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Complexion
- before & after
As you age your skin thins and
your complexion becomes hidden behind tiny
blemishes, spider veins, sun damage and unwanted
pigment. Thermage and collagen lasers keep
your skin thick and healthy to prevent wrinkles
and loose, sagging skin. FotoFacials, Chemical
Peels and Microderm can clear your complexion,
leaving you with skin that's clean and clear.
Fotofacials:
FotoFacials are a light pulse technology that
treats both pigment and color by using two
separate light frequencies that effect unwanted
or excessive pigment as well as small veins
and redness. Rosacea, sun damage, freckling,
broken capillaries, and redness, can all be
removed. The effect is much like wiping the
dust from a TV screen. Skin tone is enhanced,
small defects are eliminated, and pores become
smaller. The end result of FotoFacials treatments
is smoother, healthier and younger-appearing
skin.
FotoFacials clients experience little discomfort
and no downtime or disruptions to normal activities.
FotoFacials treatments can also be used in
conjunction with chemical peels, microdermabrasion,
collagen lasers and Thermage to enhance the
results of these procedures.
Fotofacials take approximately 30 minutes
for the entire face and varies for different
areas of the body. Immediately following the
treatments you may notice slight flushing
and darkening of the brown spots. Over the
course of several days these darkened spots
will fleck off you will continue to see gradual
improvements in the color and texture of your
skin. The result is a clearer, smoother complexion.
There are several FotoFacials devices on the
market. Surface uses the Palomar system exclusively
because of its safety and versatility. Unlike
most other devices, it uses a unique hand
piece design that does not require technician
safety measures or special precautions to
prevent burns.
Sun
Damage & Unwanted Pigment: Age
spots, freckles, sunspots, birthmarks and
the mask of pregnancy are all forms of or
excessive skin pigment (dyschromia). In the
past various treatment methods have been used
with varying degrees of success. The most
common treatment is bleaching the skin with
either over-the-counter or prescription medications.
The most effective of these creams seem to
be "tri-luma" creams which combine
three separate ingredients including Hydroquinone.
Hydroquinone blocks the production of melanin
to lighten the skin.
FotoFacials type treatments remove or diminish
unwanted pigment and color, fragmenting and
dispersing the unwanted melanin in the skin
with light energy. This fragmented pigment
is then absorbed by the body and eliminated.
Some superficial pigment migrates to the surface
and crusts over and flakes off. These two
mechanisms effectively eliminate pigment from
the skin.
Unwanted pigment can be removed anywhere on
the body. The face, neck, chest and hands
are the most common treatment areas.
Excessive
Redness: Sun damage and disease such
as Rosacea can cause excessive redness of
the facial skin, usually in the cheekbones
and nose area. Damaged skin and genetics can
cause "spider veins" similar to
those found in the legs. Facial telangectasias
are usually smaller than leg veins and are
most effectively treated with light based
devices (Fotofacials) that target the hemoglobin
in the blood. Absorption of the light energy
by the hemoglobin destroys the blood vessel
which is then quickly absorbed by the body.
Some success is possible with over-the-counter
topical treatments but the results, if any,
are highly variable and unpredictable. Medical
grade topical creams and treatments in addition
to light based therapies have proven to give
the best results
Microdermabrasion and chemical
peel both achieve their results by removing
the top layers of the skin and stimulating
new skin growth. Microdermabrasion does this
by "sandblasting" and vacuuming.
Microdermabrasion treatments are effective
in treating acne scars, fine lines and wrinkles,
sun damage, minor pigment problems, large
pores, and uneven skin tone. A series of 5
to 7 treatments is recommended, each visit
requiring approximately 15 to 30 minutes.
You can return to your normal activities immediately
after the microdermabrasion session. Microdermabrasion
is most effective when combined with other
"deep" treatments.
Peels use a controlled chemical
reaction to smooth the surface of your skin,
improve your skin tone and color, diminish
wrinkles and shrink blood vessels and pore
size.
Several types of peels are available. Light
peels are made of a glycolic acid solution
in concentrations much stronger than those
available in over-the-counter products containing
alpha hydroxy acids. Medium peels go deeper
within the skin using a solution of trichloroacetic
acid or TCA. (The Obagi Blue Peel has dramatically
improved the administration of this peel.)
The harshest peels use phenol acid. This type
of peel may only be administered in a hospital
setting, due to the potential of dangerous
side effects and are rarely used any longer.
A light peel of glycolic solution will leave
your face red, but it probably will not actually
peel. A TCA peel causes your facial skin to
turn white shortly after the peel is administered.
By the next day your skin will turn red and
then start to peel off. Your skin will scab
over and then reveal healthier, new skin.
The recovery time usually takes about two
weeks. Discomfort can be managed with over-the-counter
analgesics or prescription pain medications.
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