Minimally Invasive Beauty Treatments Growing In Popularity

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – For those wanting to look a bit younger but want to avoid injections or going under the knife, there are a host of minimally invasive treatments meant to stop the skin's aging process.

Julie uses fractional laser treatments to keep her skin looking young and improve texture.

"There's very, very little downtime. And there's not very much pain involved, and it's an extremely natural result," said Julie.

The natural look you get from that is what experts say more patients are opting for and a host of minimally invasive treatments are aimed at achieving it.

"We have so many new technologies, so many new procedures and there's so much interest," said Dermatologist Arielle Kauvar, MD.

The has been increased interest in treatments like, focused ultrasound to tighten the skin, fractional lasers to treat scars, wrinkles, and improve texture or micro needling, which is actually using small needles to create tiny injury to the skin.

What is the idea behind the treatments?

"We can create microscopic wounds to the skin and that stimulates the skin to produce new collagen. By essentially tricking the skin into going into this wound repair mechanism we can reverse some of the aspects of aging," said Kauvar.

Some experts recommend starting treatment early at the first signs of aging in order to slow the process.

Dr. Scot Glasberg, President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, sees a trend toward minimally invasive procedures but feels some of these treatments may border on too little for some patients.

"There are times when surgery or more invasive procedures are the best options for patients. And that's generally later in life, more extreme situations where patients have waited and not had any of the minimally invasives to start," said Glasberg.

Kauvar points out sometimes a combination of treatments works best and said lasers can't prevent wrinkles from returning in areas with a lot of muscle movement.

"So injectables such as neurotoxin and fillers accomplish one kind of change whereas lasers and ultrasound treatments accomplish another. And often to get the sort of total picture and the best rejuvenation we combine them," said Kauvar.

If you do consider opting for a newer minimally invasive anti-aging treatment, Dr. Kauvar recommends seeing a physician who is well qualified and has a lot of experience with the treatment device.

"Although they are extremely safe when used properly, these are high energy devices and it is possible to create side effects when they're not used properly," Dr. Kauvar.

As for Julie, she is happy with the results she has seen.

"My skin is tighter.  It's smoother without looking blown up," said Julie.