Laser energy, radiofrequency and ultrasound are your friends
Oct 25, 2011 Posted by Martha Drezin
A little technology goes a long way
When I was 28, I went to London and splurged on an elegantly-packaged very small bottle of French face cream. With that, I thought I had secured eternal youth. Now, like jeweled cigarette cases, expensive French creams are retro artifacts and beauty is spelled TECHNOLOGY.
If you flunked physics, eked out a “C” in chemistry and thought you were done with science when you left high school, think again. A little science is de rigueur if you wish to maintain an even-toned, plumped complexion. There are many treatments out there; some are effective, some a sham, some hurt the wallet and some just hurt. As a consumer, you need some basic information.
For starters, meet your new friends: laser energy, radiofrequency and ultrasound. They may not sound inviting. In fact, they sound like they’re enough to wrap you around a telephone pole and make your hair stand on end. Actually, they are pals because they have something in common…..something a little painful. All three create a controlled injury to the skin. Ouch! Who wants an injury? You do and here’s why: the controlled injury causes a healing response that spurs collagen formation and cell regeneration, plumping the skin.
If your biggest problem is freckles or rosacea, try intense pulsed light (IPL) to get rid of discoloration. IPL gives off a wide spectrum of light wavelengths in high-intensity pulses over a short period of time. The light penetrates the tissue, creating a mild injury. The body's natural processes then remove the injured tissue, giving the skin a more even and youthful appearance. Imagine being zapped with The Captain Video Secret Ray Gun. You fall on the floor and pretend you’re dead. Then you get up again – no pain, no recovery time. This is a great treatment for fair and freckle-faced damsels but risky on dark skin.
If you’re a member of the 45 is the new 35 club, or older, you may have intermediate problems, such as wrinkles, sagging skin and sun damage. Your ticket to repair is nonablative fractional laser resurfacing (what a mouthful). According to the October 2011 issue of Marie Claire, this is “laser energy that delivers heat deep into skin by drilling microscopic holes in the skin with hundreds of fractionated laser beams. The skin’s surface is not completely scorched since there are tiny untouched spaces interspersed amid the lasered pinholes.” An added plus is that the treatment protects against skin cancer by removing damaged skin cells. Hopefully, the benefits will outweigh the pain, which may be significant in spite of the numbing cream applied beforehand.
After a couple of kids, a couple of careers and a couple of marriages, you may have enough wrinkles to qualify you for ablative laser treatment. This resurfacing option ablates or planes down deep wrinkles, creating enough thermal damage to stimulate collagen formation and firm the skin. Because these new carbon-dioxide (C02) powered lasers are fractionated (leave untouched spaces), they are less destructive than the original C02 lasers and, usually, you need only one treatment. Post treatment is a great time to catch up with all three seasons of “Mad Men,” but not to reunite with that high school sweetheart. You can expect a week of two of swelling, redness and peeling.
Thermage and Ulthera, respectively, electromagnetic radiation and ultrasound, work by delivering heat; they do not work by injuring the skin. They claim to firm sagging skin on the face, neck, eyelids and brows by delivering heat to tighten tissue and stimulate collagen deep within the skin, without injuring the epidermis.
A prominent dermatologist prefers Ulthera, the new kid on the block, because “It contracts the connective tissue covering the muscle, so you’re able to sculpt the face.” Doctors claim they can actually see the tissue they’re aiming for on the screen so as to target the “heat” where it is needed. You generally need only one treatment and the claim is that you can see dramatic results in three to six months. Thermage, the older technology, has the advantage of being time tested.
With these basics in hand, you’re ready to see a qualified professional for an evaluation, not to choose a treatment. Only a board-certified plastic surgeon or dermatologist can evaluate your skin and present treatment options to match your skin and your goals.
When I was 28, I went to London and splurged on an elegantly-packaged very small bottle of French face cream. With that, I thought I had secured eternal youth. Now, like jeweled cigarette cases, expensive French creams are retro artifacts and beauty is spelled TECHNOLOGY.
If you flunked physics, eked out a “C” in chemistry and thought you were done with science when you left high school, think again. A little science is de rigueur if you wish to maintain an even-toned, plumped complexion. There are many treatments out there; some are effective, some a sham, some hurt the wallet and some just hurt. As a consumer, you need some basic information.
For starters, meet your new friends: laser energy, radiofrequency and ultrasound. They may not sound inviting. In fact, they sound like they’re enough to wrap you around a telephone pole and make your hair stand on end. Actually, they are pals because they have something in common…..something a little painful. All three create a controlled injury to the skin. Ouch! Who wants an injury? You do and here’s why: the controlled injury causes a healing response that spurs collagen formation and cell regeneration, plumping the skin.
If your biggest problem is freckles or rosacea, try intense pulsed light (IPL) to get rid of discoloration. IPL gives off a wide spectrum of light wavelengths in high-intensity pulses over a short period of time. The light penetrates the tissue, creating a mild injury. The body's natural processes then remove the injured tissue, giving the skin a more even and youthful appearance. Imagine being zapped with The Captain Video Secret Ray Gun. You fall on the floor and pretend you’re dead. Then you get up again – no pain, no recovery time. This is a great treatment for fair and freckle-faced damsels but risky on dark skin.
If you’re a member of the 45 is the new 35 club, or older, you may have intermediate problems, such as wrinkles, sagging skin and sun damage. Your ticket to repair is nonablative fractional laser resurfacing (what a mouthful). According to the October 2011 issue of Marie Claire, this is “laser energy that delivers heat deep into skin by drilling microscopic holes in the skin with hundreds of fractionated laser beams. The skin’s surface is not completely scorched since there are tiny untouched spaces interspersed amid the lasered pinholes.” An added plus is that the treatment protects against skin cancer by removing damaged skin cells. Hopefully, the benefits will outweigh the pain, which may be significant in spite of the numbing cream applied beforehand.
After a couple of kids, a couple of careers and a couple of marriages, you may have enough wrinkles to qualify you for ablative laser treatment. This resurfacing option ablates or planes down deep wrinkles, creating enough thermal damage to stimulate collagen formation and firm the skin. Because these new carbon-dioxide (C02) powered lasers are fractionated (leave untouched spaces), they are less destructive than the original C02 lasers and, usually, you need only one treatment. Post treatment is a great time to catch up with all three seasons of “Mad Men,” but not to reunite with that high school sweetheart. You can expect a week of two of swelling, redness and peeling.
Thermage and Ulthera, respectively, electromagnetic radiation and ultrasound, work by delivering heat; they do not work by injuring the skin. They claim to firm sagging skin on the face, neck, eyelids and brows by delivering heat to tighten tissue and stimulate collagen deep within the skin, without injuring the epidermis.
A prominent dermatologist prefers Ulthera, the new kid on the block, because “It contracts the connective tissue covering the muscle, so you’re able to sculpt the face.” Doctors claim they can actually see the tissue they’re aiming for on the screen so as to target the “heat” where it is needed. You generally need only one treatment and the claim is that you can see dramatic results in three to six months. Thermage, the older technology, has the advantage of being time tested.
With these basics in hand, you’re ready to see a qualified professional for an evaluation, not to choose a treatment. Only a board-certified plastic surgeon or dermatologist can evaluate your skin and present treatment options to match your skin and your goals.