Nonsurgical Rejuvenation Options

There’s a buzz going around in Los Angeles for plastic surgery practices that offer simple and effective treatments to combat early signs of aging without surgery. More and more people are beginning to experience the benefits of nonsurgical skin rejuvenation, but the key to choosing the right treatment is understanding each option’s ability to correct a specific problem.

Here’s a rundown of some of the most popular nonsurgical rejuvenation options:

• BOTOX® Cosmetic is one of the most prevalent nonsurgical treatments due to its ability to quickly refresh a person’s upper facial appearance. This procedure targets specific facial muscles to reduce the appearance of wrinkles around the eyes and forehead.
• JUVÉDERM® XC is a smooth gel filler that is effective in temporarily smoothing nasolabial folds and fine lines around the lips.
• Dysport® is an alternative to BOTOX Cosmetic, and treats upper facial wrinkles by relaxing the muscles. The result is smoother skin in as early as 1 to 2 days.
• RADIESSE® Volumizing Filler targets well-defined wrinkles around the nose and mouth with a formula of calcium microspheres. This treatment provides immediate volume and stimulates natural collagen growth.
• SCULPTRA® Aesthetic is an optimal option for people who have lost volume in their cheeks and around their eyes. Over time, skin thickness increases and collagen production is stimulates to provide a more youthful appearance.

Tags: los angeles plastic surgery
Posted in Skin Care

Sensitive Skin Tips for Summer

The hot summer months make skin care in Los Angeles an even greater priority. With summer just around the corner, many people will be heading outdoors to soak up the rays. Moderate sun exposure is a great way for your body to absorb vitamin D, but it can also cause skin cancer. Here’s my advice for safely enjoying the sun this summer:

• If you have pale skin and sunburn easily, take extra precautions to protect your skin. Lighter skin can burn more easily, so opt for a higher SPF (sun protection factor) sunscreen.
• Try to incorporate hats into your outdoor outfits. This can provide an extra barrier to protect against the sun, and can supplement any wardrobe.
• Avoid cosmetics and toiletries that strip away the top layer of your skin, or make you more susceptible to sun damage.
• Choose moisturizers with natural ingredients to strengthen your skin and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
• Skin damage is cumulative, so the more you lay out, the more you risk permanently damaging your complexion.

Start protecting your skin at an early stage, and protect your family and friends. If you’re under 20, you should be extremely careful. Adolescence is a critical stage in skin protection.

Tags: skin los angeles
Posted in Skin Care

New RADIESSE® Formulation for Greater Comfort

In Los Angeles, RADIESSE® is a popular dermal filler for those looking to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The product works to replenish lost volume and smooth out wrinkles due to aging and other factors. This filler has been shown to stimulate the production of new collagen, which is found naturally in the skin.

RADIESSE is now being combined with lidocaine to increase patient comfort. Lidocaine is a local anesthetic that is commonly used by dentists and for minor surgery. After clinical trials showing that patients saw an increase in comfort during the procedure, RADIESSE is now being packaged with a lidocaine formulation.

This combination is beneficial for both patients and physicians. While numbing creams can be administered before a RADIESSE treatment, studies have shown that patient discomfort is lowered when combining lidocaine and RADIESSE as part of the injection.

Have you had a filler treatment that included lidocaine? If so, how would you rate your level of comfort?

Tags: los angeles radiesse
Posted in Radiesse,Skin Care

FDA Approves Migraine Treatment with BOTOX®

BOTOX® in Los Angeles is undeniably known for its effectiveness in treating wrinkles and fine lines, but BOTOX in fact has many medical uses and is now adding one more. The FDA has approved BOTOX to treat chronic migraines. It is reported that 36 million people in the country suffer from these migraines, and of this group, 20 percent suffer from chronic migraines. A chronic migraine is described as lasting 4 or more hours, for 15 or more days out of the month.

To treat the migraines, BOTOX is injected into the upper portion of the face. While BOTOX is injected into the same general region as its primary cosmetic use, specific points of injection will differ for migraine treatment. BOTOX is believed to provide migraine relief by relaxing muscles causing spasms in the forehead as well as potentially blocking the transmission of pain from nerve receptors. It needs to be injected every 3 to 4 months to treat migraines.

This treatment could help decrease the severity and amount of migraines people experience, and I’m excited to see that new uses for this very popular pharmaceutical continue to be found.

What do you think about using BOTOX to treat migraines? Will it replace medication or even migraine surgery in the years to come?

Tags: botox los angeles
Posted in Botox,Skin Care

RADIESSE® May Turn Back the Hands of Time

Besides the face, our hands are one of the first places to show signs of aging. Even people with beautiful facial skin and youthful body contours can still give away their age by the appearance of their hands. With age spots, sun damage, wrinkles and veins, our hands and fingers eventually show wear and tear. Now with different Los Angeles skin care treatments, patients can enjoy younger looking hands with the use of wrinkle fillers such as RADIESSE®.

Plump up the Volume

A major reason why the hands appear aged is because skin loses elasticity and volume, exposing veins, tendons and joints. RADIESSE is injected below the skin to replenish volume. Not only does RADISSE work to plump the skin for a rejuvenated appearance, it also works to stimulate collagen growth for a naturally enhanced fullness. Through the use of this particular wrinkle filler, results are seen right after treatment.

The great part about RADIESSE for hand rejuvenation is that it gives the hands a soft, natural look and feel. Many patients at my practice have been very pleased with their RADIESSE treatment for aging hands, and have also considered the treatment for their facial rejuvenation.

Tags: los angeles skin care treatments
Posted in Radiesse,Skin Care

Cosmetic Procedures for Your Feet?

While many people search for traditional plastic surgery and skin care treatments in Los Angeles, others turn toward more unconventional procedures. It may come as a surprise, but more and more cosmetic foot procedures are being performed. These procedures are primarily aimed at aesthetics, but also may relieve discomfort, particularly when a patient is wearing high heels.

There are many ways to improve the appearance of the feet. Some of the procedures I’ve come across include:

• Bunion correction to make feet narrower.
• Toe shortening for toes that hang over the edge of sandals or must be scrunched in shoes.
• Pinky tuck, which slims down a pinky toe that has become bent and bulbous.
• Foot fat pad augmentation, which takes fat from a patient’s midsection and injects it into the balls of the feet, providing the patient with added cushioning.

Some conditions such as bunions and hammer toes can be much more than cosmetic, causing discomfort severe enough that insurance may cover surgical correction. Foot surgery for cosmetic reasons is not covered by insurance, and certainly is not very common in the United States. Do you think that any of these procedures have a chance of “catching on” with a wider group of patients in the coming years? Why or why not?

Tags: skin care los angeles
Posted in Skin Care