Dear Paula,

I am using at least 12 of Dr. Perricone’s products from all the Cold Plasma items to the Neuropeptide creams and anything that is supposed to firm the face and neck. I am 64 and have good skin but have the "elevens" between my brows, a few vertical lines above the lips and marionette lines at the corner of the mouth (although those aren’t very deep). I am also in need of something for firming the chin and neck area. Do your products address these issues or are there others you would recommend that are not as expensive as the Perricone products.

Judy, via email


Dear Judy,

Neither my products nor the 12 ones you are using from Perricone's line can do anything for the vertical lines between your brows, firm your neck or jaw line, chin, or change the marionette lines around your mouth in any way. I wish such products worked but they don’t. I know you won't believe me (don't worry, I won't be insulted) and you will simply go to another line that will tell you the same lies everyone else does just like Perricone's did.

The sad truth is the cosmetics industry has most women convinced there are products that can lift and firm their skin in a way that rivals plastic surgery or cosmetic corrective procedures. And if you really want them to work, you need to pay a lot of money! Along with the myth about what products can do, we often believe the lines charging the most for their products are telling you the truth and the lesser expensive ones aren't.

What I strongly recommend is a reality check. Ask yourself: if the claims made for even half of the products you are using were true is your skin lifted? Is your neck sagging any less than it was? What about your jaw line and undereye area? Have they regained their youthful, taut appearance? I don’t have to be standing with you to know what your answer will be especially because you already clued me in that these expensive products weren’t working, at least not for your chin and neck area despite their claims.

Next step (and this won’t be pretty but bear with me): add up what you routinely spend on the dozen Perricone products lining your bathroom vanity right now. Are you shocked? Perhaps not, but did you know that for roughly the same amount of money you spend on Perricone’s products in one year you can fix what bothers you the most about your skin? It’s true! You didn’t mention being opposed to cosmetic corrective procedures, so here’s what you can do that really will make a difference:

• For “the 11s” (those vertical lines between your brows that resemble the number 11), Botox or dermal fillers are absolutely the best option and will give you results almost overnight.
• For the vertical lines around your lips, consider Fraxel laser treatments along with a tiny amount of Botox (the Botox should only be administered from a doctor experienced with using it around the mouth, so do your homework here).
• For the marionette lines (along the side of your mouth to the chin) dermal fillers such as Restylane or Juvaderm add volume while Thermage, a treatment that uses radio frequency, helps tighten those areas.
• A series of Thermage treatments or Fraxel or other light treatments can also help make significant improvement in skin tone around the chin.
• The neck sagging can only be corrected by cosmetic surgery. Skin-care products cannot address the underlying factors that lead to loose skin on the neck.

Those are the facts. Many women want to avoid trusting what’s true and proven and instead buy products that continually promise the impossible. You have the power to stop being one of those women and start making wiser choices that really do make a difference.

What about skin-care products? Great question! First, stop wasting money on overpriced products that make false claims. In terms of Perricone's products he has never published one study proving any of them are effective.

You can assemble a brilliant antiaging skin-care routine using the recommendations my team and I make on Beautypedia for a fraction of what you are currently spending. Of course I think Paula's Choice has some incredible options but not for the results you are hoping for. Regrettably, that bit of honesty may lead you to other hundreds of other lines whose antiaging products are less effective than mine.