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CoolSculpting is rapidly growing in popularity as a highly effective way to selectively achieve visible reductions in unwanted fat deposits in many parts of the body. The CoolSculpting procedure is relatively straightforward and allows highly targeted fat reduction to be performed with minimal side effects. Despite its relative simplicity, there are still several ways to improve the results that CoolSculpting brings, following the following recommendations before treatment. 

Try to Lose Excess Weight

It might seem strange to recommend losing weight before having a fat-reduction procedure, but this can be very beneficial. CoolSculpting is not an effective weight-loss mechanism – and although it’s effective at removing excess fat from specific areas, it’s limited in which body areas can be treated. In particular, it’s mostly effective at removing subcutaneous fat and is much less effective at targeting deep-body visceral fat.

By getting close to your target weight before CoolSculpting treatment, aside from the general health benefits that will follow, you’ll maximize the CoolSculpting procedure’s effectiveness. CoolSculpting can help eliminate the hard-to-lose subcutaneous fat deposits that are often left behind after significant overall weight loss.

Minimize Complications by Avoiding Some Medications

You can minimize the chance of developing bruising following a CoolSculpting session by avoiding the use of any medications and supplements that can act to modify normal blood clotting, for a week or so before treatment. Even over-the-counter medications like aspirin (an effective blood thinner) can make bruising more likely, and supplements like fish oil or vitamin E can have similar effects.

Protect Your Skin

Unnecessary sun exposure is generally frowned upon but is especially discouraged before many cosmetic procedures. You don’t want to worry about any extra pain or discomfort due to sun-burnt or sun-damaged skin interfering with or complicating the use of the CoolSculpting cooling pads. Similarly, any other skin damage, such as cuts or bruises, are best left to heal before starting CoolSculpting treatment.

Stop Smoking

Smoking is considered to be bad for your health, with or without other considerations. If you are a smoker, seriously consider stopping for several days before treatment to ensure your body is in the best possible shape to recover quickly from the loss of fat during each CoolSculpting procedure.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care can provide you with advice on the best ways to prepare for a CoolSculpting procedure, as well as helping you choose the most effective (and cost-effective) way to achieve your cosmetic goals. We are also highly experienced in the use of many other non-invasive cosmetic procedures. Call us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule a free consultation or visit us online for more information.

Uneven skin pigmentation is a widespread problem, and typically appears on the parts of the body regularly exposed to sunlight. Dark spots also referred to as hyperpigmentation, are more common among those over the age of 40 with darker complexions. These spots are flat and can vary in size and color. Smaller spots are typically caused by exposure to the sun, while hormonal imbalances can cause larger areas of hyperpigmentation. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation can also develop after healing from skin injuries such as acne.

Conceal or Treat?

Judicious application of makeup can, of course, help conceal hyperpigmentation but is a time-consuming procedure. There are also a large number of products that may provide some relief, ranging from exfoliating skin cleansers, spot treatments, retinoid-based products, and prescription hydroquinone.

Acid Peels

Salicylic acid can also be used to help lift away uneven pigmentation, although this requires a skillful practitioner to be effective.

Light-Pulse Technology

Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) photofacials can provide a highly effective way to treat hyperpigmentation, whether composed of small dark age or sun spots, or larger patches of uneven pigmentation. The light pulses stimulate rejuvenation of the skin and provide several benefits in addition to evening out pigmentation imbalances. These benefits include reducing or eliminating spider veins, reducing the effect of rosacea, and relieving blotchy skin.

IPL photofacials are non-invasive, safe, and require the absolute minimum of recovery time. Side effects may include short-term redness or swelling but typically last only a few hours. IPL photofacials are FDA approved and have been in use since the 1990s. IPL photofacials do require a skilled practitioner to maximize the benefits and minimize any side effects.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care can provide you with advice on the best ways to treat your skin pigmentation problems. We are highly experienced in the use of IPL and laser skin treatments, as well as many other non-invasive cosmetic procedures. We can advise you on the safest and most cost-effective way to achieve your cosmetic goals. Call us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule a free consultation or visit us online for more information.

