Skin Resurfacing
The skin is the body’s largest organ and, unfortunately, it takes a lot of abuse. We all know that our skin changes as we age, but wrinkles can arrive sooner depending on each individual’s environmental and lifestyle factors.
Nutrition: You are what you eat. Believe it or not, that is even truer when it comes to your skin. Eating processed foods may rob you of the opportunity to put healthier choices into your body. In fact, foods that are high in Vitamin A (orange fruits and veggies, like sweet potatoes and cantaloupe), Vitamin C (oranges, peppers), Vitamin E (healthy nuts and seeds) and Zinc (whole grains, eggs and milk) all have beneficial effects on the skin.
Water: It is widely known that drinking sufficient water helps our skin maintain elasticity and stay moisturized. Did you know that drinking alcohol and caffeinated beverages has the opposite effect? In fact, their consumption can rob the skin of nutrients and make it appear dull and older.
Sun: Sunscreen with SPF is important to protect out skin from the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays. Overexposure to the sun can cause sunburn, freckles, sun spots, wrinkles and skin cancer. In fact, researchers expect that skin cancer will one day become the leading cause of cancer deaths.
Heredity: Our genes play a big part in how our body ages, especially in terms of wrinkles. Some people may see fine lines and slight drooping early, while others may appear to never age.
Smoking: According to the Mayo Clinic, “Smoking can speed up the normal aging process of your skin, contributing to wrinkles.” It’s no longer something we think may happen; its official. Quit. Better yet, don’t start.
Pregnancy: Being female can add more skin damaging risk factors. Pigment issues, such as blotchy and brown spots, can arise during pregnancy and, unfortunately, can remain long after a woman gives birth.
How Skin Resurfacing Can Help
Obviously, the first step to healthy skin would be eating healthy, drinking plenty of water, quitting smoking and using plenty of sunscreen. But, what do you do with the existing damage? Can you correct it? Can you reverse the effects of time? The answer is yes, through skin re-surfacing.
Skin resurfacing is a non-invasive, cosmetic procedure that can rapidly change the appearance of one’s skin, usually with little to no pain or downtime. Unlike other aesthetic procedures that correct or adjust the human body, skin resurfacing intentionally damages the skin, knowing that when it heals, the finished product will be better.
Vertical lines at the lips, tiny “crow’s feet” around the eyes, acne scars and even minor facial scars from other surgeries can be eliminated with skin re-surfacing. A physician would need to evaluate your skin first based on your skin type, the severity of the damage, the depth of the lines, wrinkles or scars as well as the percentage of unevenness in your pigment. There are three main types of skin resurfacing in the physician’s arsenal, the chemical peel, laser skin resurfacing and dermabrasion.
Before and After Skin Resurfacing
Light Chemical Peel
A chemical peel sounds worse than it is. Basically, a solution is rubbed on the skin and allowed to peel away the top layers of skin. There are two methods of light chemical peels, alpha hydroxy or trichloroacetic acids.
AHA, or alpha hydroxyl acid, is a very mild solution that is applied to the face. It is generally used for fine wrinkles, light sun damage and some minor unevenness in the skin’s pigment. AHA is mild enough to have done several weeks in a row until the desired corrective effect is achieved. In fact, patients report only a mild tingling sensation and no downtime in their daily routine. As expected, AHA is extremely mild and can even be combined with facial cleanser and lotions applied daily at home, as part of a nightly skin care routine.
TCA, or trichloroacetic acid, is a stronger application that goes deeper than AHA. The results may be more significant and immediate, but the downtime can be increased to a few days. An added benefit is that it contains less of a bleaching solution than other skin resurfacing treatments so it can be extremely effective on those with darker skin tones.
Deep Chemical Peel
For deeper wrinkles and more severe sun damage, it may be necessary to perform a deep chemical peel or a phenol peel. This full-face procedure lasts up to two hours and can cause a slight burning sensation for most patients as the solution is applied to the skin. A phenol peel is more successful around the lips and chin than either of the light chemical peels, but it is not always the best solution for those with darker pigmented skin.The skin then begins to form a protective mask and the healing process can take up to a week. The results in that short week can be quite dramatic, however.
An added benefit of a phenol peel is that it can be used to treat some pre-cancerous conditions of the skin, but again, it does not work well for those with darker skin tones.
Laser Resurfacing
Laser resurfacing is unique in that the physician can use the laser lightly, all over the face, or can go deeper in one area to help with a specific problem area. It is recommended that the patient be anesthetized during this procedure, whether a local or general anesthesia depends on the procedure. Laser resurfacing has the added benefit of a slight tightening of the surrounding skin, especially around the lower eyelid, which is always helpful as we age.
Dermabrasion
During dermabrasion, the skin is numbed, usually via a local anesthesia, and the top layers of skin are removed. The process can be likened to “sanding off” the top layers of skin (dermabrasion) or to “gentle sandblasting” (microdermabrasion). The procedure works best on fine lines, liver spots and tattoos. It also works well on darker skin because the procedure does not destroy pigmentation. Dermabrasion may also be a better choice for those with skin that is sensitive to chemicals and may react adversely to other procedures. Generally, the skin recovers in about a day and the patient can resume their normal routine.
To learn more about Vibraderm and skin resurfacing please call us or come in to our office in Goshen. Vibraderm is the next generation microdermabrasion; using no abrasive products, each person gets his or her own personal set of paddles for use on the face, decollete, neck, back, arms, legs. Even feet feel wonderful after this smoothing and rejuvenating procedure.
Vibraderm can be performed right on spa premises; it’s non-invasive with very little downtime. Today’s technology ensures a painless procedure. Call today at 574-533-9000 or (888) 651-9416 to see if Vibraderm is the procedure for you.
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