April 21st, 2011
Summer is quickly approaching. Before we know it, it will be time to hit the beaches again. The last thing you want after you’ve worked so hard to get beach ready is unsightly razor burn. Eliminating razor burn and painful in-grown hairs is easier than you might think.
Laser hair removal is a safe, easy and effective at removing unwanted hair. Many people are hesitant to do laser hair removal because they’ve heard horror stories about how uncomfortable it is. New devices, such as the Soprano laser, are virtually pain free- no messy numbing cream required! The Soprano is also safe for use on darker skin types. As with all laser hair removal, a series of treatments are required to acheive desired results, but even with just one treatment you should notice a slow in hair re-growth. Treatments can be repeated every four to six weeks.
To learn more about Soprano laser hair removal, please click on the following link: Soprano laser hair removal
Tags: hair removal, laser, soprano
Posted in Face & Beauty | 29 Comments »
March 30th, 2011
According to Practical Dermatology (March 2011), more than 16 million Americans are affected by rosacea. When most people hear the word rosacea, they think of facial redness. However, rosacea is a little more complicated than that. Rosacea is a tendency to flush or blush easily. The condition progresses to persistent redness, pimples, and visible threadlike blood vessels (telangiectasias) in the center of the face. These skin changes can eventually spread to the cheeks, forehead, chin, and nose. The National Rosacea Society conducted a survey recently in which 76 percent of surveyed rosacea patients stated that their skin condition lowered their self-esteem and self-confidence. Surprisingly, “only a fraction of the millions of Americans suffering from the condition has been treated” (Practical Dermatology, March 2011).
So what are the treatment options available to those suffering with rosacea? Patients may want to consider an oral antibiotic or topical treatments. There are several prescription, as well as cosmeceutical products that are safe and effective. In our office, we recommend DermSD Recover which is very effective at reducing redness and calming inflamed skin. Of course when choosing this treatment method, patient compliance is crucial. When oral antibiotics and topicals aren’t enough, patients may want to consider laser treatment. Pulsed dye lasers, like the Vbeam, are extremely effective at reducing redness, minimizing telangiectasias, and decreasing breakouts associated with rosacea. In this day and age of technology-on-the-go, a new resource will become available to those with rosacea: a smart phone app! The Rosacea App, which will launch in April, will provide those who have, or think they have rosacea with valuable information.
To learn more about rosacea and available treatment options, please visit the following links:
San Diego Dermatology Medical Dermatology Reference Library
San Diego Dermatology Blood Vessel Treatment
National Rosacea Society
Tags: blood vessels & veins, DermSD Recover, laser, pimples, redness, rosacea, vbeam
Posted in Healthy Skin | No Comments »
March 7th, 2011
Jowls… it’s not a pretty word. The word may even conjur up images of Droppy the cartoon dog, and so many people are bothered by them. So what can you do?
Well, there’s surgery, but thats so invasive and many people aren’t ready or willing to go under the knife. Luckily, there are non-invasive ways to address lax skin, namely NIR technology, which is virtually pain free. NIR, also known as near infrared, is a safe technology that heats the tissue under the surface of the skin to stimulate new collagen formation resulting in skin tightening.
While NIR will not give you the dramatic results of surgery, it is very effective in reducing the apperance of lax skin allowing patients to postpone, or in some cases, forego the operating room.
Photo courtesy of Alma Laser
Tags: collagen, jowls, NIR, skin tightening
Posted in Face & Beauty | 69 Comments »
February 22nd, 2011
Chemical peels are a great treatment option for certain types pigmentary problems, skin rejuvenation, and overall brightening of the skin. Now another advantage: a recent study has shown that chemical peels have a postive influence on UV-induced skin cancers, such as basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas.
During a 10 week study researchers exposed the subjects to UV radiation three times a day. The subjects were then treated with different peeling agents at regular intervals. Their findings?
“Glycolic acid, salicyclic acid and TCA(trichloracetic acid) had reduced tumor formation by 95% to 100%… Glycolic acid, salicyclic acid and TCA also delayed the time to tumor development.”
Furthermore, the researchers found that all four types of the chemical peels they tested “reversed the histological changes associated with with chronic UV exposure.”
Tags: chemical peels, skin cancer, youthful appearance
Posted in Face & Beauty | 49 Comments »
February 16th, 2011
When you look better, you feel better… at least that’s according to a recent study published in Dermatologic Surgery, November 2010.
To come to that conclusion, researchers studied 100 patients who were injected with either botulinum toxin A or placebo saline. They were then asked to take surveys to rate their quality of life and self esteem two weeks after treatment, then again 3 months after treatment. For the patients that were treated with botulinum toxin A, researchers noted improvements to how they rated their quality of life after receiving treatment.
To learn more about Botox and Dysport, please visit the following link: Botox/Dysport
Tags: botox, dermal filler, dysport, self esteem
Posted in Face & Beauty | 1 Comment »
