Blog

Eyelash extensions are a popular way to enhance the length and thickness of natural eyelashes, however they come with some significant drawbacks. These can include allergic reactions caused by the glue used to attach artificial eyelashes, infections caused by bacteria trapped by the artificial extensions, and even loss of remaining eyelashes as the extensions pull on individual eyelash hairs.

Fortunately there is an FDA-approved treatment that is proven to be effective at darkening, thickening, and lengthening one’s natural eyelashes. This treatment is marketed under the name Latisse – it’s available as a liquid that is applied to the upper eyelids at nighttime. Results start to show after around 2 months – the best results are achieved after 3 to 4 months of daily use. Latisse does not produce permanent benefits, but you can switch to a lower dose after 4 months to maintain results for as long as desired.

You can also continue to use mascara to further enhance your eyelashes when using Latisse, the combination will produce very noticeable improvements. Latisse has also been used to treat eyelash loss caused by chemotherapy.

Occasional side effects are caused by using Latisse, so we strongly recommend consulting with a doctor before starting treatment. Latisse cannot be used by patients suffering from certain medical conditions, or by pregnant or nursing mothers. And as in all treatments, contact the doctor if you experience any unusual symptoms or discomfort.

We are highly experienced in prescribing and supervising the use of Latisse, and can help you evaluate whether Latisse is a good choice to treat your thinning eyelashes, as well as showing you the proper way to apply the medication.

Your Laser Skin Care in Los Angeles specializes in Botox and Fillers injections, laser hair removal, vein therapy, chemical peels and IPL among many other services. Please call us at (323) 525-1516 or visit us online at www.yourlaserskincare.com to schedule a free consultation.

We offer three SkinMedica chemical peel treatments, depending on your skin type and condition, and the degree of improvement you’re looking to achieve. Illuminize Peel is a gentle treatment that enhances skin appearance and texture, Vitalize Peel combats the effects of aging and sun damage, while Rejuvenize Peel is a more aggressive treatment that targets moderate to severe skin imperfections.

We put these notes together to help you understand what happens before, during, and after a chemical peel treatment, noting any differences corresponding to the different peel treatments.

Pre-Treatment

It’s wise to avoid anything that might increase skin sensitivity leading up to a treatment. This includes other chemical treatments, microdermabrasion, hair removal, and sun exposure (including artificial tanning).

We may also recommend avoiding certain medications that might increase light sensitivity or cause skin inflammation, as well as recommending use of moisturizing lotions before treatment, to help speed up recovery afterwards.

Preparation consists of cleansing the skin by removing any oils or makeup from the area to be treated, and (depending on the area being treated) applying protection to any adjacent sensitive areas like the eyes, nose and mouth.

Treatment

The peel chemicals are applied to the skin for a period of between 5 and 10 minutes, depending on the type of peel. Your skin will feel warm, and there will be some degree of burning sensation. Cold compresses may be used to reduce any discomfort.

Mild peel chemicals are simply washed off after a treatment, while more aggressive peels may first require that a neutralizing agent is applied to the skin.

The effect of a peel is to dissolve or irritate the outer layers of dead skin, leading to skin regeneration. More aggressive peels simply affect deeper layers of the skin.

Post-Treatment

The degree and length of redness and peeling experienced after a procedure depends on the type of procedure. Illuminize Peel produces little to no redness and peeling, Vitalize peel produces moderate redness and peeling, while Rejuvenize Peel can produce more pronounced effects. Redness and peeling last anywhere from 3 to 5 days.

We may recommend use of skin cleansers, moisturizers, and sunscreens after a treatment, to speed your recovery and protect your skin while it remains extra sensitive.

You should avoid sun exposure for at least a week after treatment and use broad spectrum sunscreens to allow your skin to complete its recovery.

A chemical skin peel is the least invasive option for treating skin imperfections, as it only affects the outer layers of the skin. In all cases the new skin that regrows will be smoother and less wrinkled than the original skin.

Your Laser Skin Care in Los Angeles specializes in Botox and Fillers injections, laser hair removal, vein therapy, chemical peels and IPL among many other services. Please call us at (323) 525-1516 or visit us online at www.yourlaserskincare.com to schedule a free consultation.

