by Sue Carroll | Sep 4, 2018 | Uncategorized
After the summer sun destruction to your skin, the telltale signs of brown hyperpigmentation and the red capillary blush, are scattered all over our facial and body skin. The cooler months are the best time to refresh and rejuvenate your skin using IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) Photofacial. This treatment is also known as Photorejuvenation.
IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) uses light photons to rejuvenate skin and is the world’s most popular skin rejuvenation treatment. In contrast to laser resurfacing, IPL does not injure the skin’s surface and has a much shorter recovery time. IPL primarily addresses the skin’s tone, texture and reduces the brown pigmentation and redness that create a dull, aged complexion. IPL is a treatment that delivers pulses of light to the targeted areas, such as brown pigment and red cells in the skin. The light is converted to heat energy, which fades those specific targets resulting in a more even, brighter complexion with less discolouration. People who have had IPL treatments once or twice a year over a decade have healthier more radiant skin with often less skin cancer than those who do not have treatments.
IPL is used on sun-damaged skin to even out a range of skin issues, such as skin discolouration, texture, pigmentation, distended capillaries, facial rosacea or redness and poikiloderma of Civatte. IPL will also complement other rejuvenation skin procedures such as laser resurfacing, skin needling, microdermabrasion and dermal fillers.
Most clients who have IPL, tolerate the treatment with minimal discomfort. The sensation of the treatment can be likened to the snapping of a few rubber bands at one time. For those who are sensitive, a numbing cream may be applied about 30 minutes prior to the treatment. This will reduce the discomfort by about 60-70%. The treatments are designed to work over multiple visits which may be from 1 -3 treatments over a couple of months. Most people will see improvement in the removal of capillaries and freckles within 2 weeks of their first treatment. Deeper redness and brown discolouration will take 2-3 treatments to see significant improvement.
For some people, the side effects of the IPL treatment may include swelling and redness of the treated area. This may last for a few days and up to a week in some cases. When darker brown pigmentation is treated, scattered brown crusts resembling dark coffee granules may occur and will take 7-12 days to slough off. A very important point to remember is that IPL treats what it sees at the time of treatment and does not prevent new discolouration from forming.
Following an IPL treatment, sunscreen is a must in order to reduce the occurrence of pigmentation and distended capillaries. Ten to fourteen days post-treatment it is advisable to attend the clinic for a deep exfoliation treatment such as microdermabrasion or Jet Peel. This is then followed by a hydrating infusion with either oxygen therapy or relaxing facial treatment. These post-treatments ensure the optimum result for the skin and any follow-up treatments can then be customized for the individual needs.
Intense Pulsed Light is a procedure rather than a relaxing treatment. The results of the IPL treatment will reveal a brighter, healthier complexion. When the prescribed home care products are used diligently morning and night this will enhance the results of the IPL treatment to reveal a healthy and definitely rejuvenated complexion.
by Sue Carroll | Jul 17, 2017 | Uncategorized
The Solution to Minimising Enlarged Pores
Male or female, young or old, enlarged pores can play havoc with the smooth appearance we are all striving for with our skin. Beauty and healthy skin are associated with perfect skin and pores are a huge part of this equation. A person’s pores may be more or less noticeable depending on their genetics, skin type and age. The good news is there are
Clinical treatments and home care products can be used to minimise the appearance of the enlarged pore size.
There is a misconception surrounding the nature of a pore. It is not a hole in the skin, but rather an opening onto the skin’s surface from a gland below the skin. A pore provides a channel through the epidermis (first layer of skin) into the dermis (second layer of skin).
Three main causes of enlarged pores are:
Excessive oil or sebum – sebaceous glands produce a lot of oil and this can be stimulated by both heat and humidity particularly in the summer months
Decreased elasticity around the pore. This is when the skin becomes less supple over time, particularly when there has been a lot of sun exposure in the past – the collagen and elastin become less firm supporting the skin around the pore.
Increased hair follicle volume. The pore at the end of the hair follicle becomes clogged with oil, oxidizes and turns dark.
While we cant remove pores, the combination of Clinical treatments and home care products can certainly reduce the appearance of the pore size to make them less noticeable.
Some of the in Clinic treatments may include:
Venus Viva™, Nano Fractional treatment – the latest fractional radiofrequency device, has demonstrated great results in improvements to enlarged pores, wrinkles, reduced acne and traumatic scars.
Tixel – a skin treatment that involves the stamping of a heated metal plate with pyramid-shaped spikes onto the skin. It is not a laser, but instead, it utilises thermo-mechanical energy to evaporate tiny channels into the skin. This has the effect of stimulating new collagen formation which improves skin quality and assists with reducing pore size
Pixel Fractional Laser -is an FDA-approved fractional laser treatment that can reduce years of sun damage, fine lines and can also shrink the appearance of pores and smooth out acne scars.
Skin Needling – is one of the most effective dermal therapies for optimising skin regeneration. It’s a minimally invasive treatment designed to improve the appearance of pore size and skin texture
Chemical Peels – a skin-resurfacing procedure in which a chemical solution such as TCA or Jessner’s solution, is applied to the skin to remove top layers of the skin. The skin that grows back after a chemical peel is younger-looking and smoother. Chemical peels are used to treat enlarged pores, skin discoloration, wrinkles, skin and scars.
Referring to one of my usual analogies: if you were to go to your personal fitness trainer for a flat tummy, pay the fees, do the workout and come home and eat cream cakes and drink sugary beverages and then complain that their training did not work, you are not getting bang for your buck. You have to put in 80% of the work and us/they do 20% of the total result. This is the same with your skincare in Clinic treatments and your home care regime.
Your homecare regime should consist of a cleansing routine, the use of gauze and toning lotion, the application of either a Vitamin A, salicylic, mandelic, glycolic or lactic acid serum each night along with the appropriate growth factor and multivitamin serums, moisturising treatment cream for day and night and sunscreen for day use.
Pores are a vital part of our skin health, and getting rid of them completely is impossible. Regular work with the appropriate home care products and regular in Clinic treatments will assist with minimising their size, providing the skin with a smooth, firm appearance.
You may also like the posts linked below
The Lymphatic System and the Skin
Shining the light on Hyperpigmentation
