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DESCRIBED as the biggest breakthrough in beauty therapy since Botox, it is said to eradicate stretch marks, fade scars, melt fat and take years of your skin.
What is this non-surgical miracle? Injections of carbon dioxide gas.
The treatment is huge in the US. and is now available in Britain. Celebrity Parisian doctor Jules-Jacques Nabet is one of the first
to bring Carboxy therapy here, in the form of the Brazilian Rio Blush rejuvenation system.
My patients are seeing amazing results, he says. 'It really is the most important anti-ageing therapy since Botox 13 years ago. Carboxy therapy can treat areas such as Jowls, bingo wings, stretch marks ie decolletage. as well as cellullte. Nothing else works like it for loose skin and stretch marks. It means there is no need for surgery In many effects are revolutionary.'
So how does
it work? Carbon dioxide, the invisible, odourless gas that is part of the air we breathe, is injected just under the surface of the skin using a fine needle.
According to many studies, it difuses into the surrounding tissues and causes blood vessls to dilate. Wider vessels man a stronger blood supply, which brings a rush of oxygen treated area.
Evidence shows the carbon dioxide kills fat cells by causing them to distend, the extra oxygen eliminates fluid build up between cells, and the
skin is stimulated to produce more collagen.
The result, say practitioners. is fewer fat cells and firmer, younger skin. Medical studies have long shown carbon dioxide stimulates circulation. It has been used in France since the Thirties to treat patients suffering from poor circulation, blocked arteries and heart problems.
More recently, research by the University of Siena in Italy showed Carboxy therapy is effective at smoothing skin and reducing fat. In the study. 48 women
had six sessions over three weeks. On average, their thighs reduced by 2cm and they lost 1cm from each knee and 3cm from their stomach. At the same time their skin became thicker and their cellulite smoother.
The results on stretch marks and scars are permanent, but doctors suggest that to maintain reduced cellulite levels, you should have boosters every six months.
Carbon dioxide is a natural gas. produced by the cells in our bodies. Nontoxic and routinely used to inflate the
abdomen for laparoscopic surgery, it is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and expelled via our breath and kidneys.
HOWEVER. Alex Kaxldis, a leading cosmetic surgeon, has reservations. 'While it seems there is no risk, this therapy is far from mainstream. It remains to be seen if it works at all.
'Without several more larger-scale studies in reputable Journals and strong evidence of its effectiveness, anyone having the treatment is a guinea pig '
So is RioBlush
Carboxy therapy a miracle cure or just cosmetic hype? We put it to the test...
LEAH HARDY, 44. a journalist. lives In South London her husband Chris and two children, aged six and two. She had treatment for stretch marks on her stomach and thighs. Leah says:
EACH time I was pregnant. I put on three stone. After the babies were bom. I was disappointed to find I had livid red marks running from my bikini area halfway up to my belly button. I also had
stretch marks on my upper thighs.
The marks had faded to silver and purple, but they were unattractive, indented and put me off wearing a bikini. I remember catching sight of my stomach in the mirror as I put on Jeans and thinking it looked like crinkly old ruched blinds!
Dr Nabet explained Carboxy
was most effective on newer stretch marks which are still red. These are treated once a week for two to three weeks, though sometimes only one session is needed. Old stretch marks need three or four treatments at three-weekly intervals.
During my first 15-minute visit, I had 15 injections into the top of each thigh and 15 in my stomach. It was fascinating to see the gas bubbling under my skin, travelling down the line of each mark I couldn't feel it at all.
Most of the injections
were painless. I ended up with 15 tiny bruises on each thigh, but they disappeared in 48 hours.
I was told I'd see some effect the next day, and more in ten days. The results really surprised me. Many of the stretch marks on my thighs had almost vanished. The ones on my stomach were less noticeable, thinner and more skin-coloured.
I had a second treatment two weeks later. It took ten minutes, there were no bruises, and ten days later my stomach looked even better OK.
I still have some stretch marks, but not only are they far less obvious, the texture of my mum tum is tighter and less crinkly.
I plan to have one more treatment, then maintenance in a few months' time.
For anyone bothered by stretch marks, this quick and relatively inexpensive treatment is worth considering.
ANGELA HAYWARD, 48, is a wine merchant and MD of dvino.co.uk She is divorced with two grown-up children and lives in London with her partner Paul Raymonde. a cartoonist. She had her dicolletage, face and neck treated with Carboxy therapy. Angela says:
I'VE always been low maintenance: I've never had a manicure or a facial. I grew up in the sun and the effects were all too obvious on my lined, crinkly
decolletage.
I'd also started to notice my jaw line had become jowly. That's hereditary — my mother had a face-lift when she was my age because of it.
I liked the idea that Carboxy therapy is natural and non-Invasive The first treatment did hurt. The injections stung for few seconds and I could feel the gas under the skin, which was unpleasant. However. It was all done in 20 minutes.
I had tiny bruises on my chest and face for a few days — I looked as if I was spattered
with mud? But the results were amazing The fine lines snaking up towards my collar bone had vanished and my skin was smooth and youthful My sister could hardly believe the effect.
I was thrilled with the result around my Jaw line after just two sessions. The fat. sagging jowls have vanished, my turkey neck has gone and my skin looks plumped up and healthy Each treatment hurt less. I'll be back for maintenance in six months
ALICE BENTLEY, 38. lives in
Hertfordshire, works in publishing and is married with one child, aged three. She had treatment for cetlultle. Alice say:
I'M A classic pear shape, with a slim upper body, chunky thighs, chubby knees and ccllullte I'm a size eight to ten, but my body isn't balanced and I don't feel comfortable in short skirts, skinny Jeans, shorts or a swimming costume.
Dr Nabet picked out where I had fat and cellullte on my thighs and the inside of my knees. He said I d need a minimum of six treatments.
1 have to be honest - I found the treatment excruciating. So much so that Dr Nabet had to stop, and I had tears in my eyes.
Even though it took only 20 minutes, I was worried I wouldn't be able to tolerate the recommended course.
THE SECOND session was bearable and by the third I was fine. I was encouraged by the fact my thighs felt thinner and firmer, and the cellullte had improved. However, when I had a week's holiday during which I did lots of eating and drinking, and then I missed my fourth Carboxy appointment, I thought I'd
gone back to normal.
To my surprise, after that fourth treatment I was measured and I'd lost between 1cm and 2cm from my knees and thighs, which seemed smoother, though I still have cellulitr.
I will continue with treatments and I'm sure I would have got a better result if. as Dr Nabet suggested, I had given
up bread, alcohol, tea and coffee.
The results are subtle, but I am only halfway through the treatments. Each session is quick, making it a genuine lunch-time treatment, and compared to other treatments it is inexpensive and seems more effective.
RIOBLUSH Carboxy Therapy costs £100 a session. Dr
Jules Jacques Nabet's
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