxins within. HBOT is very successful in the cosmetic and spa treatments such as rejuvenation, anti-aging, weight loss, skin toning, banishing cellulite, wrinkles reduction, detox, and stimulation of the immune system as well as in longevity. Skin disorders such as eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, or proper vascularization of tissue flaps, fat grafts, tissue grafts, heightened healing after any surgery, increased collagenation, increased chances of hair follicle growth after re-implantation, help with the digestive tract and increased nutrient absorption, allergy and IBS as well as numerous other conditions. Oxygen deficiency creates dirty and toxic blood and other fluids that run all through the body. Cancer is a buildup of toxins within the body not to mention cellulite, skin disorders, food intolerance, etc… No healing can begin until these toxins are removed from the body. The central therapeutic problem in the origin of many diseases, injuries, and intoxications is hypoxia (reduced partial pressure of oxygen in tissues) or anoxia (complete lack of oxygen in tissues). The struggle against hypoxia is the struggle for life of the cell, tissue or organism in whole. HBOT effectively increases level of antioxidative protection of the body, increasing production of superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase. On that way, HBO decreases mutation of chromosomes, slows the process of growing old and has anti carcinogenic and anti stress effects. If toxins are present within your body, oxygen and the body’s “food supply” cannot get inside your cells to supply needed nutrients, nor can the cells function properly. So far, the only medically documented method for increasing oxygen in the skin, and thus nourishing it and protecting it from premature aging, is by enclosing patients in hyperbaric oxygen chambers. Today’s lifestyle requires more than just the essentials. With today’s hectic pace of life, you will probably be glad to have all the help you can get.
Skin Deep—Beauty Regimens Reach for the Gold Standard
June 28, 2007; By NATASHA SINGER; BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.
IN a city that considers 25-year-old actresses aged and those over 45 practically ready for pasture, a woman who spends 10 hours and $1,000 a week on beauty treatments to maintain her looks does not view herself as unusual. “I get my hair blown out every two days, I get a manicure every week and I have just started this new electrical-current thing twice a week for my thighs,” said Ginger Grace, a real estate agent here who was having her hair colored last month at The Salon by Maxime on North Rodeo Drive. Tall, blond and toned, Ms. Grace, 40, said her maintenance routine also includes frequent facials, eyebrow waxing, a personal trainer, a hiking coach and the occasional Botox injection or tanning parlor session, a beauty program that she considers to be minimalist by local standards. “I am probably the only person in Los Angeles who doesn’t see a chiropractor, an acupuncturist or a nutritionist, but it’s so youth-driven here that maybe I should.”For a coterie of professionals like Ms. Grace in major cities across the country, the standards of upper-middle-class beauty upkeep are moving stratospherically higher. Although women have long engaged in grooming activities to attract romantic partners and to compete in the work force, the increased availability of nonsurgical options like wrinkle injections and skin-smoothing devices — along with the explosive proliferation of nail salons and spas — has shifted the beauty norms, making grooming routines more elaborate, more time-consuming and more expensive.“We have more procedures than we did 10 years ago to help you maintain your appearance and to undo some of the damage you did to yourself by sitting in the sun,” said Dr. Flor A. Mayoral, a dermatologist in South Miami. Dr. Mayoral said that she asks every new patient the size of her yearly beauty budget and works within the limits. She estimated that many of her patients spend $2,400 a year on facial injections and $2,000 a year on hair coloring. Lisa Oliver, the head colorist at The Salon by Maxime, calculated that her clients spend even more on grooming. “Depending on how much Botox and the pricier stuff you get done, when you add in hair care, nails, face and body, it’s got to be between $2,000 to $3,500 a month,” Ms. Oliver said. In Los Angeles, she added, such grooming is considered basic maintenance. “If you are high maintenance, you could spend a lot more money,” Ms. Oliver said. “I can think of a couple of people where $3,500 a month might be low.” It may seem shocking that some women are prepared to spend as much — or more — a month to try to keep the physical signs of age at bay as other Americans spend on rent. But beauty spending is not limited to business executives. In a survey conducted for her forthcoming book, “Going Gray,” to be published in September, Anne Kreamer found that women who earned $25,000 to $50,000 a year spent an average of $60 a month just on hair color. Manisha Thakor, a financial analyst and co-author of “On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl’s Guide to Personal Finance,” said that because beauty treatments are intangible purchases — they don’t stack up in the closet like shoes — women may not notice them mounting. “If you took that $100 a month you are spending on manicures and pedicures and invested it starting at age 25 in stocks that went up 10 percent a year, you would have over $500,000 by the time you were 65,” Ms. Thakor said. “That makes the monthly $100 look like phenomenally expensive manicures.” But Dr. Mayoral in Miami said that, for many professional women, beauty upkeep is a business expense. “Some women feel that they can’t look older and unkempt, that they have to look groomed,” she said. “You are competing with other women who are doing exactly the same thing.” Following is a sampling of women in different cities who agreed to share their beauty regimens. Ginger Grace Before Ms. Grace moved to Santa Monica from New Mexico 17 years ago, her beauty routine involved no more than coloring her hair every six weeks. Now she says she has several facials a month, a weekly manicure and twice-weekly eyebrow grooming. “L.A. is very ageist and very beauty-driven,” she said. “I think anybody here would do anything to look young.” Sitting under a dryer last month at The Salon by Maxime in Beverly Hills with her hair sectioned off in foil, Ms. Grace calculated that she now frequently spends 10 hours and $1,000 a week on personal grooming. She is not just driven by social pressure, she said. Beauty treatments like Botox and hair color help her maintain an advantage as a real estate