We all know that preventing problems from occurring is a better strategy than trying to fix problems after they’ve appeared. Although we can now treat spider veins and varicose veins, it’s a good idea to consider ways to delay or even prevent their appearance by modifying your diet. 

Spider and varicose veins are the results of damage to the walls of the veins, caused by damaged valves inside the blood vessels that serve to keep blood flowing normally. The damage may be due to several reasons, including excessive weight and obesity, increased blood pressure, tight-fitting garments, standing for lengthy periods, hormonal imbalance, as well as plain hereditary chance.

Modifying your diet in the following ways can help reduce the chance of aggravating (or creating) these conditions and improving your general health in many other ways:

Hydration

Keeping hydrated is very important, but at the same time, one must avoid foods that can cause excessive water retention, which can lead to increased pressure inside the blood vessels. For this reason, cut down on your use of added salt.

Weight Control

Added weight creates a host of health problems, especially over time. But extra pounds lead directly to increased pressure in your blood vessels and reduced mobility, both of which create the conditions which favor spider and varicose veins formation. 

Berries

Antioxidants are found in several berries and can help strengthen blood vessel walls. They include especially blackberries, which also contain high levels of rutin, an anti-inflammatory flavonoid which guards against blood clots and generally protects blood vessels. 

It can also reduce the chance of developing new varicose veins by affecting the mechanism by which capillary blood vessels grow. Rutin is also present in Apples, grapes, cherries, and apricots.

Avocados

Avocados contain high levels of vitamins C and E, which together have anti-inflammatory effects and help to thin the blood and prevent blood clot formation.

Watercress

Watercress contains vitamin K, along with several other vitamins and elements. It’s traditionally been used to treat varicose veins.

Ginger

Another anti-inflammatory, ginger is known to improve blood circulation, and it helps to dissolve fibrin, which is responsible for the hardening of the veins.

Beets

Beets are high in nitrates and also contain betacyanin. These ingredients can act to fight damage to blood vessel walls and improve blood circulation by increasing the flow of oxygen in the blood.

Asparagus

Asparagus is rich in several important vitamins, elements, and amino acids. It can help strengthen blood vessel walls and help prevent varicose vein development.

Rosemary

Rosemary is traditionally used to boost blood circulation and contains compounds that fight against tissue damage caused by free radicals.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care can provide you with advice on the best ways to treat varicose or spider veins – we have extensive experience providing both laser vein therapy and Sclerotherapy treatments. Call us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule a free consultation or visit us online for more information.

Perhaps you’re very careful to moisturize, you don’t smoke, you apply sunscreen religiously, and you may even use dermal fillers and Botox to repair any wrinkles that you’ve developed. However, the chances are that you still do several things regularly that may make your wrinkles worse instead of better. 

Here are a few of the things that many of us do on a regular basis, that make our wrinkles worse:

Pulling Your Skin When Applying or Removing MakeUp

It’s natural to stretch your skin when applying or removing makeup, but pulling on the delicate skin on our faces, especially around the eyes, can cumulatively lead to various problems, including puffiness, broken blood vessels, lost skin elasticity, and eventually wrinkles. Use facial pads to pat away your makeup, instead of wiping it off – this simple act adds up to a lot over time.

Similarly, for those who wear contacts daily – try to limit the natural tendency to pull the skin to the side to facilitate inserting or removing your contacts.

Excessive Washing with Harsh Soaps

Soap works by stripping the natural oils from the skin, but this can leave your skin dehydrated and unprotected, and makes you much more prone to developing fine lines and wrinkles over time. Consider avoiding soap altogether, and switch to gentle skin cleansers, and be sure to use a moisturizer to replace lost fluids.

Regular Driving 

Even for those who use sunscreen, the cumulative effect of regular driving in our climate is that one side of your face is regularly exposed to far more sunshine than the other, just by virtue of being next to the car’s side window. 

Harmful UV rays are not blocked by the glass; consequently, wrinkles are more common on the left side of our faces. You can combat this by using higher SPF-rated sunscreen when driving, as well as by getting the side windows of your car tinted.

