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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. 

The CoolSculpting procedure is an effective way to remove unwanted fat deposits by cooling them down to the point where fat cells are permanently killed off. Fat cells are more temperature-sensitive than other body cells and can be eliminated by cold temperatures without damaging your skin. 

There are two technical problems that CoolSculpting addresses – firstly, to limit the parts of the body being cooled to just the areas that contain excess fat, and secondly to cool the fat cells being targeted to the very precise cold temperature required during treatment. 

CoolSculpting achieves this by squeezing excess fat between two pads maintained at the desired temperature, and by using suction to pull fat cells into closer contact with the pads, to maximize the effectiveness of the process. 

Due to the need to effectively thermally isolate the treatment area from the rest of the body, CoolSculpting is limited to use on certain parts of the body. 

So, which parts of the body can be treated using CoolSculpting?  

If you can pinch the area with your fingers, then it’s likely CoolSculpting can be used effectively on that area. Fortunately, most people’s unwanted body fat is generally located in the same areas and can be particularly effective when used on the body parts listed below.

Double Chins

It’s relatively easy to isolate fat located within the loose skin under the chin, an area that is famously difficult to target through diet or exercise. CoolSculpting cooling pads are actually available in several sizes and shapes, to aid in treating smaller areas effectively, and a special “mini” applicator is specially designed for use under the chin.

Flanks 

“Love Handles” on the sides of the waist respond extremely well to CoolSculpting and are one of the most popular treatment areas. Plus, you can take care of both sides of the body at the same time to maintain a symmetrical profile.

Upper Arms

CoolSculpting can effectively address excess fat underneath the arms. It is particularly effective when used to reduce accumulations of excess fat around the upper arms. It can also help address situations where the fat is unevenly distributed, or “lumpy.” A specialized CoolSculpting applicator is available for this area too.

Abdomen

This is perhaps the most common usage for CoolSculpting, especially because most of us accumulate fat here, and because it’s also not easy to target through diet or exercise. It’s common to require multiple sessions to take care of excess fat in the stomach region.

Thighs

CoolSculpting can be used effectively on both inner and outer thighs, even though fat deposits in both areas are not typically the same type. It’s relatively simple to isolate excess fat on the outer thighs, but fat on the inner thighs can also generally be treated effectively with the use of a specialized CoolSculpting applicator.

Buttocks

Any fat pouches beneath the buttocks can be targeted using CoolSculpting to smooth out the area and improve the overall contours of the upper legs.

Breasts

CoolSculpting has found use for men who wish to reduce or eliminate unwanted fat deposits in the chest area. It’s also for women who have developed unwanted fat beneath their breasts.

Learn More About CoolSculpting at Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care is a top-rated aesthetic center in Los Angeles. We have provided over 5,000 CoolSculpting treatments and have earned high-satisfaction rates among our clients. 

Learn more about how CoolSculpting can be used to target specific body- areas by contacting us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule a free consultation today!

CoolSculpting can be a very attractive procedure for those looking for a simple and effective way to remove localized excess subcutaneous fat. It’s both safe and noninvasive and is rapidly growing in popularity as more people become aware of how easy it is to eliminate excess fat deposits in many parts of the body. 

Is CoolSculpting Painful?

However, as the procedure involves pinching the unwanted fat between refrigerated pads, potential patients are often concerned with just what the procedure feels like, and whether it’s uncomfortable or even painful.

The first thing to know is that individual CoolSculpting sessions can take up to several hours, and as each session can remove up to 25% of the fat cells in the treatment area, more than one treatment may sometimes be needed. 

During the CoolSculpting Procedure 

The pads used to squeeze the treatment area are cooled to an exact temperature, and suction is also applied to ensure the fat cells are cooled as effectively as possible. The suction mostly feels like a gentle pinch to the skin. Generally, this is easily tolerated and doesn’t cause significant discomfort. Once the cooling pads start to chill down the skin and fat, you’ll notice the temperature drop, and some people are certainly more sensitive to this process than others. 

Generally, however, this part of the process is only mildly uncomfortable, you’ll probably tolerate the cold fairly easily, and even in cases where the cold temperature causes more pronounced discomfort, it’s mitigated by the numbness that comes with the exposure to low temperatures. Generally, the process feels quite similar to that of holding an ice pack to your body for several minutes – something that we can nearly all tolerate quite easily.

