Skin Needling, the wonder treatment!

Skin Needling is the treatment that is taking the skincare industry by storm! Everywhere you look it is being used to treat many concerns, from scarring on embarrassing bodies, to lines and wrinkles on anti-aging programs and most importantly available to you in skincare clinics.

This is definitely up there as one of the most popular skin treatments that we use in clinic and its the treatment of choice for most of our staff ;-) .

Why all the fuss?

Skin Needling stimulates natural collagen and cell renewal by increasing the production of growth factors (seeVampire Facelift). Growth factors work in response to trauma, the needles on the roller cause tiny puncture wounds in the skin.

 In a professional clinic treatment the size of the needles used are between 1mm and 3mm long, home rollers are usually 0.25mm long.

Professional clinic treatments

As the needles used are long enough to penetrate to the dermal layer of the skin a slight discomfort usually occurs during treatment. This discomfort is over come by using a topical anaesthetic around 40minutes prior to the treatment.

The end point in a professional treatment is pin point bleeding, it is the presence of blood that is responsible for the amazing results!

After the treatment your skin will appear very red, this can last for around 24hours.

As the results are a response to the wound healing process the skin will continue to improve for the following 40 days.

Skin needling successfully treats:

• lines & wrinkles
• thinning skin
• dull sallow skin
• acne scars
• uneven skin tone
• prevention of aging 

Although the results are amazing this treatment is not a quick fix. The treatment plan takes place over a 6 month period with one treatment at 4 weekly intervals. In order to enhance your results a skincare routine containing a RETINOL product will work wonders!

Thread Veins? Rosacea? ..... Treat with IPL

Do you suffer with red veins/broken capillaries?

 

Do you have a redness to your skin? Or possibly suffer from rosacea?

Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is a simple yet effective treatment that can successfully treat these skin concerns amongst many others!

The treatment consists of emitting 'intense white light' delivered through a range of specific wave lengths to target specific concerns. The desired effect is commonly achieved through as little as 3 treatments.

Treating Thread Veins

Thread veins are extremely common as well is the misconception that they cannot be treated.

The vessels are targeted by the IPL, the blood within the vessel (or more specifically the haemoglobin) absorb the light energy. Once this light energy has been absorbs it stimulates thermal damage to the vessel, this damage forces coagulation and destroys the vessel. The damaged vessel is then reabsorbed into the body.

The breakdown of the vessel is different in each patient, some vessels disappear immediately post treatment, some take several weeks and some take several treatments.

The treatment is relatively quick but can be slightly uncomfortable, however the discomfort is only felt for a second in each area. This sneak peak shows a patient receiving the treatment.

Mene & Moy

For a while now we have been looking to introduce a new medical grade skincare brand into our clinic, after months of tests and trials we have finally chosen Mene & Moy.

 A brand that focuses its interests into 2 steps, revitalising the skin in a morning and exfoliating it on an evening. The Brand bases itself around ingredients that have proven themselves within the skincare industry; Vitamin C and Glycolic Acid.

Along with homecare products including a 30% glycolic moisturiser the brand also provides an array of skin peels and resurfacers.

 

If you are looking to change you skincare routine or simply add in some active products then there will be a product for you within this range, whether you concern is acne, dehydration or the endless tale of aging it wont let you down!

Over the following weeks I will be blogging about the individual products and treatments with both steps by steps and before and after photos.

Glycolic Acid

Glycolic acid is one of the mostly widely used acids within skincare, as a derivative of sugar cane it has been around for many years. Glycolic Acid is the smallest AHA molecule, because of its small molecular size it has the ability to penetrate the skin.

Essentially Glycolic Acid is an exfoliator, however they way it works is much more advanced than your average scrub. Old dead skin cells that sit on the surface of the skin are held together by binding lipids, Glycolic Acid breaks the bond holding the skin cells and the lipids together in turn desquamating the old dead cells. Glycolic Acid is often described as a PAC man eating its way through the skin cells.

The removal of the epidermal cells forces the stimulation of new cells to be produced within the dermal layer, Glycolic Acid can be used in a variety of ways; from small percentages in products to high percentages in skin peels.

Daily use of Glycolic Acid products will help to keep the skin smooth and radiant by reducing the build up of old dead skin cells. In order for a product to be beneficial it is advised that they contain between 15 & 30 percent, it is normal to experience a tingling sensation once applied.

Glycolic Acid treatments are successful at treating fine lines and wrinkles, thickened skin, superficial scarring and dull sallow skin. It is also a suitable treatment for those people who want a ‘freshen up’ to their skin. Glycolic treatments come in many forms the most successful are peels containing between 30 and 70 percent Glycolic acid.

TCA Peel step by step

What is a chelated TCA ?

