It’s flu season, and you will probably notice your intake of Vitamin C is going up.

Vitamin C is great for fighting flu’s and cold’s, but also has a great effect when used in skin care products.

When Vitamin C is used in a topical form (skin care products), it has many different effects. It works just like it would if you felt you were getting a cold…Vitamin C helps boost your skin’s collagen and skin renewal cells, just like it helps boost your immune system. This super anti-oxidant is essential to skin renewal, and can also play a key role in brightening you skin, and treating fine lines and wrinkles.

We carry these various Vitamin C based products: C-Complex Cream, Green Tea Soothing Pads & Revitalizing Gel.

We are on our final week of our skin segment and we are often asked about how laser treatments can improve one’s skin. Now, we want to explain the differences of all of the different laser technologies and realistically what to expect.

The word “Lasers” are not as abrasive and scary as some may think . They can dramatically change skin imperfections within a series of treatments. Miracles don’t happen overnight. It takes time, and consistency to achieve results whether you are being treated for acne scars, skin tightening, skin rejuvenation, or even hair removal.

Lasers can get complicated; below is a breakdown of the most common lasers used in the cosmetic arena today.

Fractional C02 laser light passes through the patented Pixel^® micro optics lens array to penetrate the skin with tiny thermal channels. This creates an ablative and thermal effect in only these channels — a micro-injury — without disturbing the surrounding tissue. The tissue surrounding the micro-injury sites (about 15-20 percent of the treatment area) starts the process of healing. As collagen remodels, skin tightens and scars improve. The intact, undamaged skin around the treatment site is what promotes quicker healing for a faster recovery.

A Pixel laser creates a micro injury without disturbing the surrounding tissue. Those micro-injured areas start the process of healing and the untreated area acts as a reservoir for rapid restoration. As collagen remodels, skin tightens and texture improves.

IPL AFT is the next generation of intense pulsed light. It takes formerly unused short-wavelength light and converts it into part of the usable spectrum through a special filtering system. It increases emission and penetration for safer and more effective treatments.

For hair removal, a large rectangular window emitting broad-spectrum light is applied to the surface of the skin. The energy travels harmlessly through the epidermis and dermis until it strikes the hair follicle, which contains a dense, melanin-rich hair shaft and bulb. The dark-colored melanin absorbs the light and rises slowly in temperature, destroying the hair-producing cells surrounding the follicle. Because the heat is not sustained, however, no damage occurs outside the follicle area.

Our Skin Tightening laser delivers uniform energy distribution and effectively targets lipids and connective tissue. It exerts its biological effect on the skin through two major mechanisms, heat-induced collagen shrinkage and micro-thermal injury as well as dermal regeneration, repair (healing) and remodeling. The ST hand piece produces dramatic, yet comfortable deep dermal heating without damage to the epidermis. Near infrared” light is closest in wavelength to visible light and “far infrared” is closer to the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. …

Skinetics is proud to provide these advancements in laser technology. All medical services are performed by Dr. Cary Nelson.

Meet Dr. Cary Nelson:

Dr. Nelson has studied under the comprehensive tutelage of R. Stephen Mulholland, M.D. and Patrick Bitter Jr., M.D. two pioneers in the fotofacial technique. Dr. Nelson is also certified in Botox® Cosmetic, multiple dermal fillers (Juvéderm®) and in facial volumizers (Radiesse®). Furthermore, he specializes in IPL and various laser techniques for skin rejuvenation, wrinkle reduction, permanent hair reduction and leg vein therapy.

Dr. Nelson is dedicated to providing safe and effective aesthetic procedures utilizing leading edge technology and has begun studying the various anti-aging medicine applications.

*During the month of September, come in and “Erase the Signs of Summer”. All laser treatments (not valid on laser hair removal, unless series is purchased) are $100.00 off. Just mention our blog when booking (one laser treatment per patient). Valid until 9/30/10.

In this segment, we want to focus on the importance of your skin and why being treated by a professional is of the utmost importance.

Commercials and advertisements are great at targeting certain skin care issues that may or may not pertain to you, but yet we buy them anyway. There is not a single product out there that will “make your pores disappear” or “fill in fine lines with collagen”.