broker. “My field is highly competitive,” Ms. Grace said. “Clients pick you more or less for your style and appearance.” The facials and thigh treatments help boost self-confidence, but it is the thrice-weekly hair blow outs that are nonnegotiable, she said. “If I have a client I’m showing a lot of houses or if I am in escrow, I will drop all the beauty stuff except for the blow out, which I will get no matter what,” she said. Ms. Grace said her immaculately kept hair, skin and nails are intended to convey to clients that she is well groomed but not high maintenance. “I try to appear like I am not trying too hard, to look like a relaxed natural,” Ms. Grace said. “But of course, I am trying very hard.” Maria Eugenia Blanco For Ms. Blanco, 47, an architect from Coral Gables, Fla., who designs high-end homes, Miami is a city with high expectations for physical appearance. “In other cities, winter is wonderful because you wear a big coat and a hat and a sweater and nobody knows whether you are overweight because all they can see is your eyes,” Ms. Blanco said. “In Miami, there are a lot of Latin women who are very concerned about how they look, and there are a lot of beaches and bathing suits and you are naked half of the year.” Running from one construction site to another, Ms. Blanco said, she does not have time for an elaborate beauty routine that involves a lot of different weekly appointments. And her work environment, which leaves her splattered with mud and paint samples, does not require a glossy self-image, she said. But when she turned 45 and noticed her face begin to change, she found herself at Dr. Mayoral’s office for nonsurgical cosmetic procedures. “After you hit 45, things start changing from one day to the next,” Ms. Blanco said. “It is like an avalanche you never expected.” She now opts for the occasional dermatological treatment like Botox injections and Thermage, a radio frequency device that is supposed to tighten the skin, she said. Ms. Blanco said the treatments help maintain her self-confidence. “I want to look healthy and feel good about myself,” she said. “I want to look refreshed, but not in an exaggerated way.” Amy Krakow Twice a week, Ms. Krakow, 57, who owns a public relations company in New York that specializes in design and food, visits a sports medicine clinic on the Upper East Side for a 30-minute session in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. She believes the oxygen inhalation treatment, originally developed for deep-sea divers with decompression sickness, helps keeps her skin baby soft, she said. “I’m convinced that the hyperbaric chamber is better than an oxygen facial because the oxygen is going internally,” she said last week as she clambered into a hard-sided blue capsule that resembled a coffin. “It also speeds up your metabolism so you lose weight faster.” Ms. Krakow said treatments like the hyperbaric chamber, along with plastic surgery procedures that she underwent on her face and torso, help her stay competitive in a youth-driven profession. “I am in an image business,” said Ms. Krakow, a petite blonde with an eclectic style that embraces both Fendi handbags and Yohji Yamamoto backward jeans. “Plus I am up against people a lot younger than me, and that is critical.” To make time for manicures, hair straightening and Botox injections, she gets up daily by 6 a.m., she said. Expenses for the treatments can add up. “I just spent $411, an astounding sum of money, on a facial and skin care products, but my skin looks spectacular,” she said. “I have nice skin, so why not keep it that way?” Ms. Krakow said the effects of the procedures have been noticed. “It’s nice to have a guy in his 40s tell you you look hot, because you don’t necessarily feel that way as you get older,” she said. Ms. Krakow said that she stopped getting artificial nail tips a few years ago because she found them too time-consuming to maintain. But she is considering other beauty treatments. “I’m thinking seriously of tooth veneers,” she said. “I think that’s next.” Posted by Matthew E. Kahn at 8:59 PM
The Latest Skin Care Craze – Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
June 16th, 2008 by: sharling
Professional Free Press Release News Wire
A few years ago we saw the advent of ‘oxygen bars.’ Customers out for an evening of recreation with their friends forego their cocktails or high-priced coffees and, instead, opt for a little extra oxygen. They get the same lift, but instead of endangering their health, they improve it. Oxygen is also the latest craze in skin care and, according to some experts, it makes you look younger without expensive surgery. Find out more about oxygen treatments and whether you should add them to your natural skin care routine. The new oxygen treatment is called hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). Used for decades to cure a number of medical ills, studies show that it detoxifies, enables rapid regeneration of cells, promotes a healthy immune system, and is powerful anti-aging therapy. How is HBOT delivered? Most treatment centers start with an application of a serum containing hyaluronic acid and antioxidants. You are then placed in what is essentially an oxygen chamber – very similar to those used in a medical setting – that emits therapeutic-grade hyperbaric pressurized oxygen. The treatment lasts about an hour and proponents, who reportedly include Madonna and Eva Longoria, claim that the skin feels more hydrated and fine lines and wrinkles are reduced even after one treatment, although several are recommended. Six treatments cost $1200 to $1500 – more expensive than a simple lunch-time peel or the top of line the anti-aging skin care products, but far less than a face-lift or even botox. Best of all, it’s safe, non-toxic and even promotes better overall health. The real advantage of HBOT is that it’s natural. Many skin problems are actually caused by the chemical skin care products we generally use. Skin care treatment without chemicals really helps the skin heal instead of just covering up, or peeling off, the problems with more chemicals. If you’re not yet ready for HBOT, or it’s not in your budget, you should at the very least use natural skin care products. A good place start is with a shielding lotion. A good shielding lotion bonds with the outer layer of the skin to keep chemicals out and keep natural moisture in. The body is capable of healing most skin conditions, but not if it’s dry, and not if it’s continually assaulted with chemicals in the environment and in skin products. Check out HBOT to see if it’s right for you and, in the meantime, give shielding lotion a try if you’re looking for a non-toxic, non-invasive skin care treatment that can make a big difference in a short time.
