Why Botox is "In" Amongst the Younger Crows

When Botox arrived on the market 10 years ago, it was 40-50 years old with wrinkles that clamored to their local medical spa to try out the new anti-aging elixir in markets mostly like L.A. or New York. Fast forward 10 years later and Botox is as popular as a facial and available nationwide. Also, now knowing the preventative benefit of Botox the younger demographic is now a large sector of frequent Botox users. Women and men as young as 25 are now having Botox Cosmetic Injections. However, they are not just to remove wrinkles they are using the wonder drug to prevent future wrinkles. Botox is the only cosmetic treatment that can relax your muscles that create elaborate expressions such as squinting. By doing this one can no longer flex the facial muscles & make wrinkles appear or make them worse. This is actually a smart trick, those who start out younger with Botox will need less aggressive procedures in the future when they age and start to have real wrinkles. Often in the medical spa business I have so many clients who are 45 and have never done anything to their skin-they have a hard time understanding how many treatments and the amount of money it will take to correct their issues compared to those who have taken care of their skin they often just need a little Botox or a chemical peel to freshen things up. For more information on Botox or other cosmetic procedures go to www.winterparklaser.com

Why Chemical Peels are Safe for All Skin Types

After running a medical spa for 8 years I often suggest chemical peels in combination with all laser treatments and by themselves because they can help with almost every skin issue client's have, including acne, dull skin, large pores, wrinkles, and black-heads. However, almost 50% of the response I get is "I have really sensitive skin, so I don't think I can have a chemical peel. This is a false statement that many people think would be an obvious truth. Unfortunately, the term "chemical peel" has scared many people away, when in fact those same people could greatly benefit from one type of chemical peel. There are light, medium and strong strength chemical peels ranging from no down-time to severe peeling for days. However, there are even chemical peels for Rosacea red skin such as Mandelic peels. While a chemical peel can cause redness immediately following the treatment, it can go away in as little as a few hours with a light peel. It is very rare for someone to not be able to receive a chemical peel, it is simply a matter of a well trained esthetician finding the right chemical peel for your skin type and concerns. If someone has very sensitive skin, redness and flaking can occur for a couple of days but skin will be clear, and glowing after a few days. Patients often say that their skin has never looked so radiant or flawless after the peel. Peels will not only help rid of acne scars, fine lines and sun damage, they can also help stimulate collagen growth. Dermaplaning is also a great option for deep exfoliation and uses no chemicals just a modified blade that blades away the top layer of dead skin. This leaves behind no redness. Find a reputable medical spa in your area that can give you a complimentary consultation. Winter Park Laser & Anti-Aging Center has been treating clients for 8 years in Orlando Fl.

The "Liquid Facelift" Facts with Dermal Fillers

In today's society plastic surgery is seen as extreme as many patients are finding "lunch time" procedure that provide a great benefits toward anti-aging, with little down-time and that costs a fraction of regular surgical procedures. One of the most popular non-surgical treatments is the "liquid face-lift" which utilizes various types of dermal fillers and injectables such as Botox cosmetic to lift, and tighten the face in 20-45 minutes with little down-time and normally for around $1000-$1500 with long lasting and amazing results.

A "liquid face-lift" using cosmetic dermal fillers can be performed on several areas of the face or focus on "trouble spots" such as the deep naso-labial folds (laugh lines) around the nose and mouth. This treatment can give one high cheeks again, mask bags under eyes, lift brows, lift jowls and reshape and restore plump lips, rounded faces and plump cheeks. Once corrected this procedure can make women and men look 10-15 years younger instantly.

A non-surgical Liquid Face Lift involves the use of advanced dermal fillers, usually in combination with BOTOX® and Dysport® The injectables used are among a group of 2nd generation dermal fillers that provide more enduring results than earlier products. The new group of 2nd generation, advanced dermal fillers includes JJUVEDERM Ultra Plus, Radiesse®, Restylane®, and Perlane® .

Non surgical face lift While all of the products work slightly different; all dermal fillers replace volume which is something that not even an actual surgical facelift or lasers can do. This is am amazing "lunch time" procedure that when performed by an experience and licensed Nurse Practitioner, Physician's Assistant or physician can yield amazing results.

Clearing Up Confusion on Chemical Peels

While Chemical peels are the oldest cosmetic treatment around, they are also shrouded with the most confusion. We have been offering advanced medical grade chemical peels at our medical spa for 8 years and without fail the most questions and concerns come with chemical peels-even more so than laser treatments. Even with the advances in laser technology combination therapy with chemical peels can still play a vital role in results, so this information should clear up some of the confusion about common concerns.
Concern #1: The term Chemical peel sounds intimidating & scary.

