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7 Beauty Breakthroughs You Need This Season

From a high-tech toothbrush to a cellulite cure that actually works, these are the beauty inventions we're buzzing about
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Sunscreens That Protect Against Indoor Lighting
One of the hot topics at the American Academy of Dermatology meeting last month was visible light -- as in that hideous fluorescent bulb that's shining over your desk right now -- and what it does to skin. Most likely, it causes aging similar to UV light from the sun -- though it's probably (hopefully) less harmful.

Unfortunately, most sunscreen ingredients only protect skin from UVA and UVB rays (a small section of the light spectrum), and do nothing for visible light. But there is an ingredient that may be able to save us from the perils of bad office lighting: iron oxide. It's a mineral that's already found in some tinted sunscreens like Skinceuticals Physical UV Fusion SPF 50, $34, and Avene High Protection Tinted Compact SPF 50, $34, and powdered versions like Colorescience Sunforgettable Mineral Sunscreen Brush SPF 30, $57, because it makes them less chalky. As a bonus, it blocks visible light and may even protect against melasma and other types of hyperpigmentation.

While there's still a lot to learn about visible light, you can expect a boom in iron oxide-infused sunscreens in the coming months and years.

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A Cellulite Treatment That Actually Works
Cellulite is annoying as hell, and even though there are dozens (hundreds?) of creams, lotions and serums that claim to reduce it, they fall short. Now, if you want to get rid of your cellulite, there's finally something you can do: It's called Cellfina, and it was FDA-approved just a few months ago. It's the first and only device the FDA has cleared for long-term cellulite improvement.

Sadly, you can't apply Cellfina in the privacy of your own bathroom, but the procedure is minimally invasive (the only thing that punctures your skin is a small needle), and the results last at least a year, according to the FDA (longer according to doctors who've done the treatment).

How it works: After numbing the area, doctors use the Cellfina System to suction each dimple and then release the bands that cause the cellulite. Imagine attaching a really strong vacuum to your thigh -- the pain is reportedly minimal.

While the treatment is pricey ($2,000 and up), you only need to do it once and those annoying little dimples are gone just three days after treatment.

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BB Cream for Hands
First, we fell in love with BB creams. Then, we jumped for joy -- and looked svelte doing so -- when brands created BB body lotions. Now, we're clapping (sorry, I couldn't resist) for Jergens BB Hand Perfecting Cream, $6.99. Like the BB's before it, it has many benefits: It hydrates, brightens dark spots, protects with SPF 20 and makes hands look instantly smoother and prettier. You'll never post a #ManiMonday pic again without slathering some of this on first.

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CPR for Your Mascara
This is your mascara at 6p.m.: crunchy, dry, and feels like petrified wood. Am I right? It's not a problem when you're going home to cook dinner, but it's a bummer when you're going out and want to refresh your makeup. That's where Urban Decay Resurrection, $16, comes in. It's a clear serum you apply with a comb that softens your mascara and brings it back to life. After a few swipes of Resurrection, you can pile on as much new mascara as you'd like, and that crunchy feeling is gone. As an added bonus, it even moisturizes your lashes to -- over time -- get rid of brittleness for good.

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A Patch That Erases Wrinkles Like Botox
If you have one wrinkle that drives you crazy (or, OK, maybe a few), but you're hesitant about going to a derm for a little Botox, then Rodan + Fields Acute Care Patches, $220 for 10 packs of two, are for you. You apply a patch directly onto a wrinkle before bed, and while you sleep the patch infuses the wrinkle with skin-plumping hyaluronic acid and peptides. (Each patch is made up of pointy cones that conform to the shape of the winkle for maximum results.) In the morning, the wrinkle is noticeably smoother and far less crazy-inducing, and the results last all day. (Bonus: Use them three times a week for a month, and the results last up to eight weeks.)

Each year, we test thousands of beauty products and research countless new treatments to report on the hottest trends and most exciting beauty breakthroughs.

These breakthroughs go beyond new products we love -- they're completely new categories; technologies that are shaking up the industry or inventions that are changing the way we think about beauty products. Take, for instance, long-lasting gel polish or even teeth-whitening strips. The biggest beauty breakthroughs of 2015 include sunscreens with iron oxide (spotted at the American Academy of Dermatology meeting), a game-changing in-office cellulite treatment, a serum that revives crusty old mascara, colored contact lenses that are actually cool, and many more. Here, the ones you need to know about now, and exactly how they're going to revolutionize your beauty routine.
BY DAWN DAVIS | APR 10, 2015 | SHARES
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