Ever wonder how your favorite A-listers prep for the red carpet? While the final result often looks effortless, there are some pretty serious pre-event beauty rituals that take place. We’re not just talking manicures and a full-on glam squad, either. Stars often enlist the help of medical professionals for last-minute peels, brightening treatments or skin toning sessions. As social media continues to influence our own aesthetic goals, celebrities are taking to their personal platforms to share their experience with cosmetic enhancements. Today, a lot of these services are accessible to the masses. Close to home in NJ, you can find an array of celebrity beauty treatments at The Kaplan Center in Edgewater.
1. The Vampire Facial
Remember the bloody Kim Kardashian selfie from 2013 that went viral? Now known to the public as the “Vampire Facial,” microneedling with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has become one of the most requested celebrity beauty treatments in recent years—and you can get it done right here in NJ at The Kaplan Center.
The procedure involves inserting fine, short needles into the skin. By puncturing the surface, it generates collagen production. The benefits? Microneedling can help lessen the appearance of wrinkles, acne scars or sometimes stretch marks. The addition of PRP speeds up the body’s healing process. Actress and beauty enthusiast Busy Phillips has even gone on the record about her own microneedling experience.
I'm going to the dermatologist and I have a mole I need to check but also I'm gonna get my face microneedled while I'm there and tbh, I've never been more excited for something that is going to be kinda painful. I'm giddy.
— Busy Philipps (@BusyPhilipps) May 27, 2020
Phillips had this to say in an interview with New Beauty, “…what I liked about it and why I wanted to try it was I liked the idea of it sort of just slowing down the aging process. It doesn’t fill fine lines or wrinkles or change anything, but it does stimulate new cell growth and collagen production so there’s nothing wrong with that…”
2. Microdermabrasion
To obtain that kind of lit-from-within glow, many stars often turn to microdermabrasion. Also referred to by some as the “lunchtime facial.” The way this treatment works is by exfoliating dead skin cells from the surface, leaving you with a polished finish and no redness afterwards. Dr. Kaplan recommends this to anyone looking to combat dullness, pigmentation, acne scars, clogged pores or uneven texture. There’s (almost) nothing microdermabrasion can’t fix.
In a 2015 New Beauty article, Cameron Diaz’s aesthetician Christopher Watt explained how he uses microdermabrasion on the actress to help her blemishes. “I regularly do microdermabrasion on her, with a lactic acid peel. And she likes oxygen facials, too. I also put her under a blue LED light to lessen breakouts and do microcurrent work to tighten and tone.”
3. Laser Skin Tightening
Skin laxity is something we all face with age. And if you just so happen to be a star of the Housewives franchise, you’ll need gravity on your side. Luckily, there are more options to treat sagging skin that don’t include going under the knife. At The Kaplan Center, they offer SkinTyte—a non-invasive treatment that uses infrared light to heat and cool tissue under the skin, ultimately resulting in a firmer appearance.
In October of last year, former RHONY cast member Dorinda Medley posted the before and after photos from her SkinTyte procedure on her Instagram. She told a Bravo network employee that the treatments were intended to “tighten, brighten, and lift my lower face and neck.” In the post, Medley’s skin looks noticeably brighter. Where wrinkles once appeared the areas are now smooth and her face overall looks as if it’s been lifted.
4. IPL Photofacial
I’m not alone when I say that Jennifer Aniston is for sure aging backwards. In true Benjamin Button fashion, Aniston looks just as flawless today as she did during her 10-year stint on “Friends.” While I’d love to chalk it all up to the gods, Aniston herself has praised the benefits of laser facials to retain her youthful appearance. That is of course, in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise routine. In addition to preventing early signs of aging skin, Dr. Kaplan suggests getting an IPL Photofacial to treat sun damage and red or brown spots.
5. HALO Laser Resurfacing
Chelsea Handler has made a career out of not holding anything back. From her political views to her beauty regimen. On social media, she shared with her followers what it was like undergoing a laser resurfacing procedure by captioning the image: “Before and after. #profractional laser. It’s f**king awesome and no one is paying me to tell you about it. Bam! To answer questions: I did it on a Thursday and filmed my show on Monday. I go to Melissa Montes at Honest Dermatology in Encino, California. I did level 75. You can go up to level 400.”
@chelseahandler before and after – incredible results with #ProFractional laser pic.twitter.com/jCOTLDfLw7
— The Beauty Broker (@BeautyBroker) October 6, 2016
Dr. Kaplan offers a laser resurfacing procedure with HALO—the world’s first Hybrid Fractional Laser (HFL). This means the treatment is more comfortable than traditional fractional resurfacing, in addition to having less downtime, faster healing and more noticeable improvement. Profractional lasers are traditionally used to smooth skin from the inside out while evening out skin tone and treating wrinkles, scars or sun damage.
6. Dermal Fillers
Audrina Patridge, former castmate on MTV’s “The Hills,” has gone on to become the literal spokesperson for Juvéderm. The reality tv star revealed in early 2020 that she’s a fan of using non-surgical lip fillers. She had this to say in a February interview with HollywoodLife.com: ”I’ve always been one to overline my lips and a lot of my friends and people that I know are always so happy with their results so I decided to get mine done. I met with my provider, we talked about all my concerns, I told her I wanted a subtle, pouty natural look. I didn’t want them to look too plump.”
As explained on The Kaplan Center’s website, Juvéderm can be injected to add volume to the lips, as in Patridge’s case, or it can also be used to fill in folds and wrinkles on the face. Either way, their physicians will tailor each treatment to the individual needs of the patient.
7. PDO Threads
Ok, so maybe 24-year-old Bella Hadid hasn’t had a facelift just yet, but she is the inspo for many women who want a thread lift. The results of this non-surgical treatment are cat-like and help to “diminish the appearance of fine lines to create more of a pump, refreshed look,” said The Kaplan Center on their Instagram page. PDO threads can also be injected into the lips as an alternative or in addition to filler (see video below).
Sometimes referred to as the 30-minute facelift, the threading procedure involves inserting needles into the face that are preloaded with PDO (polydioxanone), a synthetic absorbable surgical suture. The needle is removed after 20 minutes and the “thread” remains in place. The results are immediate, however, the threads do dissolve over time.
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The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
