Skin Care FAQS

There several treatments that can improve the fine lines and wrinkles under the eyes.  Starting from the least invasive:

• Medical micro needling.  This can be a great way to improve fine lines as well as sun damage.
• Medical chemical peels.  The chemical peels that are done in a spa are usually not deep enough to help very much but the peels that a medical skin care specialist working under the guidance of a physician like a plastic surgeon can get great results with minimal downtime.
• Plasma Pen or Fibroblasting.  This is a great treatment to improve wrinkles around the eyes.  There is down time of about a week to 19 days.
•    Croton Oil Peel.  This is very effective for fine lines and sun damage around the eye.
• Surgery or a lower eyelid tuck/lift.

Microneedling is a  great non-invasive for scar reduction, smoothing skin texture and lessening uneven skin tone and color.  Multiple small needles incorporated into a pen-like tool result in thousands of micro-injuries in the skin that stimulate collagen and elastin production.   Microneedling benefits include a reduction in the appearance of fewer lines and wrinkles, less pigmentation, smaller pores, acne and other scars and stretch marks.

Microneedling is very effective, but microneedling needs to be at least 1 mm deep to cause a minor injury in the skin.  This is called medical microneedling or collagen induction therapy.   Microneedling at home with the various microneedling device available for home use does not work well since the needles will not go deep enough. 

When using the search term “microneedling near me” make sure that you look for a medical skin care specialist or aesthetician who uses a medical grade microneedling device such as the SkinPen. 

Many patients ask, “does microneedling hurt?”   A topical numbing agent or local anesthesia is used to reduce or eliminate the discomfort from medical microneedling and allow the needles to go deep enough to be effective.

Microneedling treatments one month apart is an series of three or four can tighten your skin  and help turn helps to turn back the clock on aging skin.  There is little downtime after microneedling.  Patients can expect redness and minor side effects such as swelling for a day or two.

Laser hair removal with Intense Pulse Light (IPL) is an alternative option for more permanent hair reduction and far less painful than electrolysis. Intense Pulse Light works by damaging the hair follicle to minimize hair growth. By focusing on the hair color (melanin) in the follicle, the light energy from the laser heats the hair and attempts to destroy the root.

The reason that hair can grow back is because the follicle root can be damaged and not destroyed altogether. The practitioner performing your treatment has no way of knowing which hairs are in which necessary stage of the growth cycle to effectively destroy the root. This is the reason that a series of IPL treatments are required to get as many hairs as possible during each individual session that are in the first stage of hair growth (anagen phase). It is important to have an experienced medical skin care specialist, esthetician or practitioner administer the IPL treatment with the appropriate energy level based on their skin type and area being treated. IPL treatment is an effective, relatively painless procedure to safely and effectively rid of unwanted hair anywhere on the body.

Rosacea causes redness and visible blood vessels to appear in your face and nose. It is very common and may also cause small, red, pus-filled bumps in your skin.  It may flare up for weeks to months and then go away for a while.

While there is no cure for rosacea, however there are topical skin care products that can to help control it.

A medical skin care specialist can also use IPL (laser) to help reduce the redness and capillaries associated with rosacea.

Skin crepiness is caused by sun damage.  There are things you can do to help with crepey skin when surgery is not an option.

1.      Medical grade skin products:

a.      Pharmaceutical grade retinoid daily that builds new collagen and reduces fine lines.  It also helps prevent further laxity.

b.      Mineral based sunscreen with SPF greater than 30 that contains zinc oxide and/or titanium oxide to reflect UVA/UVB harmful rays.

c.       Anti-oxidants ( A, C,E) to strengthen your skin’s reaction to ultra-violet rays  applied daily.

2.      Hydrate your skin by applying moisturizers with the effective ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and plumping agents such as alpha or beta hydroxy acids.

3.      Plasma Pen Fibroblasting

This in-office procedure usually performed by a certified medical skin specialist can lift and tighten skin after 1-2 treatments. This treatment causes small micro-injuries to the targeted area to stimulate new collagen and contract the skin to reduce crepiness, tone and smooth texture. The downtime is minimal and optimal results take 8-12 weeks but most patients see immediate beneficial effect to lessen crepiness

4.      Microneedling

Microneedling is a nonsurgical technique that  utilizes a power handpiece to create many tiny channels or holes into the skin.  The skin then heals these holes by creating collagen and elastin. The end result is to improve skin texture with reduction of the crepey appearance and minimizing fine lines and wrinkles, as well as diminishing the hyperpigmentation of skin. 

Herbal products like SkinPro do not work to remove moles.  Moles are usually removed by surgical excision by a physician like a board-certified plastic surgeon or medical skin care specialist who uses an instrument called a hyfrecator.

A hyfrecator, which works by using electricity, is very effective at removing unwanted benign skin lesions and moles. This leaves a small scar that can be treated with products like Alastin Nectar or Biocorneum silicone gel to minimize the scar.  These products can improve healing to minimize risk of long-term scarring from the procedure.

There are many causes of heavy drooping eyelids, from the brows drifting down as we age and loss of elasticity or stretching of the skin or the eyelids. While there are a few non-surgical ways to tighten the skin around the eyes such as microneedling and chemical peels, a newer method that gets great results and has a very high satisfaction rate is the Plasma Pan or Fibroblasting.

When comparing the plasma pen vs. microneedling, plasma pen treatments produce more skin tightening than microneedling.  Microneedling can require 4 to 6 aggressive treatments to get similar results to one or two plasma pen treatments.

Plasma Pen Fibroblasting is increasing in popularity because it is a highly effective non-surgical procedure to lift and tighten upper eyelids and gets very high reviews.     If your upper eyes lid skin is too lax, then surgery may be the only option to get your desired result to dramatically reduce upper lid eye hooding. A medical skin care specialist certified in how to use the plasma pen can help you determine if you’re a good candidate for a fibroblasting or plasma pen treatment. With one or two plasma fibroblasting treatments, patients begin to see an improvement in the appearance of their upper lid hooding after 8-12 weeks.

Plasma Fibroblasting can yield impressive results for the right patient wanting to pursue non-surgical skin tightening to smooth texture by stimulating new healthy collagen.  The price for a plasma pen or fibroblasting treatment can be found here.  Plasma pen treatment cost is usually little more than a series of microneedling treatments, chemical peels or laser treatments but it is far more effective.