There are some things that just need to be removed before the big wedding day.
It’s not what you may be thinking! I am talking about brown spots and wrinkles on one’s face. Sorry guys, you thought it was something juicy. But I know I still have the majority of my readers because you are saying to yourselves, “Yeah, what can I do to get rid of these distractions on my face?”
This is a story of the transformation of a “mother of the bride” in preparation for her daughter’s big day.
Mary came to us a few years back, about a year prior to her daughter’s wedding. She was wise to give herself plenty of time because it is hard to erase years of sun damage and photo aging with just one treatment. I’ve turned many mothers of the brides away when they have asked for an injection or a peel the week before the big day. There is always the possibility of “down time”, be it redness or a bruise, that requires a few weeks to resolve. Remember the episode of “Sex and The City” when Samantha received a peel a few days before Carrie’s big book launch party?
We don’t want that to happen!
So back to Mary’s story. Her biggest issue was hyper-pigmentation, a.k.a brown spots, due to repetitive sun exposure on her fair skin over the years. If she could get help with the fine lines on her face as well that would be an extra bonus. So we made our treatment plan.
Mary would receive a laser peel followed a few months later by chemical peels, as needed.
Both laser and chemical peels traditionally work by resurfacing the skin – removing the damaged, dull, and aged top layer of skin, known as the epidermis – to reveal the smoother, fresher skin just beneath the surface.
Laser skin resurfacing, also known as a laser peel, is the removal of the top layers of the skin via focused laser light energy. The main goals of laser skin resurfacing are to make the skin smoother, tighter, and more even in tone, texture, and color.
The anti-aging breakthrough of the decade, according to many doctors, is a skin-resurfacing treatment known as CO2 fractional laser therapy. Combining the effectiveness of traditional carbon dioxide lasers – long thought to be the gold standard in wrinkle removal – with a new application technique, it delivers powerful results without the traditionally lengthy recovery time.
The CO2 fractional laser, available at Elizabeth Roche MedSpa, works by aggressively stimulating collagen, the main protein of connective tissue that keeps skin plump and line-free. The laser creates narrow-diameter channels into the skin, covering a fraction of the total treatment area. This action initiates the body’s wound healing response which stimulates fibroblasts to produce new collagen and elastin, while leaving the surrounding tissue intact for rapid healing. Amazingly, the laser now prevents damage to the top layer of skin, offering maximum results with minimal recovery time.
Although individual results will vary, CO2 fractional laser recovery averages only four days, and results can last up to ten years.
As I mentioned, Mary also underwent a few chemical peels. They’re one of the most popular treatments performed to rejuvenate the appearance of the skin. Over time, factors such as sun damage, heredity, diet, and repetitive muscle movement contribute to the formation of lines and wrinkles in the face. Brown spots, such as the ones Mary had, or acne scars can also cause skin to lose its smooth, youthful appearance.
Chemical face peels can generally be grouped into two categories: light (or superficial) and deep. Light peels are typically performed at the hands of an experienced aesthetician. A light chemical peel is an ideal way to subtly improve the appearance and texture of your skin without the discomfort or downtime that often accompany deep, surgical-level chemical peels.
Light chemical peels intensively exfoliate your skin to accelerate the cell renewal process, stimulate collagen synthesis, and improve elastin fibers in the dermis, revealing a more youthful and radiant complexion. This safe, non-invasive procedure delivers results, yet requires no recovery time.
A deep chemical peel is a surgical procedure to resurface scarred, wrinkled, or discolored skin. The peel utilizes a chemical solution to smooth the texture of your skin by removing the damaged outer layers. Together with my nurse, or my licensed esthetician, we will select the appropriate peeling agent and depth of peel to achieve the desired results. Depending on the depth of peel, patients can expect anywhere from a two-day to six-week recovery time. Skin may look slightly sunburned with a mild peel or even crust with a moderate to deep peel.
A chemical peel is one of the least invasive and most affordable cosmetic medicine procedures. Popular in correcting facial wrinkles, chemical peels can also be used to improve skin texture on the neck, chest, and hands.
Here are some photos of my patient, Mary. They show her before and after she received the laser and chemical peels. The results are astounding.
Mary continues to maintain the progress she made with the daily use of a sunscreen containing SPF 30 and zinc oxide as well as occasional light peels now and again. The last time I saw her, she was expecting her first grandchild. What a beautiful grandmother she will be!
We have peels of all strengths, designed for all skin types and targeted for a variety of goals.
Laser Peel Process
To give you an idea of how the laser peel process works, here’s a video of clip of a another patient of mine having one done.
If you have an important event coming up or you just want to feel a little sexy and take it all off, call our office for a consultation to determine what peel may be right for you. Contact us at the Elizabeth Roche MedSpa. (201)505-1020 or 1-800- MED-SPA-MD
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