The term 'Chemical' makes many people think of it as an un-natural process. Actually chemical peels are naturally derived with AHA's such as lactic acid comes from milk, mandelic comes from almonds and so on. It features good things like naturally occurring fruit acids and enzymes to prompt your skin to increase its cellular turnover. This means that the collagen production, which slows as we age, is sped back up and with the increase in collagen production, the top layer of your skin cells will gradually "peel" off.
Concern #2: Chemical peels might be painful.

Most chemical peels have mild tingling sensations that do not last longer than a few minutes and are quickly cooled down with cold water or a peel neutralizer. Many advanced stronger chemical peels such as the VI Peel even have numbing agents built into the peel. Most peels are over in 25-45 minutes and leave very little discomfort.
Concern #3: Will I look scary after the peel and can I go in public?

There are 3 types of chemical peels-mild, medium & strong. Mild peels leave your skin refreshed with very little down-time except for some flaking for 24-48 hours. Medium peels don't start peeling for 48 hours and mild peeling can occur for 2-3 days. However all of the peeling can be controlled with the correct post-procedure products.

Chemical peels should be performed monthly as part of your skin care routine. They are an easy way to improve the texture of your skin, and to slow down the aging process.

Get Bikini Body Ready with Velashape II

Exercising all fall and winter doesn't guarantee a "jiggle free" bikini body for summer; in fact exercise and diet are clinically proven to not improve cellulite. Fortunately, when your personal trainer can't get rid of the difficult "saddle bags", there's a new clinically proven, FDA-approved & cleared non-surgical solution for reducing the look of cellulite, sculpting the body, shrinking love handles and inches all over-Velashape. While Velasmooth and Velashape have been out for a few years, the Velashape II launched about one year ago and is the most powerful weapon against cellulite now on the market.
VelaShape II uses a combination of light and bipolar radio frequency energies to heat the superficial and subcutaneous fat tissue that contributes to cellulite and fatty deposits, triggering the cells to shrink. By using mechanical rollers and vacuum suction increase circulation and massages skin for a smoother look. Within fiveto six weekly treatments thighs, abdomens, and buttocks are smoother, smaller and dimple free. VelaShape II can also be used on arms in some cases. The Velashape II is 20% stronger for a better result with fewer treatments. An infrared thermometer should be used during treatment to ensure that the body heats up to 104 degrees-the temperature necessary to melt & shrink fat cells.

The best things about this new procedure is that there's no down time and it feels similar to a warm deep tissue massage. You can continue to work out before, during and after treatments. Hollywood celebrities like Christina Milian, Ashley Jones, and Tatiana Ali are tweeting about there love for VelaShape. Reality star Khloe Kardashian, Kim Kardashian and Atlanta Housewife Kim Zolciak have used VelaShape while filming their shows. For more information on treatments go to www.winterparklaser.com

What You Need to Know Before You go to a Medical Spa

At our medical spa we do a complimentary consultation for every new client and we look thoroughly over our client's medical history, however not every spa will do this so here are some tips on being informed and ready for your medical spa treatments which can tend to be stronger than traditional "day spa" treatments. These tips will keep you safe.

You might be wondering what the tangible benefits of having professional treatments are and why they are worth the investment especially with so many over the counter treatments available.. For those who don’t suffer from severe or chronic (repetitive) skin conditions, home care is one option and I encourage maintaining a home-care regimen even if you go to the spa. Although even if you have good skin occasional chemical peels will keep your cell turn over going & give you that consistent glow. Professional treatments can aid in accelerating the anti-aging process for more rapid results. Generally speaking, estheticians treat the epidermis (outermost layer of skin), while doctors, Nurses or Physician Assistant's can treat down to the dermis level (skin layer under the epidermis). Thus, a good esthetician will tell you when to seek out a medical spa for certain skin conditions, such as cystic acne. Para-medical esthetician's are also licensed to go deeper into the dermis under physician supervision and work with medical grade skin-care only.

An esthetician should always perform a skin analysis, examining your skin under a large magnifying glass -we offer Visia skin complexion analyses as well. If you are not asked to fill out what is known as a medical history form or a consent form, walk out. This form is critical to the consultation process, which should be performed for every new client. Also important-you should always receive a detailed post-care instruction sheet. Estheticians often use medical-grade ingredients and it’s important that they are aware of a client’s medications, allergies, and home care before treatment. These are known as contraindications and are important in determining whether you are a good candidate for a particular treatment. If you are allergic to milk and receive a peel containing even the smallest amount of lactic acid, you may experience severe side effects. Moreover, pregnant women should never have a chemical peel as peels penetrate down to the cellular level. It’s similar to avoiding certain foods during pregnancy. Intake forms vary by spa and cannot cover absolutely everything so it is important to ask questions, and that the consultant/esthetician is asking you additional questions and educating your on the treatment.

