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The NYT reports:

IN pursuit of a glowing, smooth, youthful complexion, Ann Runnels, 44, has tried Botox, microdermabrasion, injectable fillers, Fraxel lasers (a treatment said to stimulate cell growth) and the usual array of creams, ointments and $120-a-bottle serums.

Though the fight against wrinkles long ago went high tech (and high cost), it is only recently that technologies such as pulsing heat, L.E.D.s and electrical currents have become safe and easy enough for consumers to use on themselves. Years after women first started recreating professional treatments with at-home spa days, a growing array of devices have migrated from the aesthetician’s office to the bathroom, where they now compete with topical solutions, medications and other prescribed remedies to combat aging. Though it is hard to say exactly how many of these products exist, new ones seem to arrive daily: the HairMax LaserComb, for “thicker, fuller, healthier looking hair”; the DermaVie, for microdermabrasion; the Crystalift, a vacuum, to “resurface” the skin. That they often cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars is little deterrent to people for whom youth is priceless — or at least financially attainable.