Sunglasses!

Many people avoid sunglasses, but they unconsciously compensate in bright sunlight by squinting to reduce light intensity and glare. 

Needless to say, scrunching your eyes regularly increases the chance of developing lines and wrinkles in the soft skin that surrounds our eyes. The solution? Wear sunglasses, and make sure you choose ones that also protect against harmful UV rays.

Sleeping On Your Front

Given the number of hours we spend asleep, it should not come as a surprise to learn that the position in which we sleep can have a large influence on our bodies. 

Sleeping with your face pushed into a pillow can eventually lead to developing fine lines and wrinkles; for those who habitually favor one side or the other, these wrinkles can be more developed on one side of your face. Sleeping on your back might avoid the problem, but for those who are not able or comfortable doing that, choosing low-friction pillowcases can also help.

Your Laser Skin Care

We’re highly experienced in administering dermal fillers, Botox, and a host of other non-invasive cosmetic procedures. We’ll be happy to schedule you a free consultation, at which we can present the full range of available solutions tailored to your specific needs, develop a custom treatment plan, and answer any questions you may have. 

Call us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule your free consultation, or contact us online for more information.

IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) photo-facial treatments use intense pulses of light energy to apply heat to unwanted skin cells, causing them to sustain damage, die, and naturally be eliminated from the body over time. 

Unlike lasers, which emit precisely tuned and focused single-frequency light energy, IPL produces a broad spectrum of different light frequencies. This allows it to be used to treat a broad range of skin imperfections at differing depths below the skin surface. 

Crucially, the intense light energy produced by the IPL achieves its results without affecting healthy skin cells. The range of light frequencies used by IPL penetrates deep into the skin, and can even be used to treat several skin problems simultaneously.

IPL improves skin appearance and resilience via the following mechanisms:

Excess Melanin Reduction

IPL can be used to target excess melanin – cause of dark pigmentation in the skin. This can be used to even out unbalanced pigmentation and reduce hyper-pigmentation, freckles, and other pigmentation-based skin blemishes.

Reduced Inflammation

The IPL procedure can be used to target bacteria present in the skin; this reduces or eliminates the cause of many acne infections. IPL can also be used to reduce the redness caused by rosacea and other inflammatory conditions.

General Skin Tightening

The IPL heat energy has a tightening effect on the collagen cells and blood vessel walls within the skin, resulting in improved skin tone, and a reduction in fine lines, wrinkles, and the small, twisty blood vessels known as spider veins.

Increased Collagen and Elastin Production

A significant result of IPL treatment is the stimulation of collagen and elastin production, lasting well beyond the actual treatment session. This helps accelerate the natural mechanisms used by the skin to heal damage, and leads to general improvements in skin tone and resiliency, and has an overall rejuvenating effect.

Unwanted Hair Removal

IPL can also be used to address unwanted hair.

Your Laser Skin Care

At Your Laser Skin Care, we are specialists in the application of both laser and IPL-based skin treatments, as well as a host of other non-invasive cosmetic skin procedures. We would love to schedule a free consultation with you, during which we can present the full range of available solutions tailored to your personal situation, develop a custom treatment plan, and answer all of your questions. Call us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule your free consultation, or visit us online for more information.

Both Dermal fillers and Botox are used to smooth out facial lines and wrinkles, and often in combination with each other. However, neither treatment provides permanent results, and sooner or later, you’ll need to go back for more filler. 

There are obviously several reasons why most patients would like to extend the results of Botox and fillers and delay the need for repeated injections. We’ve collected several tips and techniques for making the results of dermal fillers and Botox last longer – perhaps unsurprisingly, most are also useful for delaying the need to use fillers or Botox in the first place.

Hydration

The hyaluronic acid that forms the basis of most dermal fillers is intended to help reduce fine lines and wrinkles primarily by augmenting the moisture levels within the skin. Still, don’t forget to drink enough fluids and eat sufficient fruit and vegetables. Unfortunately, coffee and alcohol are diuretics and will reduce moisture levels instead of increasing them.

