Frequently Asked Questions

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Frequently Asked Questions

 

Skin Facts

  • On average, your epidermis (the outermost layer of skin) regenerates every 27 days (14 days for a 20 year old, 37 days for a 50 year old)
  • This process is most intensive at night, with cell regeneration taking place 8 times faster between the hours of 2 and 3 a.m., than during any other time of day
  • As the skin regenerates, it sloughs off dead cells amounting to approximately one gram per day. During the average lifetime, you will lose approximately 44 pounds of skin.
  • There are 3,900,000 cells per square inch of skin.
  • Your skin is a major sensory organ and contains 32 feet of nerves per square inch.
  • Your skin has over 8 feet of blood vessels per square inch.
  • Your epidermis accounts for only 10% of your skin mass.
  • Your skin continues to grow after your muscle, fat, and skeletal structures begin to deteriorate.
  • The skin responds to five basic sensations: pressure, touch, cold, heat, and pain.
  • Skin varies in thickness from a twelfth to a fifth of an inch.
  • Skin is the thinnest on the eyelids and thickest on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
  • Things that adversely affect your skin include: excess of heat and cold, pollutants (free-radical damage), UVA and UVB sun damage, and smoking and intrinsic aging.
  • Sun damage - average solar damage takes between 15 and 20 years to show the effects. Intense solar exposure can cause visible damage even earlier.
  • We receive more than 80% of damage from the sun be fore the age of 18.
  • Smoking - causes huge levels of free-radical damage. These free-radicals bind to our proteins and fats, causing tissue damage. Alcoholic Beverages - ingesting more than .08 ounces of alcohol (a 16-ounce beer) can be deleterious and negate efforts to treat or prevent wrinkles.
  • Your skin begins to age when a person reaches 25, when hormone levels begin to decrease. Moisture content goes down, cell division slows, skin renewal decelerates, and oil secretion declines. By the time we reach 60 years old, we are able to make only about one-half of the necessary functional proteins we made when we were 20.
  • In addition to anti-aging skincare regimes, good nutrition, water consumption, sunscreen, exercise, and adequate rest act to counteract skin damage.

 

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Microdermabrasion facts

What Is Microdermabrasion?

Microdermabrasion is a mini procedure that involves the skin being "sandblasted" by aluminum oxide crystals, baking soda, salt or corn cob granules to remove the stratum corneum (top) layer of the skin; dead skin cells. Microdermabrasion also promotes the production of new cells in the basal (deepest) layer of the dermis. This procedure may not give everyone the same results but if you have the money it is a nice treat and requires no down time. It can clean your pores incredibly and hinder any future breaks outs if used on a regular basis. Microdermabrasion also stimulates collagen net working to further even out skin texture and appearance.

Are You a Candidate For Microdermabrasion?

The best candidates for microdermabrasion are individuals with acne prone and blotchy skin, small scars, rhytides, keratoses, large pores, milia, or sebaceous hyperplasia. If you have sun damage or uneven texture and would like to improve the condition of your skin, you may be a good candidate for Microdermabrasion. Microdermabrasion is not recommended for those who have active keloids, undiagnosed lesions, recent herpes outbreaks, warts, active, weeping acne (stages 3 to 4), active rosacea, unstable diabetes or auto-immune system disorders.

Does Microdermabrasion Hurt?

Microdermabrasion does not hurt although it may sting a little around the eye area. The patient normally works up to a level as they go to increase the penetration to the skin. Your skin may feel a little hot and appear a little pink for the first day. You should be perfectly fine that night. Although really intense micro- dermabrasion treatments may leave you pink for several days. The technician can turn down the controls if the suction or level of the blast is too strong for you.

What to Expect During a Treatment?

Patients have attributed the sensation of a microdermabrasion treatment to a slight windburn. Although depending upon the level that you wish to reach the discomfort is usually quite minimal, if at all. The treatments typically last 20 to 30 minutes for the face, if your treatment includes the neck and upper chest area, it may last up to an hour. A normal course of microdermabrasion treatments varies between 4 to 8 at approximately 2 week intervals. It is recommended that you schedule an additional treatment every 1 to 3 months to maintain your skin in excellent condition. Most patients actually feel and see a difference just after one or two treatments but schedule additional treatments to increase this improvement.

What to Expect During a Treatment?

