A product originally developed as a possible way to treat battlefield injuries is now part of an anti-aging treatment.
Texas Beautiful Image, Inc. says its "Maximum Cosmetic Recovery" treatment replaces up to two years of lost elastin, a protein that makes skin tighter and smoother.
The procedure involves wands that deliver a "microcurrent," combined with a cream Elastatropin, the laboratory synthesized form of human tropoelastin. Tropoelastin was developed as part of a Department of Defense competition on wound healing and tissue regeneration held to help treat battlefield injuries.
At a recent demonstration, Nelson Thibodeaux, TBI president, said the results are immediate. "We're going to see a mouth that's going to lift up higher, we're going to see a sculpting along the side of the jaw," he said. "The eye will be more open and somewhat lifted."
Thibodeaux said patients will feel tighter skin after a 30- to 45-minute treatment. He used the treatment on half of patient Heidi Horan's face, who said she could see and feel the difference.
"I could feel it pulling and toning," Horan said, of the treated side. "(It) feels like baby skin compared to this old skin."
TBI said each treatment costs between $100 and $150. Most people get about 10 treatments, according to the company.