Refined Beauty—Non-surgical skin treatments add vitality

By
February 2017 View more

We may spend this time of the year cleaning and organizing our homes to get ready for spring, but it’s also the perfect time to treat yourself to a beauty boost. There are a number of non-surgical med spa treatments that can help you jump-start the spring renewal process.

BOTOX

Botox is one of the most popular non-surgical treatments to smooth lines and wrinkles on your face. Botulinum toxin is a purified protein that’s used to temporarily relax muscles that cause these wrinkles and lines. Depending on how many areas of the face are done, the average cost of treatment ranges from $260 to $590. “It’s best to have an injectable consultation to determine what your anticipated results are and the amount needed to achieve that result,” says Dr. Bryan Rubach from the Center for Cosmetic & Laser Surgery.

Years ago, this type of treatment was mainly used by middle-aged people as wrinkles develop with time. “Today it is not uncommon for patients to start using Botox in their late 20s or 30s. Having Botox treatment before wrinkles become etched in the skin can be preventative in wrinkle development,” says Dr. Rubach.

FILLERS

While Botox relaxes muscles that cause wrinkling with dynamic muscle contractions, fillers work to fill wrinkles or folds that are present at rest, or to restore lost facial volume as we age. Experts say fillers like Radiesse and Juvéderm can be used alone or in conjunction with surgery to restore lost volume that occurs with aging. Fillers can be used in all areas of the face by skilled and highly experienced injectors—and that’s the key, says Dr. Christopher Olson, CEO and medical director of Blue Seas Med Spa.

“The key to fillers is the art—you need people who inject all day long, every day, to do your injections,” says Dr. Olson. “Paying the cheapest price or using a doctor who does it once per week is really a mistake. You’re paying for the talents of the people you use.” He advises patients to review before-and-after photos carefully.

“Fillers are getting better and better,” he adds. “We now can do some really well-done things in lips and over areas which weren’t being treated with fillers before.” Pricing can range anywhere from $575 to $975 per syringe, depending on the type of filler needed.

LASER TREATMENTs

The CO2 and Erbium laser are aggressive laser treatments used to resurface aging or sun-damaged skin or remove acne scars. Also, there are many laser wavelengths that are used to address other facial problems, such as treating dilated blood vessels, hair removal and laser fat lipolysis. Laser resurfacing removes an entire superficial layer of damaged skin, which takes seven to ten days for the initial healing, followed by pinkness in the skin that can take up to six weeks to fade.

Non-ablative resurfacing treatments target the same concerns, but do not cover all of the skin tissue. The laser beam creates microscopic channels in the skin, which fill with newly produced collagen rejuvenating the skin. The recovery is slightly shorter; patients usually have four days of recovery with slight pinkness in the skin that can last about seven days.

“The cosmetic industry has evolved so much,” says Mary Ozment, clinical esthetician at The John Bull Center for Cosmetic Surgery & Laser Medispa. “There are now all kinds of treatments that are minimal to noninvasive that make a huge difference.”

The newest laser treatment is called Halo. The recovery time is reduced to one day and there is less discomfort with the Halo treatment.

“The Halo is leading-edge laser technology that incorporates fractional laser technology and utilizes two laser wavelengths simultaneously to achieve significant improvement in aging skin,” says Dr. Rubach. “It does resurface the skin but utilizes laser technology not found in any other system to decrease downtime and improve results.”