Top 5 Lunch Hour Beauty Treatments

Most women live extremely busy lives, but we don’t want to look like we don’t have time to take care of ourselves. Though true beauty is within, we live in a world of appearances, and first impressions count for a lot. Plus, when we look good, we tend to feel good.

So, how do those of us who work for a living fit in the kinds of cosmetic upkeep that ladies-who-lunch spend hours on?

Fortunately, technology has brought us more than just the Internet and smart phones. The technology of beauty has also come a long way in the past few years, and now treatments are available that will seriously enhance your looks in less than an hour. Next time you can actually get away from your desk for lunch, you might want to consider treating yourself to one of these:

Botox

Botox has been around for a few years now, and in that time, it has gained major fans. When done skillfully, it can result in remarkable results that smooth out existing wrinkles, prevent new ones, and even give flat eyebrows a nice arch. Though certain overusers end up looking frozen and unable to form even simple facial expressions (we’re looking at you, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), less liberal usage can erase frown lines subtly.

Best yet, Botox is a quick procedure, usually taking no more than 15 or 20 minutes. In fact, some dermatologists are opening drop-in Botox clinics, so you don’t even need to make an appointment in advance.

Though the actual injections take less time than you probably spend in line at Starbucks, the full effect of Botox can take up to 2 weeks, and will last 3 to 6 months.

Fillers

Few of us can afford the time or money necessary for an actual facelift, but it’s now possible to take years off your face in just a few minutes with cosmetic dermal fillers. Dermal fillers, such as Juvederm or Restylane, are injections that can be used to fill out areas around the mouth, lips, forehead, or eye area. They work by plumping out grooves, such as those “parentheses” around the mouth, known as nasolabial folds. Fillers may also be used for under-eye circles, which means, because fillers work immediately, you could return from your “lunch” break looking like you just got the best night’s sleep of your life. Fillers typically last from 6 to 9 months.

LED teeth whitening

The deliciousness—not to mention the enjoyable effects—of both coffee and red wine mean that they are two of the most popular beverages in America, and also that many of us who consume them have teeth that aren’t as white as they once were. And nothing looks nastier than someone grinning at you with a mouthful of yellowing teeth.

Fortunately for us, tooth whitening has come a long way in the past few years and now you can return from your lunch hour with shiny, gleaming choppers. LED teeth whitening is a technology that uses laser light to activate peroxide gel, resulting in whitening of up to 10 shades in single, a one-hour visit. LED whitening is a staple of dental spas, but many mainstream dentists now offer the service as well.

V-Beam laser

Suppose your problem is not that you are a wrinkly, yellow-toothed hag, but that you have a raging case of rosacea, port wine stains, spots, or sun damage that keep you from feeling your most gorgeous. It used to be that you would need a chemical peel, which meant days of looking like a burn victim before your new, young skin emerged from the carnage.

These days, in the space of a few minutes, you can swing by your dermatologist’s office and the V-beam laser will erase everything from broken capillaries to hyper-pigmentation spots without damaging the skin’s surface. Although you may need up to three visits for full results, each can be done in the time you would need to eat a turkey and swiss hoagie, hold the mayo.

Silk Peel facial

If you want to rid yourself of fine lines, pigmentation, or acne, but don’t like the idea of lasers, the Silk Peel facial might be a good choice. The technology exfoliates and then delivers powerful antioxidants, anti-acne medications, or other prescribed treatments deep into the skin. Although you may need several treatments, improvement is typically noticed immediately, and each treatment takes only 20 minutes. Not a bad time investment for gorgeous, glowing skin.

For more information about cosmetic procedures and to getyour cosmetic surgery IQ score, takeAvvo’s Real vs. Fake quiz at