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The skin is the body’s largest organ, reaching a size about 20 square feet in the average –sized adult. Over time, regardless of whether a proper skin care regimen is practiced, skin loses its youthful appearance. The skin functions slow down; skin becomes fragile, less healthy, thinner and less elastic. Collagen and Elastin, the tissues that keep the skin firm, become weaker. These changes lead to fine lines, wrinkles, sagging skin, and other unwanted signs of aging. This natural skin aging process is accelerated by intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

The intrinsic factors refer to the natural process of chronologic aging. Intrinsic aging affects both sun-exposed and non-sun-exposed skin. There is decreased dermal thickness, diminished skin vascularity, and decreased ability to produce collagen. Intrinsic factors are mediated and accelerated by:
Hereditary factors (genitics)
Hormonal changes
The extrinsic aging (known as Photoaging) refer to envirnmental factors that causes photodamage to the skin. These factors include:
Smoking
Wind
Pollution
Acne, skin diseases
Improper diet and bad skin care
Sun exposure (Ultraviolet B & A, UVA & UVB)
Sun exposure / ultra violet radiation is the most important. Ultraviolet B (UVB) is considered the most damaging, causing sun burn, erythema (redness), DNA damage and ultamitly skin cancer. Ultra violet A (UVA) penetrates deep in the skin, has nonseasonal variation in sunlight (it is present whether it is sunny or cloudy), causing more chronic photodamage to the exposed skin. For this reason, it is essential to use sun protection all year round.

Both chronologic aging and photodamaging are associated with the production of excessive amounts of free radicals. Free radical damage cell membrane, proteins and DNA. This leads to a broad range of common skin problems. Skin aging vary by individual, but some of the most common signs are:
Fine Lines and Deep Wrinkles
Sagging, lax Skin. Neck bands.
Double chin. Uneven jaw line.
Loss of facial fat.
Redistribution of body fat
Uneven brows.
Hyperpigmentation Spots (skin discoloration),Brown Spots, Sun spots and age spots
Facial veins, Rosacea, Poikeloderma
Dark circles around the eyes
Excessive Oily or Dry Skin. Atrophic thin skin
Acne (White and Black Heads, papules, pustules)
Acne Scars. Sebaceous hyperplasia.
Rough Texture, Dull Tone, enlarged pores
Moles, seborrheic keratoses, actinic keratoses
Unfortunately, the face is especially more vulnerable to both intrinsic and extrinsic factors



Why Consider Facial Skin Rejuvenation
When you look in the mirror, do you see a person older than what you feel?
Do you want to lead not only a healthy life, but a younger looking one?
Are you unhappy about your appearance?

If yes, then rejuvenation is for you. Your appearance greatly affects how you feel and how others feel about you. Facial rejuvenation can effectively reduce wrinkles, treat sun spots, tighten loose skin, improve skin tone and color, remove pigmentations, and eliminate broken blood vessels. In addition, neck, chest and hands can be rejuvenated at the same time to give you the younger look. Millions of men and women undergo some form of facial skin rejuvenation every year.

Great advances in surgical techniques and technology have been made over the past few years. Today, procedures are safer, less invasive, very effective and with little or no downtime. Treatments are performed in the office, which offers the patient a convenient and cost-effective option for treating signs of aging and with little or no disability.

Risks of rejuvenation
All medical procedures have associated risks. In general, the more invasive the procedure, the greater the associated risk. Patients who undergo facial rejuvenation may experience some temporary side effects, such as mild redness, swelling, bruising, and minor discomfort. Scarring, persistent redness, or permanent pigment changes are possible with more invasive procedures.

