SkinExcellence Aesthetics & Laser Centers

We need healthy skin to prevent water loss and infection, manufacture vitamins, regulate body temperature, and enhance beauty. Wouldn’t we all be happy to maintain smooth, clear, clean, radiant, skin free of lines, scars and wrinkles.

Unfortunately, we are all subjected to the deleterious effects of solar radiation, oxidation, pollution and aging. While the sun’s infrared rays warms us and makes us feel comfortable, the sun’s ultraviolet rays destroy our DNA, our collagen, while producing unsightly pigmentation and wrinkles. In addition the same oxygen we need to breath, chemically reacts over time to break down our internal carbon polymers to make us less flexible and more brittle. Furthermore, as we age, our organs shrink partly caused by loss of connective tissue (collagen), subcutaneous hyaluronic acid gels and muscle mass, all of which accentuate wrinkling.

There are many ways to maintain skin health and beauty. First we must protect the skin from harmful solar radiation with proper daily UV sun block and intelligent sun avoidance. Secondly we must maximize internal hydration with at least 8 to 10 eight ounce glasses of fluid daily. The human body is mostly water (85%). Every bodily function from immunity to muscle contraction requires proper hydration for efficient operation. The skin is especially sensitive to the degree of water content for it’s strength, color, sheen and flexibility. Dehydrated skin feels and acts like hard plastic!

Thirdly, we must provide proper nutrition with essential vitamins, fats, and protein. Remember scurvy in our ancestral English sailors (Limies) from lack of vitamin C. These are best obtained from unprocessed “organic” colorful fruits, vegetables, and fish rather than manufactured supplements.

The skin is also exquisitely sensitive to hormonal fluctuations and systemic diseases. Skin and hair changes are often dramatic in thyroid and estrogen imbalances. These may require oral or topical supplements. In fact the skin is an effective root to apply topical medication for everything from pain control to blood pressure control.

Finally the genetic material you inherit from parents is responsible for a multitude of chemical reactions that determine skin color, thickness, texture and inflammatory response. Obviously there are multiple factors effecting skin health and beauty and no single easy answer or remedy. Many cosmetic manufactures make anti-aging and anti-wrinkle claims for their lotions, creams, and potions. We should approach these with a good deal of skepticism. Ideally there should be a skin care system that addresses the wide diversity and individuality in skin genetics, environment, and age.

Our experience shows that the Fraxel Restore Laser can correct many of these aging and damaged skin deficiencies. We believe a combination of the Fraxel with dermal fillers, Botox, proper nutrition, exercise, hydration, and highly individualized cosmesceuticals can provide a unique path to restoring and maintaining healthy beautiful skin.

Stay tuned for information on our upcoming line of highly individualized skin care product…

Our proprietary treatments blend the use of laser and cosmetic pharmaceuticals, including Botox® and dermal fillers, to produce a uniquely beneficial interaction that results in true skin rejuvenation, skin resurfacing, and facial sculpting. These combination treatments achieve a more beautiful, youthful, and healthier look.

As we age,  our skin wrinkles and folds because of 1) the loss of collagen and dermal gelatins and 2) overworked muscles around the eyes, forehead, and brows. In a finely controlled fashion, Botox® temporarily and partially relaxes these muscles to reduce or eliminate these wrinkles. With Botox® we can chemically lift and shape the eyebrows, remove “crows feet”, and diminish the “11” lines between the brows and forehead. The effect is reversible naturally in approximately three months. Subsequent treatments may last longer since there is a small cumulative effect with each repeat treatment.

Dermal fillers such as Restylane®, Juvederm®, and Radiesse® allow aesthetic physicians to restore skin volume to eliminate or reduce folds between the nose, mouth, and chin and to augment the lip line and volume of the lips. We can also build up the upper cheek and decrease the appearance of “bags” under the eyes. This is done with very fine injections of gels under the skin with minimal discomfort.

With a combination of Botox®, dermal fillers, and certain laser treatments to tighten skin and stimulate collagen, the eyes and facial structure can be transformed to improve facial symmetry, make the eyes appear bigger,  and the cheek bones higher and the lips fuller. The result is a younger, beautiful appearance.

The Fraxel® laser is ideal to treat acne, surgical and burn scars, and stretch marks with little or no downtime. After 3 to 4 treatments, there is significant improvement for 90% of patients, who see improved surface texture, color, and topography.

Scaring is caused from an interaction of genetic healing factors, inflammation, and trauma, which result in decreased amounts and disturbed arrangement of collagen . The proper amount and placement of collagen are responsible for the skin’s flatness, strength, and elasticity.

Fraxel® uses millions of computer-guided laser micro-spots to treat the skin “pixel by pixel” to gently repair the epidermal surface abnormalities and simultaneously reach deeply into the dermis to induce new collagen formation and remodeling. The new collagen adds volume and tightness. smoothing depressions and indentations. Fraxel® also promotes a more uniform distribution of pigment cells, called melanocytes, to improve color. With Fraxel®, we control a new healing process and restore the scarred skin’s youthful, healthier appearance. Each patient’s genetics and scarring condition is unique, and each Fraxel® treatment is tailored and adjusted treatment by treatment to maximize results for you. Call for a free consultation today.