The only real way to achieve the skin you want is to be sure what you’re putting on it is not only appropriate, but effective. By consulting with an Aesthetician or a Dermatologist, you will not only gain a better understanding of your skin type, but how to address your biggest concerns. Whether it’s your pore size, dark spots acne, or even wrinkles; there are many options for every concern and every skin type. Proper guidance and personalized attention to your skin’s needs, are what’s going to give you the best overall outcome in this fight against aging.

Our main focus is to provide safe, effective skin care treatments, while promoting life-long healthy skin. Our individualized consultations include a comprehensive skin analysis utilizing the Visia® Skin Analysis Imaging System, identifying your skins unique challenges, while addressing your specific needs and concerns.

In our last segment, we talked about how your skin is the largest organ in your body. It’s not replaceable, so why abuse it?  We will say this over and over again……catch the hint?

As we previously stated, a lot of things are considered when it comes to getting healthy skin. Diet, regular exercise, vitamins, are all contributing factors and roles in maintaining healthy, balanced skin.

In this segment our Aestheticians focus on products and how they improve the health of the dermis.

The skin’s primary function is to protect the body from external pathogens, it poses a penetration challenge for some ingredients. Optimally, a topical ingredient should penetrate the entire epidermis/dermis if it’s to provide benefits. Using oil-based ingredients, or adding an oil or penetration agent to the product, can help the compounds get through the epidermis.

Promising Ingredients:
The primary causes of skin damage and aging are exposure to sunlight—UVB and UVA—oxidation and inflammation of the skin, decreases in supportive collagen, loss of muscle tone, and dryness. Topical anti-aging ingredients seek to ameliorate these conditions. Popular vitamins, such as C and E, are well-studied for topical benefits. Other compounds, such as DMAE, Hyaluronic Acid and CoQ10, are supported by emerging research. The following are some of the popular, scientifically backed inclusions for today’s anti-aging skin care products.

VITAMIN C: researchers discovered that vitamin C  had significantly reduced wrinkles and had rearranged wrinkle lines from deeper ruts into shallow, random order, a sign of younger skin and a stronger collagen matrix. The same researchers further tested vitamin C on post-menopausal women—previously thought to have severely limited skin-collagen-production capacity—and found that topical vitamin C significantly increased the production of collagen vs. placebo.

VITAMIN E: It’s recommended that supplementing orally with 400mg vitamin E daily can reduce photodamage and wrinkles and can improve skin texture, while topical applications, including blends with vitamin C, can soothe dry skin and protect against sun damage. Researchers have found the topical application of alpha-tocopherol to be more effective than internal supplementation at preventing UV damage. In another study, researchers found that a topical solution of alpha-tocopherol inhibited UVR-induced epidermal lipid peroxidation.

DIMETHYLAMINOETHANOL (DMAE): made its debut years ago as a cure-all antioxidant aimed at enhancing cognitive functioning and reducing fatigue and depression. Nicholas Perricone, MD, author of The Perricone Prescription, claims that it is even more potent topically, adding to DMAE’s credentials as a membrane stabilizer, anti-inflammatory and penetration enhancer.

A young face is characterized by short, thick muscles that prevent sagging. As we get older, the muscles get thinner and longer, causing a flatter and increasingly saggy face. Cosmetic surgeons cut muscles shorter to pull up the sags and round out the face.

DMAE stimulates the contraction of muscles so you correct the sagging and get a more rounded look and a physiologically younger face. A possible mechanism of action is DMAE’s stimulation of acetylcholine, a key component in muscle contraction.  DMAE also helps stabilize skin-cell membranes.

HYALURONIC ACID: Injected forms of HA have been used for arthritis, wrinkle-removal, ophthalmic surgery, and research supports its critical role in scar-less wound healing.Small facial cuts heal without scarring because of high HA levels. HA’s multi-faceted role in wound repair—carefully regulating inflammation, formation of granulation tissue, re-epithelisation and remodeling—has prompted its topical use.

C0Q10: CoQ10 decreases in level with age and thus skin at about age
30 is below optimum, resulting in a lesser ability to produce collagen,
elastin, and other important skin molecules.  CoQ10 is a small
molecule that can easily penetrate the skin. These studies indicate CoQ10 to be an effective topical agent and is a viable photo-protectant with the ability to penetrate into the skin.

*Skinetics products containing these wonderful and promising ingredients: C-Complex Cream, Green Tea Soothing Pads, Repairative Emulsion, Revitalizing Gel, RevitaMoist.

Stay tuned for more in the upcoming weeks……Here’s to healthy skin!