Treatment options
The goal of facial rejuvenation is to give you a more youthful, younger, healthier look by diminishing the signs of aging and the damage caused by years of unprotected sun exposure, slow down the aging process, and maintain your new look. A
Skin care program, Topical Products
Microdermabrasion
Chemical Peels
Photodynamic Therapy
Injectable Fillers (Restylane®, Radiesse®, Juvederm®)
Fat Transfer
Botox®
Laser treatments
Tumescent Liposuction
Radiofrequency Technologies
Thread lift (Feather lift, Curl lift, Aptos) – face lift with a thread not a knife
Micro surgical excision (for moles and growths)
Acne Treatment



Skin Care Program; Topical Products; Anti-Aging Skincare

Skincare is an individualized approach and requires monitoring and periodic treatment modifications. The best treatment is determined by your skin condition, age, sex, and overall health. Medical grade home skincare programs are coordinated to sustain results.
Topical products are usually used to treat milder signs of aging, such as fine lines, uneven skin color and superficial wrinkles. These treatments may be combined with other therapies to increase effectiveness. Topicals also offer preventive value, and can reduce the need to repeat procedures or increase the time between them.


Steps to Better Skin Care
Cleanse:
Twice a day, and more if sweating or after rigorous activity.
Exfoliate:
Since the natural exfoliation process slows, exfoliation can be enhanced with an exfoliation product. Exfoliants enable your skin to absorb moisture by removing dead skin from the surface. Exfoliants can smooth the skin, stimulate collagen production, and get rid of wrinkles.
Tone:
Toners, known as degreasers, prepare skin for additional products such as moisturizers and make up.
Moisturize:
Moisturizers hydrate and protect skin from harsh environmental factors such as free radical damage. As you lose moisture, your skin appears rough, dry, and aged. While drinking a lot of water is important, using a moisturizer with less water is also important. Oil-based moisturizers protect your skin's natural moisture, keeping it looking fresh and soft.
Sunscreen SPF 15 or more:
Sunscreen can help prevent hyperpigmentation (skin discoloration) and sun damage. Apply every hour of sweating or outdoor activity, otherwise twice a day.
Remove Make Up:
As we sleep, pores enlarge and sweating often occurs. This traps un-removed make up and results in break outs.
Night Cream:
The heaviness of night creams can vary. They provide necessary hydration and seal in moisture.
Eye Cream:
There are no oil glands under the eyes. A heavy moisturizer is required.
Antioxidant Therapy (Vitamin C cream):
Free radicals are hyperactive molecules that age your skin by damaging your tissues. Free radicals also interfere with your muscles and your immune system, causing wrinkles, sagging skin, and a dull, rough complexion. Antioxidants such as vitamin C and E may help improve these conditions. Vitamin C benefits are: promotes collagen production, an essential skin protein, photoprotection from UVA & UVB, lightening hyperpigmentation, and improvement of a variety of inflammatory dermatosis, and helps combat the effects of aging. Eat a well-balanced diet (with antioxidant-rich foods) and use a topical antioxidant cream (Vitamin C cream – L-Ascorbic acid). Vitamin E is another antioxidant and has been used as a cream (α- tocopherol) is reduce scar formation and protect against sun damage.
Tretinoin:
Initially a treatment for acne, it is now widely used for general skin-quality enhancement. Tretinoin increase the collagen production, improve photoaging pigmentations and protect against ultraviolet B, UVB, thus prevent photoaging. Retinol is effective in higher concentration with less irritation and redness.
Daily Supplements:
Use supplements that are rich in antioxidants and essential fatty (Vitamin C, E, A, Omega 3)
Diet and Exercise:
Drink eight or nine 8-ounce glasses of water every day, eat a proper diet, and exercise three times a week.
Bleaching Creams:
Hydroquinone used as a skin lightening agent to treat Melasma, post inflammatory hyperpigmentation, and pigmentation disorders. It is used in concentration of 2 – 8% or higher. Usually it is combined with tretinoin, glycolic acid, vitamin C, retinal, and steroids. It is best used in 4-months cycles to reduce the incidence of the rare complication of ochronosis (sooty hyperpigmentation in the treatment area, more common in dark skinned people living in sunny climate).
Kojic acid: Widely used in Asia in concentration 1 – 4%. It is less irritating and well tolerated. Usually it is combined with glycolic acid and low concentration of hydroquinone.
Glycolic acid: It is an Alpha hydroxyl acid derived from sugar cane. It enhances the efficacy of hydroquinone. It causes rapid desquamation of pigmented cells.
Azelaic Acid: It has been used to treat rosacea, solar keratosis, hyperpigmentation associated with burns and herpes labialis. It is effective on dark skin.
Bearberry (Arbutin): usually combined with others.
Licorice extract (Glabridin): used in concentrations of 10 – 40% as a skin lightening.
Mequinol: Combination of 2% mequinol and 0.01% retinoic acid is effective for the treatment of solar lentigines.
Retinoids, Vitamin C, Niacinamide: All are used in combination with other agents.
Niacinamide:
It is a vitamin B3. When applied topically as a 5% cream it has the following effects: reduction in fine lines, wrinkles, hyperpigmented spots, red blotchiness, and skin yellowing improved elasticity.

