Archive for October, 2009

Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen…

Not all hair is as wanted! When that is the case, a series of laser hair removal treatments in the office will result in about 85% permanent hair reduction. The hair follicles in your body are growing in different phases, some active and some quiet. The laser energy needs to be pulsed down the hair shaft to selectively treat the pigment in the base of the follicle bulb. It is like treating the tulip stem with laser energy that is transmitted into the bulb underground. It shrivels the bulb and reduces its ability to produce hair thereafter. You see those results right away. Since hair is staggered in different phases of growth it takes about 5 to 7 timed sessions to capture them in the telogen phase and effect the long term laser result. What about the other 15%? These are treated in a maintenance mode thereafter. But in the meantime, you’ll be retiring your razor.

PS Hair removal candidates can arrange to come to see me in consultation and then have their first treatment the same day by my aesthetician staff.

NOT STRETCHING THE TRUTH
Stretch marks associated with pregnancy are due to the skin’s need to accommodate the increased body volume as the uterus expands. While skin is elastic enough to tolerate a significant amount of stretching over a short period of time, it does have limits. At that point, the deeper layers of skin tear instead of stretching further. When these deep layers tear, the overlying skin remains intact but appears thin and streaky. The collagen and elastin bundles have exceeded their tensile strength and once disrupted manifest the hallmarks known as stretch marks. Once stretch marks occur, they are permanent. Laser surgery may reduce their severity, but results are mixed. Most topical medicines have little effect on the established marks. The only proven way to eliminate stretch marks below the belly button is to undergo a “tummy tuck,” which involves the removal of stretched out skin and tightening the lower abdominal laxity.

P.S. Profractional™ laser treatment has been used with the most success on areas of the body not amenable to surgical removal of skin, like thighs, flanks and buttocks.