After The Treatment:

  • A rehydrating toner, moisturizer and sunscreen is applied to your skin prior to leaving the spa.
  • Some redness is expected after a treatment, however this is not likely to persist more than a few hours. The sensation of having a mild windburn or sunburn will also pass after a few hours. Applying a high quality moisturizer to re-hydrate the skin at this point will help.
  • Avoid direct sun exposure for 7 days after a treatment. We do stress the importance of using a high quality sun protectant product as well as minimizing sun exposure. Exposure to UV radiation is one of the key factors in speeding the skin aging process.
  • Avoid Alpha-Hydroxy Acid, products and skin exfoliation scrubs for 72 hours both before and after a treatment

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AHA - Glycolic acid key points

 
  • Of the various acids that make up the AHA group, glycolic acid has been shown to be one of the most effective in topical resurfacing.
  • Glycolic acid has the smallest molecular structure and, thus, penetrates deepest into the skin.
  • Glycolic acid acts upon the lipids, breaking them down and causing the sloughing off of the outer layer of dead cells.
  • The use of glycolic acid products reduces the stratum corneum, preparing the surface to allow better penetration of therapeutic agents, such as vitamins.
  • # AHAs accelerate cell division, thus increasing the production of collagen.
  • Glycolic acid acts as a vaso-dialator which causes the capillaries to open, providing the skin with additional oxygen, nourishment, and waste removal.
  • When using glycolic acid, the cumulative effect will provide the greatest benefit.
  • The combination of home care products with a high-percentage professional facial treatment usually achieves visible results in a short time.
  • The glycolic acid concentration, the pH and the frequency of application are directly proportionate to the results (and the speed of the results).
  • AHAs are known skin irritants. At a given pH, increasing the concentration increases irritation. At a given concentration, reducing the pH increases the irritation.
  • Glycolic acid is the most suitable of the AHAs for cosmetic purposes.
  • Glycolic acid is also considered an antioxidant.

 

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Roseca

Rosacea is a chronic acne form disorder of the facial hair follicle and associated sebaceous glands (pilosebaceous units). Common symptoms of the condition include an increased reactivity of capillaries to heat, leading to flushing, and ultimately a localization of spidery, distended blood capillaries (telangiectases). When these capillaries become extensive it progresses to a condition called telangiectasia (couperose). 

 
Most clients that have true rosacea will have a history established that consists of episodic reddening of the face most commonly recognized as flushing or blushing. Foods such as hot liquids, spicy cuisine and alcohol also may be factors that exacerbate rosacea. In addition, exposure to sun and heat may cause reactions. The connection between overexposure to the sun and the development and aggravation of rosacea is often underestimated. Rosacea, as with other skin problems, is a chronic photodermatosis condition. In fact, it is rare to find a rosacea patient who doesn’t have some form of advanced photo-aging.
 
Facial rosacea not only can cause significant cosmetic disfigurement, it also affects a person’s psychological well-being. The rapid rise of rosacea among professional women often is blamed on stress precipitated by the competitive workplace however, the specific cause of rosacea are many and poorly understood. Stress, for instance, does not cause rosacea but simply colors it red. The high visibility of the disease itself creates more stress, establishing a vicious cycle that can eventually affect the emotional health of the sufferer.
 
The most common age of onset is 30 to 50 years with peak incidences between 40 and 50. Rosacea is more common in females; however rhinophyma, or stage four rosacea, is more prevalent in males. Rosacea is also more common in photo types I and II, which typically will include the Scottish, Irish and Celtic heritages. The types III and IV will experience some rosacea but usually it is associated with excessive sun exposure. The least common rosacea clients will be the photo types V and VI.
 
Before home care or clinical treatment can begin, a detailed history is necessary to determine the extent and severity of the condition. Since client’s are not always fully aware of the condition, begin with a discussion of basic, everyday issues regarding their experience with sweating, exercise, embarrassment, sunlight sensitivity, consumption of beer, wine, or spicy foods, and discomfort from skin care products. Take the time to help the client make the associations between these instigating factors and to dispel any misunderstandings regarding causality.
 
The course of rosacea is prolonged and recurrences are common and difficult to heal. After a few years, the disease may remit spontaneously but it is never cured. Treatment requires patience from the client and a thorough understanding of the client’s histology by the skin care professional.
 
Treating the rosacea incorporates the use of various ingredients…
 
• Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs) have not been shown to promote the development of blood vessels and therefore should not exacerbate but might actually reduce some rosacea symptoms. In addition, these actives possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that may have a substantial positive effect.
 
• Horse chestnut is a botanical extract that contains Aescin known to reduce inflammation and improve vein walls by plugging minute holes and microscopic leaks in venules and capillaries. Horse chestnut also promotes elasticity and may prevent swelling.
 
• Sulfur can be effective in retarding the genesis of bacterial infection and the activity of the follicular Demodex mite. Balancing the skin is critical in the treatment of rosacea. Since rosacea is an inflammatory condition of the follicle, it is necessary to utilize ingredients that may reduce the inflammation. Protecting the skin from environmental exposure will prevent further exacerbation of the condition.
 
• Sunscreens
 
• Camouflage Makeup
 

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