Obagi Nu-Derm System:
It uses a unique combination of active and prescription ingredients - including Tretinoin and Hydroquinone 4% - to maximize penetration to all skin layers. The specific dosage and frequency are determined and monitored, according to your skin condition, needs and lifestyle.
Young, healthy skin renews itself every 5 – 6 weeks. The top layer of dead skin cells is constantly sloughing off and being replaced by new healthy cells. Sun damage, aging, stress, trauma, pollution and hormonal changes slow down this renewal process. Results are brown spots, age spots, uneven texture, fine lines and wrinkles, and dull sagging skin.

Benefits of the Obagi System:
Penetrate and correct problems on a deep cellular level
Speed up the renewal process. Promote old cell to exfoliate faster
Increase the production of collagen and Elastin
Visibly transform your skin:

Reduces wrinkles and brown spots
Smoothes rough, uneven skin
Increase collagen production
Even skin tone and reduces hyperpigmentation by suppressing melanocyte production


Obagi System is for patients who want to:

Look Younger
Have smoother skin
Have smaller pores
Reduce brown / sun spots

With the Obagi NU-Derm System, you can have:
Firmer skin with fewer lines and wrinkles
Fewer brown spots or freckles
Clearer skin and less acne
Skin that looks and acts younger and healthier.

Obagi Nu-Derm system can be used before and after other aesthetic procedures to improve overall results and improve tolerance. It also reduces the post procedural reactions or complication, such as post inflammatory hyperpigmentation, redness, acne and scarring. It can help ensure a successful outcome for any of the following:
Microdermabrasion Non Ablative Laser Specialty Lasers
Botox Fillers Chemical Peels
Ablative Lasers Laser Hair Removal Intense Pulsed Light

