Saving Face: A Dermatologist's Practical Guide to Maintaining a Healthier and Younger Looking Face

In this sensible, chatty book, Novick, clinic chief of dermatology at Mt. Sinai hospital in Manhattan, offers practical, if unoriginal, advice on topics ranging from facial cleansers, moisturizers and sunscreens, acne and unwanted hair to face-lifts, fat suction and skin cancer treatments. The author deflates popular mythsthe regenerative benefits of topical collagen, the organic-additive mystique and the junk food-acne linkand provides physiological facts on the skin's structure and aging that will help readers to shop knowledgeably in a sometimes bewildering marketplace. Included are a particularly useful list of common cosmetic ingredients and their functions as well as descriptions of newly approved procedures like carbon dioxide-laser treatments to remove acne scars and vaporize forms of skin cancer. In a Naderesque attack against the seductive voice of Madison Avenue, Novick concedes that few wrinkle preventive measures are more effective than keeping skin moist and protected from the sun. Ultimately, readers may not be able to save their faces from the effects of aging, but they may be able to save a few dollars by practicing some of Novick's healthy skepticism. Illustrations not seen by PW. (November 12)