We’ve compiled a list of some lesser-known facts about laser hair removal that you should know before starting treatment:

• Laser treatment sessions are quite short – often taking less time than preparing for the treatment.
• Bursts of laser light are absorbed by hair follicles, which damages each follicle and stops new hair growth. Treated hairs remain for several weeks after a treatment, until they are shed naturally.
• Laser hair removal is effective anywhere on the body.
• Each individual hair follicle has its own life cycle, alternating between periods of growth, and periods of dormancy.
• Laser hair removal is only effective on hair that’s actively growing, so laser hair removal sessions must be repeated several times before all hair in a given area has been treated.  Even so, laser hair removal is the most effective way to remove unwanted hair. Each laser hair removal session typically reduces hair by anywhere from 70% to 90%, and any hair that does re-grow will be finer. Repeated treatments can achieve permanent hair reduction.
• While it’s generally easier to treat patients with dark hair and light skin tone (where the contrast between hair and skin color is the highest), the Nd:YAG laser now also allows effective treatment for those having darker skin tone.
• The laser treatment is not painless, but is considered less painful than either waxing or electrolysis. Subsequent laser treatments are also progressively less painful, as the hair becomes finer.
• The most popular region for laser hair removal in the US is the West Coast.
• Laser hair removal is growing in popularity – over 1 million procedures were performed last year in the US.
• Laser hair removal is more cost-effective than shaving or waxing, both of which have to be repeated regularly. The lifetime cost of removing hair by shaving has been estimated at over $10,000, while the lifetime cost of waxing procedures can be more than $23,000!  Not counting the time spent having to regularly repeating these treatments.
• Laser treatment may increase your sensitivity to direct sunlight, which should be avoided for several weeks before and after each treatment. As several visits are typically required, and the complete course of treatment could take up to six months, it may make sense to try to avoid the summer months when scheduling treatments.
• Laser hair removal is also particularly beneficial for those who suffer from ingrown hairs. Laser hair removal avoids situations where the hair follicle becomes infected, when antibiotics might have to be prescribed.

Your Laser Skin Care in Los Angeles specializes in Botox and Fillers injections, laser hair removal, vein therapy, chemical peels and IPL among many other services. Please call us at (323) 525-1516 or visit us online at www.yourlaserskincare.com to schedule a free consultation.

You should be sure to consider the following points before deciding where to go for treatment:

Doctor’s Qualifications and Experience

Reach out to the doctor and ask about their qualifications and experience. Your doctor should be board certified in a relevant specialty – one of internal medicine, vascular medicine, vascular surgery, or dermatology.

You also want to select a doctor who has substantial experience carrying out vein therapy. Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor about their experience. If they can’t find the time to talk to you, keep looking.

Available Equipment

Laser vein therapy makes use of high-tech lasers. There are many different models, with different features, but the most versatile and widely-used type of laser is the Nd:YAG laser. Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (YAG) is simply the type of crystal from which the laser is constructed, and Neodymium (Nd) is the chemical element added to tune the light frequency produced by the laser.

Although very brief, pulses of laser light can cause discomfort. One way to alleviate this is to cool the skin a fraction of a second before each laser pulse. The DCD (Dynamic Cooling Device) system uses a cryogenic spray to counteract the heating effect of the laser, minimizing discomfort.

Personal Rapport with the Doctor

It’s important that you feel comfortable with the doctor, and with the staff at their clinic. It may be hard to pin down what makes you feel at ease with a doctor, but trust your instincts.

The effectiveness of your treatment is not only measured by the doctor’s skill and experience, but also by their ability to listen to your concerns, and to fully explain the treatment options available to you.

If you want to follow-up on these recommendations, these links will help:

• The Nd:YAG laser
• Your Laser Skin Care vein treatment options

And of course, don’t hesitate to contact us for any further information!

Your Laser Skin Care in Los Angeles specializes in Botox and Fillers injections, laser hair removal, vein therapy, chemical peels and IPL among many other services. Please call us at (323) 525-1516 or visit us online at www.yourlaserskincare.com to schedule a free consultation.

Choosing cosmetic (“invasive”) surgery as a way to rejuvenate one’s appearance can be a very costly decision, and the results are at times difficult to predict.  Fortunately, in almost all cases there are a multitude of highly effective and well-tested non-invasive alternative treatment options.

Opting for non-surgical procedures leads to the following benefits:

You Can Choose From a Large Number of Available Treatments

Depending on your needs we can help you choose between the following options:

• For wrinkles: Botox, or injectable fillers (Restylane, Juvederm, Perlane, Voluma, and others).
• For thinning eyelashes: Latisse.
• For unwanted hair: Laser hair removal.
• For unsightly veins: Laser Vein therapy, or Sclerotherapy.
• For facial blemishes and broken veins: Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treatment.
• For skin tightening: Candela YAG Laser treatment.
• For loss of facial volume: Sculptra or Juvederm injectable fillers.
• For loss of hand volume: Perlane injectable filler.
• For miscellaneous skin defects: Laser assisted skin resurfacing, or chemical peels.