Traditional Trichloroacetic Acid (TCA) is applied to the skin in a liquid form, incorrect use of this liquid can provoke unwanted damage to the epidermal and dermal layers of the skin. Chelated TCA is combined with a product called silica; found within clay this makes it much safer to work with. Chelating the TCA prevents rapid penetration of the acid molecules into the dermal layer of the skin, instead it attracts ions with the skin cells.

What does a chelated TCA treat ?

• increases collagen production by stimulating the healing process 
• improves tone & texture of the skin 
• reduce small open pores
• reduce fine lines & wrinkles
• reduce thickening of the skin

Step 1 

The skin is thoroughly cleansed with a glycolic acid cleanser.

This ensures any dirt, debris or make-up is removed from the skin. 

Step 2

An Alpha Beta Complex gel, containing glycolic and salicylic acid is applied to the skin.

This is left on the skin for only a few minutes, until there is visible erythema (redness).

The gel is then removed with damp gauze swabs.

Step 3

The chelated TCA is applied to the skin using a fan brush, even coverage is important.

The TCA is left on the skin for 2 minutes.

The client will begin to feel heat on the surface of their skin, this can become intense heat and a fan will be used if necessary.

The product is gently removed from the skin using damp gauze swabs.

Ice cold compress are the applied to the skin and left for several minutes to reduce the heat.

Step 4

After the skin has cooled and no longer feels warm finishing products are applied to the skin. These products are  to protect the skin form UV damage and to stop any transdermal water loss occurring.

Over the next few days the skin will begin to feel tight and will darken in colour.

Around 5 days later the skin wil begin to peel this can occur for up to 7-10 days.

It is essential that a specific home care is followed.



https://www.elements.org.uk/category/anti-ageing-treatments/chemical-skin-peels/tca-salicylic-acid-peel/285/dermaquest-tca-7-sal

Salicylic Acid.......... beat the breakouts !

Salicylic acid is used very successfully to treat acne and acne induced inflammation. It is the only acid that has the ability to break through the excess oil that sits on the surface of the skin.

Salicylic acid works like a whirlwind cleaning out the pores, forcing any dirt, debris or bacteria to the surface of the skin.

This is the part to remember it gets worse before it gets better, anything that is under the surface of the skin, whether that be a build up of oil, bacteria, dirt or skin cells has to come out in order for the break out to go.

As well as cleaning out our pores Salicylic Acid suppresses the activity of enzymes that cause inflammation, in turn reducing the redness and irritation of the skin.

Salicylic products should not be used everyday as they can be quite drying on the skin and cause a ‘flaking’ effect. When treating spots and breakouts apply the product directly to the area, when used to reduce oil a small amount can be applied to the whole face (max of twice a week).

Salicylic Acid is also used by professionals to treat acne in the form of skin resurfacers or skin peels, these treatments are more intense than at home products: they can feel warm/hot on the skin and may cause you to peel or flake afterwards. However a course of treatments can successfully banish unwanted acne!

Now before you rush out to buy some there a few things to remember:

·      Although some products advertise that they contain Salicylic Acid, you need to consider the percentage of Salicylic within them. In order to for there to be enough active acid, there should be between 2% and 5% salicylic within the product.

·      Salicylic Acid is a derivative of aspirin, therefore anyone with an allergy to aspirin should avoid  use.

·      Salicylic acid should not be used when pregnant.

·      Always use a sunscreen in combination with any acid, this will prevent any sun damage/pigmentation occurring.

For advice on what products to use with this ingredient …. Just ask   

The Vampire Facelift

Ok so we all saw the beautiful Kim Kardashion looking like an extra from a hollywood horror movie, but the treatment that she had is far from as drastic as it looks.

The vampire facelift or Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy (PRP) is not just some Hollywood gimmick, but a successful treatment not only used in aesthetics, but also used to treat sport injuries, the infamous tiger woods is a fan.

Why??

I understand the worries that people have when it comes to having traditional injectable treatments like Botox and fillers, after all we are putting a 'product' into our bodies. The beauty of PRP is that the product is YOURS, it's your blood! Think about what your blood does, without it you wouldn't be alive. Amongst many other duties your blood carries platelets, platelets once activated release growth factors, it is these growth factors that make this treatment so successful.

Growth factors are typically released when areas of tissue are damaged, they stimulate the healing process. This process consists of stimulating fibroblast cells along with collagen and elastin fibres which are responsible for giving the skin strength and elastic properties.

By introducing these platelets into the skin the healing process is stimulated with minimal trauma being caused. In short we are forcing the stimulation of collagen and elastin.

What happens??

A sample of your blood is taken which is then placed in a centrifuge, this process is to separate the different components of your blood, isolating the platelets into the plasma.

The platelets are then introduced to the skin through several modalities, superficial injections, deep transdermal injections, mesotherapy and micro needling.

The results begin to appear within a few weeks, which include:

Reducing fine lines & wrinkles
Strengthening thinning skin
Stimulating collagen production
Revitalising dull lifeless skin
Smoothing skin tone and texture