European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 21, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 the stars and stripes saturday december 21, 1985 facial peels to wipe away the wrinkles once shunned by the medical Community facial peer Are new common procedure for Many Docton. By Gayle Young United press International Barbara Cassebarth was a Californi girl who played Tennis every Day and hit the each on weekends Tor hours of Sun soaking As the lines and sunspots on he face at the age of 51 attested. Worried that her lace would become cancerous the san Fernando Valley native opted this Spring Lor a procedure commonly known As a facial Peel. In one Long sometimes painful week her wrinkles and sunspots were removed with a chemical compound. I had no idea How fantastic it would  said a bubbly Cassebarth. The change was so dramatic people literally did t recognize  facial peels were shunned by the medical Community when they were first introduced in the 1960s. And while most doctors still have not embraced the procedure they Are not As hostile As they were previously said or. Robert l. Simons the president of the american Academy of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. It is an accepted  said Simons. Facial peels initially got a lot of bad press and rightly so. They were done by Lay people who botched a lot of faces. Now More medical doctors Are around who Are willing to do  the increasing number of medical doctors willing to do the procedure have driven Many of the Lay people out of business said or. Robert Kotler. Who performed Cassebarth s facial Peel in his los Angeles office. Because doctors Are Able to Anes Thetie the patient they can perform More thorough facial peels that result in what the patient is seeking an unlined face covered with smooth skin he said. Since the results Are better now More and More people Are seeking the procedure said Kotler who says 95 percent of his patients Are women. This has really caught on in California and Florida. I can see it spreading to the  a special License is not needed to perform a facial Peel but it is a Complex and possibly dangerous procedure that is Best done under general anaesthesia doctors said. The procedure like others in Medicine seems almost ghoulish. A compound of acids and irritant oils Are applied to the face treat away a millimetre or two of skin within 24 hours taking with it a lifetime of wrinkles and age spots. The acids remove the entire outer epidermis and part of the supporting Vermous layer of skin cells. Within a week a new layer of epidermis covers the face. This new skin thinner than the original is As fragile As a Newborn s and often Bright Pink in color. But after several months patients can return to Normal make up and Sun doctors said if they Don t overdo it. Just like surgery there Are some dangers associated with chemical peels and a few unwanted Side effects. The new skin is often a lighter color than the old and some patients have trouble with scarring and color splotches. Because the new skin is lighter the procedure cannot be performed on Blacks. Hispanics. Asians or some people with dark complexions doctors said. The Best candidates Are fair skinned blondes but doctors Are Able to test a Patch of skin on those with Darker complexions to see How the new skin will turn out. The acid applied to the face is eventually absorbed into the blood. The most frequently used acid is phenol which the body can absorb and excrete through the urine in Small amounts. Candidates for the surgery must be screened for kidney or heart problems because the acids can damage both under the wrong conditions. It s not necessarily a greater risk than any elective surgery said Simons. But it has been billed As a fast easy alternative to surgery and that is simply not the  facial peels do not take the place of face lifts said Kotler. Face lifts where surgeons pull skin and muscle up from a sagging position do not usually remove wrinkles. Chemical peels in turn do not lift sagging jowls. Many of my patients Combine the two he said. Recently doctors have experimented with Collagen injections As an alternative to both procedures. Collagen a binding protein found in connective tissues is injected into the face to fill out skin and eliminate wrinkles. But the effects Don t last More than a few years. Simons said. Skin care potions difficult Choice by Patricia Mccormack United press International t he Promise of a Fountain of youth Genie i skin care potions All along the cosmetic counter lures american women to a Promise that May not be kept. That is the consensus of experts commenting on seemingly magical Powers claimed for products containing elastin Collagen and ingredients known Only to cosmetic company chemists. Collagen and elastin compose the support fiber network in the second layer of skin the dermis. The upper layer is the epidermis. In Young skin Collagen fibres Are numerous and tightly Woven. Easton fibres Are delicate and branched. The result is a smooth supple wrinkle free skin. As the skin Ages this network weakens and skin loses shape and resiliency. The Sun and to a lesser extent wind pollution and cold help break Down the support Liber network causing premature aging and wrinkling. Or. James Leyden professor of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania medical Center says products with Collagen and plasticizers Don t change the skin s Collagen or elastin. Rather the protein ingredients in the products hold water and help to moisturize the skin. However when Collagen is injected under a scar or wrinkle it can modify the depression in the skin making it less shallow. Or. Walter Larsen chairman of the american Academy of dermatology task Force on cosmetics said he does not use the inject Able Type but reports that among those who do the claim is that skin fills out and looks More Youthful for six to 12 months. But on occasion there is an allergic reaction he said. Or. Usry Dugan director of skin care research Tor Avon products says sunscreens Are the most potent anti aging skin care products on the Market. Other dermatologists agreed noting that preventing damage from ultraviolet rays is the Best Way to prevent premature sagging puckering and wrinkling. The most important thing about wrinkles is prevention said Larson who also is professor of dermatology at the University of Oregon health sciences Center. Use a sunscreen. Start doing it in childhood. Sunburn should be prevented at All Cost especially  the Hunt for packaged products that will it Tain or restore the Bloom of youth to the no longer Youthful is expected to turn into a Stampede As baby Boomers 28 to 44, search Lor line or wrinkle soothers removers or cover ups. According to Kurt Sanger. Avon s group product director Lor skin care. Skin care products he said account for $1.4 billion of the $6 billion cosmetic Industry sales annually. Industry sources say sales of skin care products up 11 percent last year Are increasing twice As last As those of makeup powders Mascara and such. As More and More products appear on the skin care Market claiming to out perform one another he said the consumer is finding it increasingly difficult to know who they can really count on and How to make an intelligent product  hair colouring is another cosmetic strategy in the Battle to hold Back the hands of time. One out of three american women colors her hair. This is the fastest and easiest Way to take years off one s appearance says Phyllis Klein publicity director of Clairol. To see it All the time when we do makeovers Tor television shows she said. As in the skin care Field growth in the hair colouring Industry is expected Over the next several years As baby Boomers Start to Gray