A great medical spa will provide you with pre-treatment and post-treatment instructions and will call you after your treatment to check on your progress. They also have to have doctors, PAs, or nurses on staff to answer questions or write prescriptions when necessary.

Exfoliation is fundamental to healthy skin care and requisite to maintaining a youthful complexion - it is often the focus of spa treatments. As a medical spa we find that chemical peels are great combination therapy and enhance the results of all laser treatments including IPL photo-rejuvenation, and fractional laser resurfacing. This is because once the dead skin cell layer is removed the laser can penetrate better, and the cell turn-over is accelerated.

Chemical exfoliation penetrates deeper into skin than micro-dermabrasion and exfoliates via high concentrations of AHA/BHA acids. The acids loosen the bonds between skin cells, allowing them to shed quicker than they normally would. Medical spas can use higher concentrations of acids than day spas. While peels can provide rapid results, it’s very important that the esthetician determine what strength is best to use. While peels do cause a tingling sensation, it should be neutralized before the tingling turns into a burning sensation. Everyone has a different tolerance for peels and that tolerance tends to grow with every use. If you are new to a spa or new to chemical peels you should always start with lighter peels and work your skin tolerance up to higher grade peels. It is also important that the correct type of chemical peel is performed for your skin type. If you have dark skin, always ask what possible side effects there are for the peel being performed and if it is safe for dark skin.

SPF should always be applied at the end of any medical spa chemical peel, facial or laser treatment on the face, chest or body. This is especially important post-treatment as chemical peels and laser treatments increase photo-sensitivity to the treated area. Remember, peels work at the cellular level and are still working long after you’ve left the spa.

Lastly, I have previously stated that many people have a tendency to over-exfoliate, which is detrimental to skin health. Often, clients see impressive results from a peel or microdermabrasion and think that more is better. There have been many times that I’ve kindly discouraged a client who wants microdermabrasion every week! Unfortunately, there are spas that will perform treatments as often as requested. Chemical peels, and laser treatments should always be spread out 2-4 weeks apart depending on the treatment, weekly is too often.

Important tip: Melasma in olive skin types should not be treated with IPL (intense pulsed light) this can make the Melasma worse-we have corrected to many of these mistakes from other medical spas.
In conclusion when deciding on the best medical spa for you, do your research, look at how long the spa has been in business, read online reviews, read their website, ask questions in your consultation, make sure the technician is licensed and appropriate to perform the treatment for you.

Tip: Don't base your decision on price-it is better to pay a little bit more for a great treatment, then to have to pay to correct an inexpensive treatment that damaged your skin-this can cost ten times more in the long run.

Eliminate Hyperhidrosis-Excessive Sweating with Botox

We all have had those times where we were embarrassed by the unattractive "pit stains" under our arms on our cool new white tee-shirt as we were sweating due to nerves, or heat from nervously a talking to a "crush", in an interview, or on a hot summer day. While most of us have had a day or two like this in a life-time for those who suffer from Hyperhidrosis this is an every day and often embarrassing ocurence. Hyperhidrosis is a disorder marked by excessive sweating. It usually begins at puberty and affects the palms, soles, and mainly armpits. Hyperhidrosis in general and axillary hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating in the armpits) in particular are more common in the general population than was previously thought. A group of dermatologists in Virginia reported in 2004 that 2.8% of the United States population, or about 7.8 million persons, have hyperhidrosis.


Fortunately there is now a cure for Hyperhidrosis-BOTOX®
During the procedure at a medical spa or doctor's office, a small amount of BOTOX® (generally 40-50 units under each arm) is injected into the affected underarm area through a very fine needle (insulin needles). In a short appointment with your medical specialist, about 15 injections are made to the underarm area.The actual procedure takes about 10 to 15 minutes and lasts 7-12 months on average. You should notice a significant reduction in underarm sweating within 4 weeks of your first treatment. If you do not see a significant reduction in sweating, you should contact your healthcare provider and request a follow-up consultation.

This treatment can also be performed for those who may not have diagnosed hyperhidrosis but simply want to sweat less or those who live in severe humid warm clients such as Florida.