The way you look on the outside can massively affect the way you feel on the inside. There's nothing vain or shallow about wanting to look your best, confidence is important and without it, you can miss out on so much. The stigma around beauty procedures and cosmetic surgery is slowly being lifted, and I'm all about allowing people to make the changes they want if it helps them feel good about their appearance. These days, there's plenty you can have done without even going under the knife, and can be so quick and simple they could technically be done on your lunch break. Here are some examples that could boost your confidence, and make you feel fantastic.
Laser hair removal
Maybe you're fed up of having to get out the tweezers on your face, or perhaps you crave silky smooth legs. Laser hair removal can get rid of any unwanted hair you like, which for some women can be life changing. Hormonal conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome can cause excessive hair growth, and those with dark hair will always find that body hair is more visible. It's suitable for all hair and skin types, and isn't painful like you might think. The sensation can be described as like snapping a rubber band on the skin and is tolerable for most people. Areas like the face, forearms or smaller areas on the body are generally over in a matter of minutes, you'll then need four or five more sessions spaced a few weeks apart to complete the treatment. It could mean the end of waxing and tweezing, give you your confidence back and free up the time you currently spend removing hair!
Microdermabrasion
Most of us start seeing the early signs of aging in our late twenties and early thirties. Often you'll start noticing fine line where the skin was once smooth, around the eyes and smile lines in the cheeks are common. It's at these early stages that microdermabrasion is useful, it's essentially an exfoliating treatment and using a hand held device, tiny micro crystals are passed over the skin. This removes the top layer leaving your skin looking and feeling fresher, and also encourages the stimulation of new skin and collagen. It's great for smoothing out fine lines, but won't work as well on deeper ones. Although any kind of skin type and age can enjoy the clean, refreshing feel you're left with afterwards,
Vampire facial
Made famous by celebs like Kim Kardashian, the eeriely named 'vampire facial' involves taking a sample of your own blood, extracting the plasma and then injecting it into your face. Platelets, growth factors, and other nutrients in the blood are said to stimulate the growth of collagen and healthy skin cells. Those that underwent the treatment stated it significantly helped to improve their skin tone, texture and fine lines. It sounds extreme but since there's no cutting of the skin involved it's all very quick and fairly painless.
Coolsculpting
Coolsculpting or 'fat freezing' is considered a non-surgical alternative to liposuction. The procedure uses crypoliploysis technology to freeze cells in the fatty deposits in your body. Like liposuction, this is a sculpting, not a weight loss procedure. It's performed on people who are within a normal weight for their height, on areas that are stubborn or resistent to exercise (typically on love handles and the lower back). A paddle shaped device is passed over the areas, and the 'frozen' cells are absorbed by the body and eliminated. As with these other procedures, there's no recovery time needed as you're not going under anasthetic or under the knife.
Lip fillers
There's no denying it, big lips are in. While they can get a bad rep due to some people going wayyy to far, in most cases lip fillers are done very tastefully. They add volume to your pout in a subtle way, which can really help to balance your face and accentuate your smile. As we get older we can lose some of the fullness of our lips (and some people, myself included) were just never blessed with particularly good lips. Research the clinic and check out lots of their before and after pictures, this kind of thing really is an art so your results can vary. You'll want to get it right! Start with a small amount and see how you feel, you can always add to it later. Just avoid the temptation of making them bigger and bigger!