The Obagi Nu-Derm system is available for purchase at the Vein & Laser Center.
Microdermabrasion (Lunch hour wrinkle treatment):
It uses micro-particles, or a diamond-tipped wand, to remove some of the top skin layer and stimulate new skin growth. It produces no discomfort, requires no anesthetics, and involves no recovery or downtime. Multiple treatments spaced two to three weeks apart are needed. Microdermabrasion can be used in combination with other rejuvenation treatments.
Chemical Peels / Blue peel:
A chemical peel reduces the appearance of sun damage, uneven pigmentation, and wrinkles by peeling away the skin’s top layers. There are a variety of chemical peels that differ according to their ingredients and the strength of their peeling properties. Some popular kinds of chemical peels include salicylic acid peels, alpha hydroxy acid chemical peels, and the phenol peel. Some peels are very light and are intended to merely give the skin a fresher look, whereas other peels require a trained physician for application, removing a significant depth of skin to reduce wrinkles and trouble spots. The more that you know about what a chemical peel can do for you, the more confident you’ll feel about talking to us about getting one yourself.
Photodynamic Therapy:
Used to treat sun-damaged skin, this procedure involves Microdermabrasion followed by applying a topical medication, 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) (Levulan®), to the skin. The medication is left on the skin 30 – 60 minutes. The area is then treated with blue light, and a pulsed dye laser. The procedure can effectively treat early changes in the skin that may lead to skin cancer. Photodynamic therapy is at the comfort of our office. Treatment is a painless procedure for the patient. While initial results may be seen as early as the first session, some patients require a series of three to five sessions spaced at 2 -4 weeks intervals to see significant results. However, it really depends on the patient and the severity of the skin condition being treated. Side effects have included some slight facial redness and swelling.
Injectable Fillers (Restylane®, Radiesse®, Juvederm®):
Soft tissue fillers work to fill in furrows, wrinkles, depressed scars and folds in many of the facial areas. They give the skin a smoother and more youthful younger looking appearance. In addition, fillers are used to plump the lips and rejuvenate the hands. Filler substances include collagen, fat (fat is removed from one part of a patient’s body and injected into another part), hyaluronic acid (Restylane & Juvederm), hydroxyapatite (Radiesse), poly-L-lactic acid (Sculptra), and other implants.
Fat Transfer:
Donor fat is taken with a small cannula or a large needle from troublesome fatty deposits such as abdomen, buttocks or thighs, and then re-injected into the areas to be filled. Since one's own tissue is used, there is little risk allergy or of the body's rejecting it. As a filler substance, fat is used to "plump up" and contour wrinkles, furrows and hollows in the face as well as improve depressions resulting from injury, surgery, or certain type of scarring. The skin of the backs of the hands can be improved by this technique to restore a youthful contour.
Botox®:
Used to treat vertical lines between the eyebrows, on the bridge of the nose, forehead lines, wrinkles around the eyes (crow’s feet), corners of the mouth and other facial muscles, and to diminish visible bands on the neck. A very safe and effective procedure and takes only few minutes to perform. It is an office procedure with no down time or significant side effects. Very tiny amounts of Botulinum toxin is injected into specific muscles causing the wrinkles. Muscles will relax and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The effect lasts 3 – 6 months.
Laser treatments:
Many different lasers are used to rejuvenate the skin. Lasers can effectively treat wrinkles, certain scars, skin discoloration, broken blood vessels, vascular lesions, improve skin texture and color, reduce pore size. It also treats lines and blemishes on the neck, chest and hands. It can modestly tighten sagging skin and improve acne scars by stimulating the production of collagen. Lasers can be combined with other treatments, such as microdermabrasion and botulinum rejuvenation. At the vein & Laser Center, we offer a wide range of lasers for rejuvenation and treating other conditions such as hair removal, tattoo removal, acne, and varicose veins.
Tumescent Liposuction:
Liposuction is a safe and effective treatment for unwanted fat. New instruments, anesthesia, and techniques have enabled us to bring liposuction into the 21st century as an extremely safe and reliable treatment for unwanted fat. Beautiful new contours of your body can be sculpted at the comfort of our office. Patients often resume normal activities within a day or two of their surgery! When used on the face, it can eliminate sagging jowls or a double chin. Removing excess fat improves the contour of the face and neck areas and rejuvenates the aging face.
Radiofrequency Technologies:
These non-invasive technologies cause skin contraction and tightening that can lead to lifting of the face, brow, and cheeks without surgery or downtime.
Radiowave treatments:
Using high frequency energy many types of skin lesions including moles, skin tags, warts and other lesions can be removed with minimal risk of scarring. Most lesions are removed in one session. Many small lesions are removed without anesthesia and with very minimal discomfort.
Thread lift: (Feather lift, Curl lift, Aptos)
Fface lift with a thread not a knife. The procedure is safe, simple and economical performed in the office using local anesthesia only. Sagging tissues are elevated with special threads inserted under the surface of the skin. Eyebrows, cheeks, Jowls, neck and jaw lines respond well to this treatment. Recovery is short, results are visible immediately and last up to five years.
Micro Surgical excision:
A number of Micro surgical procedures are used to remove larger moles, scars, cysts, and benign skin growths that may enlarge with age. Biopsy will be performed on suspicious lesions to exclude malignancy.