Rosacea is a common chronic skin condition characterized by persistent redness, flushing, papules, and pustules on the nose , cheeks, chin and forehead. Causes are a combination of genetics, harsh sun damage, and inflammation around blood vessels and hair follicles. The common factor is increase in the number and blood flow in superficial blood vessels. Rosacea triggers include stress, alcohol, caffeine, spices and heat.

Our tunable long-pulsed, dye Vbeam^® laser from Candela is especially effective at targeting these rosacea blood vessels to reduce symptoms by 70% to 90% after 3 to 4 monthly treatments. There is minimal down time. The new technology improves efficiency while reducing bruising and inflammation. With proper sun protection and trigger avoidance results last for 2 to 3 years. Our Fraxel Restore fractional laser is ideally suited to treat pustules, papules, and scars. It targets sebaceous glands and smooths the skin. Addition of topical medication and avoidance of triggers help control and prevent recurrences.

The Fraxel 1500SR Repair uses computer focused microbeams to rejuvenate and resurface skin “pixel by pixel” with little or no side effects or down time compared to conventional CO2 ablative lasers. Millions of microthermal zones [MTZ] placed at precise depths over coverage areas leave large amounts of normal surrounding tissue to release inflammatory repair processes which make new epithelial cells within one hour of treatment. Within 24 hours the MTZ’s are completely replaced with new epithelium. Over the next 36 hours old pigments and debris are brought to the surface and sloughed as “flaking”. New collagen forms quickly. Traces are seen at 24 hours with significant amounts seen at day 7. Over the next few weeks a more youthful microscopic epithelial junction is restored. New collagen continues to form adding volume, elasticity, strength and tightness. There is a rejuvenation and resurfacing which  produces smoother,clearer skin with reduced pigments, wrinkles and scaring. Results are cumulative, progressive, and long lasting.

Our lasers target and destroy hair follicle growth bulbs while special surface cooling spray protects surface skin and prevents discomfort. Since hair follicles grow in different cycles and at different depths, no treatment can give 100% hair reduction. By using a combination of several wave length lasers, our procedures provide the most efficient results, in fewer treatments. Often only 4 to 6 monthly treatments are needed. Any remaining hair is usually short, light and thin.

SkinExcellence is proud to feature the Fraxel lasers as a Center of Excellence. The Fraxel is a revolution in modern laser technology and uses computer focused “ pixel by pixel” micro beams to stimulate new skin keratinocytes and penetrate deep dermal skin to produce new collagen formation. In addition it destroys old sun damaged pigments.

This is the premier laser to reduce acne scaring, wrinkles, and dark pigmentation with little or no down time. You can go out to dinner the same day. Results are cumulative progressive and long lasting. The Fraxel is also used to prevent skin aging.

Young healthy skin is made of several layers , the top most epidermis renews every twenty eight days (turnover rate) and protects the body from excessive water loss and acts as a barrier to infection. In addition it manufactures Natural Moisturizing Factors (NMF) , lipids, vitamins, tanning pigments (melanin) and immune enhancers. The basal layer is the source of the early skin cells and are arranged in a broad band of hills and valleys (ridges) to maximize the nutrient surface area.

Below the dermis is composed of blood vessels, hair bulbs, sebaceous glands and sweat glands and nerve endings supported in a hyaluronic acid (HA) gel matrix with collagen and elastin fibers which give the skin its volume, firmness and elasticity. The lower hypodermis contains mainly fat and blood vessels which both insulate and help regulate body temperature. As we age and our skin is damaged by excessive sun exposure, microscopic examination shows the basal layer flattens and losses it ridges. With this decrease in nutrient surface area the skin turnover rate decreases to forty three days, there is an increase in pigmentation (brown spots) and an almost doubling the thickness of the outermost scaly layer (stratum corneum). This results in complexion dullness, sallowness and lack of glow. In addition there is a loss of HA gel, collagen and elastin with subsequent wrinkling and laxity. Small blood vessels are more readily visible leading to further abnormal skin color variation.

Revolutionary cutting edge laser technology has definitely shown that with the proper wave length and procedure these lasers can cause the epidermal basal cell layer to regain it youthful ridges and can stimulate new collagen formation with long lasting effects - a true rejuvenation. So far we have not been able to stimulate new HA gel formation ,although we can inject synthetic HA below the epidermis (Restylane and Juvederm), nor have we been able to maintain the thin hypodermal fat layer. But it is just a matter of time. This can all be done with no down time. You can go out to dinner the same day. After several monthly laser treatments, results are progressive, cumulative and long lasting, as much as three years in eighty per cent of patients who continue to protect their skin from further sun damage with appropriate sun block and reduced exposure.

Overproduction of dark pigment caused by sun exposure and aging (lentiginous pigmentation) and larger areas of melasma (mask of pregnancy) caused by hormonal changes can frequently be resistant to treatment and recur. Our combination of fractional and non-fractional lasers with specially formulated cosmeceuticals containing bleaching agents, anti-inflammatory and gentle peeling agents often give longer lasting results then conventional treatments.