Once the cooling session is over, and the pads removed, the practitioner will massage the treated area, to stimulate and even out the removal of fat cells, and restore any feeling that may have been numbed by the cold. This part of the process may also be perceived differently – some patients find being manipulated somewhat uncomfortable, while others are not bothered by it.

If you’re particularly sensitive, or just worried about how you’ll react to the procedure, we encourage you to make your concerns known to your practitioner. They may be able to modify the process to minimize discomfort, or to avoid areas that you find particularly sensitive. 

After the Procedure

Results are not seen immediately after a CoolSculpting session but become apparent in the weeks after treatment. Some discomfort can accompany the actual loss of fat cells – around 10 percent of patients experience some minimal pain or soreness during this period, which can include unusually sensitive skin. These symptoms will soon dissipate, although it may be wise to avoid wearing tight clothing around the treated area until any tenderness has subsided.

Interested in CoolSculpting? Contact Your Laser Skin Care

We’ll be happy to answer any questions you have about CoolSculpting treatments and can show you how best to make use of CoolSculpting to achieve your cosmetic goals. Call us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule a free consultation. We have extensive experience with this and many other types of cosmetic procedures.

Most healthy adults require anywhere from seven to 9 hours of sleep each night. While the benefits of getting this much rest are plenty and varied, it appears many people don’t recognize the importance of getting high-quality sleep. 

Indeed, recent reports have shown that nearly 30% of US adults get by with an average of six hours or less of sleep per night. While some, trainee doctors especially, may choose to regard their ability to get by on minimal sleep as a badge of honor, it’s a fact that any significant shortfall in your sleep can carry significant negative health effects.

Insufficient sleep not only carries the risk of some fairly evident problems – tiredness, inability to concentrate, poor memory, but is also linked to many other mental or physical problems, including;

• Depression
• Obesity
• Greater risk of accidents
• Compromised cardiovascular health
• Strokes
• Diabetes
• Impaired ability to fight infection

The Science Behind Sleep

There are some obvious physical signs of poor sleep, such as puffy eyes and dark under-eye circles. 

But chronic sleep problems can manifest themselves in a surprising variety of different skin-related problems. 

The body depends on healthy sleep patterns to regulate the release of many different chemicals and hormones. 

Sleep disruption can result in increased levels of cortisol, a stress-related hormone. Excess cortisol increases the rate that skin collagen degrades, and collagen is absolutely crucial to maintaining healthy-looking, resilient skin. 

Poor sleep also reduces the normal production of human growth hormone – which is also important for maintaining healthy skin texture, as well as the muscles and bones that support our skin layers. Growth hormone is vital to repairing the day-to-day damage to skin cells that is a normal part of our lives.

Last and certainly not least, insufficient sleep increases many people’s tendency to gain weight – possibly by disrupting the production of chemicals that serve both to stimulate and regulate one’s appetite for food. 

The resulting increased amounts of subcutaneous fat accumulated over the long term is another major reason for skin damage, resulting in stretch marks, cellulite, and other cosmetic skin problems.

Improving Sleep Quality

“Sleep quality” is the result of three factors – how long it takes you to fall asleep, how long you sleep, and how well (or deeply) you sleep.

Your first objective should be to try to increase the time you spend in bed, and minimize your use of electronic gadgets before going to bed, and especially once you’re in bed. 

Sleep deprivation is not only a question of how many hours you spend in bed, but also the quality of the sleep you achieve once you sleep. 

Sleep apnea is a well-known cause of low-quality sleep, but several other behaviors can contribute to reduced quality sleep, such as sleeping in an environment that has excessive light leakage. Anything that distracts from solid uninterrupted sleep can have cumulative negative effects, and these effects can be significant.

Your doctor may be able to recommend some supplements to help improve sleep, such as taking melatonin supplements before bedtime, but these unfortunately are not always effective.

Laser Skin Treatments from Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care is medically qualified to investigate and diagnose the causes behind sleep-related problems and perform a wide variety of non-invasive cosmetic procedures to mitigate many types of skin damage. Learn more about laser skin treatment options or call us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule a free consultation.