Staying properly hydrated has many other health benefits, including keeping cartilage supple, and assisting in maintaining (or achieving) a healthy weight.

Good Nutrition

Maintaining a balanced, healthy diet is another way to stay youthful-looking and minimize the chance of developing age-related health problems. Ensuring you eat leafy green vegetables, nuts, and oily fish will give your body the nutrients and healthy fats it needs. Avoid processed foods and sugars, and try to include foods that contain antioxidants, especially berries. 

Minimize Sunlight Exposure

The UV light found in sunlight can cause cumulative damage to the skin, and especially to the delicate skin on the face. You should wear sunscreen outdoors, even if you avoid direct sunlight, and try to minimize the time spent in direct sunlight. Wearing sunglasses and a hat can also help reduce exposure to UV.

Choose Skincare Products with Care

Pay attention to the ingredients in the skincare products you use – try to avoid chemical additives that can irritate your skin and possibly trigger allergic reactions.

Get Enough Sleep!

Getting insufficient sleep can impact your health in a host of ways, some visible, others not. If you want to maintain your youthful appearance, start by getting enough sleep, and also try to improve the quality of your sleep by using blackout shades that eliminate residual light from your bedroom.

No Smoking!

You shouldn’t need to be told this, but smoking is potentially catastrophic for your complexion, as well as your health in general. It’s also common for smokers to squint to minimize smoke around the eyes, which will only encourage wrinkles to develop around your eyes. 

Botox and Fillers from Your Laser Skin Care

We’re highly experienced in applying dermal fillers and Botox, as well as a host of other non-invasive cosmetic procedures. We’ll be delighted to answer any questions you have about any of our procedures. Call us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule a free consultation, or visit us online for more information.

There are three main families of injectable dermal filler products – the Restylane product family, the Juvederm product family, and Sculptra Aesthetic. 

Restylane and Juvederm products are based on hyaluronic acid, and combined with proprietary additives, will modify the consistency and resiliency of the injected areas. They’re primarily intended to help combat the lines and wrinkles that form as part of the aging process.

Sculptra Aesthetic, often referred to simply as “Sculptra,” uses a different synthetic base that is better adapted to filling in larger areas of missing volume, for example, caused by loss of fat beneath the skin. However, it’s also used to help fill-in deeper lines and creases.

Primary Differences Between Sculptra and Other Dermal Fillers

Sculptra not only helps compensate for the loss of volume that can result in a shallow, gaunt look often viewed as premature aging, it also helps to stimulate further production of collagen by the body. This has several benefits, both in improving the texture and resilience of your skin, but also helping to maintain the structure on which the skin rests, delaying any further loss of volume.

Sculptra is injected deeper into the skin than superficial dermal filler products, allowing it to directly address the loss of volume that can affect relatively large areas of the face. When used around the hairline, Sculptra can contribute to maintaining the overall look of the face, creating, in effect, a liquid facelift.

Naturalness of Results

Sculptra is typically applied in several sessions, spaced apart by a month or so. Results become apparent gradually in the months following treatment, and the subtle nature of these changes create natural-looking improvements over time. 

The improvements that take place will not look to be the direct result of a cosmetic procedure, and won’t result in drastic, unnatural changes to your appearance. You’ll instead benefit from seeing an overall improvement that others may find hard to assign to any specific change. Increases in collagen production also occur over relatively long time-scales, delivering ongoing benefits long after the actual cosmetic procedures.

Duration of Results

Sculptra is a very long-lasting filler which is absorbed by the body at a slower rate than hyaluronic acid-based products. It provides results that can last in excess of two years, significantly longer than other dermal fillers. 

After this time, in most cases, results can be maintained with perhaps only one annual Sculptra treatment, providing a truly cost-effective way to maintain your healthy look over the long-term.

Interested in Trying Sculptra? Contact Us

We are highly experienced in applying all available dermal fillers and can advise on the best product (or products) to address your particular concerns. 

We are happy to answer any questions you have about this or other procedures – call us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule a free consultation.