Quick Fixes for the Face

By Anastasia Toufexis

Time "delves the parallels in beauty's brow," wrote Shakespeare. Today he could wryly add, "So plastic surgeons to your very wish will bow." Over the years, the cosmetic wizards have conjured many escapes from the ravages of age, from chemical peels to skin abrasion to surgical lifts. Now they are wielding a new magic wand: syringes filled with collagen. Injections of the whitish gel smooth away time-worn creases as well as acne and surgical scars. And at a relatively affordable price: treatments run $300 to $1,500, about a third of the price of a typical face-lift.

Since 1981, when the Food and Drug Administration gave the nod, more than 300,000 people have indulged themselves with collagen shots. Enthusiasts range from society matrons to aging baby-boomer executives to fitness freaks who are intent on looking their best. "Most people who have the treatments are in their late 30s to 50s and are still very active," says Dr. Henry Roenigk, chairman of dermatology at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "People used to accept aging, but today they just don't want to look old. The fact is, however, collagen doesn't last forever."

Collagen, which is used in cosmetic creams, is a natural protein found in connective tissue, including the skin and bone. The injectable variety, developed by the Collagen Corp. of Palo Alto, Calif., is derived from the hides of cows. In a typical treatment, the collagen is inserted just under the skin in a series of ten to 15 shots. Used primarily to combat forehead furrows and the lines that extend from the nose to the lips, collagen fills in the space behind and around wrinkles and sags, much like the way air fills a balloon and makes its skin grow taut. The procedure, which stings slightly and can leave the face red for about a day, takes 15 min. to half an hour and can be completed during a lunch hour. "The nice thing about collagen is that the individual doesn't have any telltale signs," says Dr. Frederick Grazer, a plastic surgeon in Newport Beach, Calif. "When you have a face-lift, you have to go into hiding."

The technique appeals especially to those who are afraid of cosmetic surgery or who are too young for a full face-lift. "I was starting to get lines, and they were not part of how I felt I should look," said Marilyn Tschida, 44, owner of a picture-framing store in West Palm Beach, Fla., who had frown lines filled out last month. Mary Nielsen, an Oakland sales representative who says she is in her late 30s, decided to ease her laugh lines when "people started calling me 'Ma'am' instead of 'Miss.' " Michael Epstein, 32, who runs eight miles a day and plays tennis twice a week, paid $800 for initial treatments in July. "I always had the feeling that I'd be willing to do anything to improve my appearance," says Epstein, who owns a singles club in Encino, Calif. "I'm really into taking care of myself, and I don't mind spending money doing it."

Yet there are drawbacks. The benefits are temporary: the collagen breaks down and is absorbed by the skin in anywhere from three months to two years. Though patients are tested for allergic reaction beforehand, about one out of every 50 who pass the exam develops a delayed reaction to the shots, usually tiny bumps that disappear in six months. Some doctors also fear that repeated injections might compromise the body's immune defense system and cause later illness.

None of this discourages those who keep returning for treatments. "Nothing lasts forever," sighs Nicholas Pavlik, 48, an apparel store owner in New York City who has undergone injections every six months for the past four years. "But when you look better, you feel better." Not exactly a sentiment worthy of Shakespeare, but still one full of human truth.

With reporting by Scott Brown/Los Angeles, with other bureaus