Injectable fillers are particularly versatile, and can replace surgery when treating:

• Lip and chin augmentation.
• Cheek and jowl enhancement.
• Nose resculpting (Rhinoplasty).
• Acne scar reduction.
• Eye region defect correction.

Lowered Risk with Control over Degree of Correction

In the event that cosmetic surgery gives unsatisfactory results it may be difficult or impossible to reverse the procedure. To say nothing of the costs involved. Our non-invasive treatments do not make irreversible changes, and you can decide to make changes slowly, over the course of several visits.

You can easily gauge the effects of each visit, and decide if or how often you want to return. This allows you to choose the degree of correction you want, and allows you to make improvements gradually over time, in a more natural manner.

Different Ways to Manage Pain and Discomfort

Non-invasive treatments considerably reduce levels of pain and discomfort compared to surgical options. Most of our treatment options require at most topical numbing.

Convenience and Flexible Scheduling

Our procedures generally take between 15 and 45 minutes, and can be scheduled to fit in with your timetable. They also require little or no recovery time afterwards.

Whatever your needs, we will guide you through all the options and choices involved with enhancing your appearance, and make sure that your treatment is precisely tailored to your requirements.

Your Laser Skin Care in Los Angeles specializes in Botox and Fillers injections, laser hair removal, vein therapy, chemical peels and IPL among many other services. Please call us at (323) 525-1516 or visit us online at www.yourlaserskincare.com to schedule a free consultation.

Laser hair removal is the high-tech way to remove hair from anywhere on the body. It works by using pulses of laser light to target the pigment inside the root of each hair – the follicle. Laser light is absorbed by the follicle, which damages it and inhibits further hair growth.

You can prepare for laser hair removal, and ensure that you get the maximum benefit from the procedure, by following these simple tips:

Keep out of the sun for at least 2 weeks before each treatment.

Tanning increases the levels of melanin in the skin, which makes the laser pulses less effective. Artificial tanning products have a similar effect, and should also be avoided ahead of time.

No plucking, waxing, or electrolysis for 2 weeks before a treatment.

These techniques can disrupt the growth cycle of hair follicles, and laser hair removal is most effective when the hair follicles are undamaged.

Shave the day of your treatment.

In contrast to the previous two “no’s”, we ask that you shave the area to be treated before your appointment. Shaving removes hair without damaging the follicles, and maximizes the amount of laser light reaching each hair follicle. Using a fresh razor will also reduce the chance of infection.

Avoid applying makeup and deodorant the day of your treatment.

If you normally apply these to the area being treated, don’t use any the day of your treatment. The Doctor will also give you instructions on what to do after the treatment to minimize any redness or inflammation.

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any other questions ahead of an appointment.

Your Laser Skin Care in Los Angeles specializes in Botox and Fillers injections, laser hair removal, vein therapy, chemical peels and IPL among many other services. Please call us at (323) 525-1516 or visit us online at www.yourlaserskincare.com to schedule a free consultation.

There are several options available for people wanting to treat wrinkles and other facial signs of aging, but until recently there was no FDA-approved way to treat the next most common area of concern: the back of one’s hands.

Loss of volume underneath the skin on the back of the hand can be due to general loss of fat, as well as muscle atrophy. This often results in the bones, tendons, and veins in the hand becoming unusually prominent – even more so when the skin of the hand has also become thin.

Radiesse, which is limited to use when the skin on the hands is still relatively thick, was approved in 2015. But now it’s been joined by Restylane, which can also be used in cases where the skin on the back of the hand has become thin. Restylane is not a new product – it was already approved for use on the cheeks and the areas between the sides of the nose and the corners of the mouth – but the FDA has now officially authorized its use as a hand filler.

Restylane is an injectable white sugar-based gel filler containing hyaluronic acid. Restylane provides immediate benefits by helping to increase volume beneath the skin, and each treatment lasts for up to 6 months. Hyaluronic acid also helps to replenish moisture in the skin, which improves skin firmness, flexibility, and appearance. Regular use of Restylane may also stimulate collagen production, leading to longer-term benefits.

One syringe of Restylane is normally enough to treat one hand. Side effects are minimal but some patients may experience temporary swelling, itching, or tenderness.

Please contact us for more information on this exciting new treatment option.

Your Laser Skin Care in Los Angeles specializes in Botox and Fillers injections, laser hair removal, vein therapy, chemical peels and IPL among many other services. Please call us at (323) 525-1516 or visit us online at www.yourlaserskincare.com to schedule a free consultation.