Cleanse, Moisturize, Exfoliate
No "under the knife" for her (yet): Gisela Pitanguy touts skin care line asplastic surgery alternative
Dr. Gisela Pitanguy
Beauty By Clinica Ivo Pitanguy products
As the daughter of the "king of plastic surgery" in a nation that is obsessed with extreme makeovers, you'd think that Gisela Pitanguy would have gone under the knife years ago. But the 50-year-old director of the Clinica Ivo Pitanguy in Rio de Janeiro is happy with the way she looks.
"If I feel like I want to have something done, for sure I will do it," she said. "But not yet."
Pitanguy, whose father, Ivo Pitanguy has reportedly sculpted such famous clients at Brigitte Bardot, Joan Crawford and the King of Morocco, was In Houston recently during her first United States tour to promote her skin care line, PreVious, sold exclusively at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. And, frankly, she's a good advertisement for it. Her non-Botoxed face is expressive; she has some wrinkles — what 50-year-old doesn't?— but she looks radiant even in harsh department store light.
As a psychotherapist at the clinic for more than 20 years, Pitanguy works with patients to make sure they are aware that cosmetic surgery won't solve all their problems.
"Sometimes people think if they magically change their body, it will resolve their inner conflicts," she said. "There was a man from Europe who wanted to change his face. I detected that he had had a very difficult relationship with his father. He thought that if he changed his face, it would change his life. That's not at all a case for surgery. We always try to be careful or they will be dissatisfied."
She maintains there are things that anyone can do — besides cosmetic surgery — to look younger.
For one thing, start caring for your skin at an early age and stay shaded from the sun. "I tell my 16-year-old son with pimples, you always have to cleanse well," she said. "After you're in your 20s, you have to moisturize."
Among the high points of her regimen:
- In the morning and at night, Pitanguy uses a cleanser to wash her face. "It's important because it opens your pores, so your skin is able to absorb moisturizer better," she said. Use a good product that addresses your skin type; Products are made for dry or oily skin.
- Always moisturize afterwards. "People sometimes don't think about the neck or décolleté. There are special moisturizers for those parts of the body," she said. There are also cremes and lotions to diminish age spots and fill in wrinkles above the lips. "After washing my face, the skin feels a little tight, so I always use an eye contour creme," she said. In the winter, when she is in Europe and every place inside has dry heat, she uses the PreVious Restorative Formula, containing hyaluronic acids that giving the skin a more taut appearance. It's expensive, at $300 for 1.7 ounces, but a correspondent for the New York Times style magazine tried it and liked it. At other times, Pitanguy uses the PreVious Rebalancing Formula, a basic moisturizer.
- Pitanguy applies a tightening serum on her face that remains while she sleeps. "It has a feeling of aromatherapy," she said.
- It's very important to exfoliate gently twice a week to remove dead cells.
- Every so often, she applies a face mask. "I love it," she said. "And you can see the results."
- One cardinal rule: When outdoors, always use sunblock and moisturizer. "It becomes something you do, just like applying makeup," she said.
