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woman discussing botox with her doctor to treat TMJ

How Does Botox Help with TMJ?

Posted on August 10, 2022 by 
We previously wrote about the possible use of Botox to treat jaw pain. The sliding hinges that connect each side of your jawbone to your skull are known as the temporomandibular joints, TMJ for short. The powerful masseter muscles surrounding the jaw are responsible for moving the jaw, but most particularly they are used when chewing food.
TMJ joints can become inflamed via trauma to the jaw or neck, but the most common cause is long-term repeated clenching or grinding of the teeth while sleeping. You may never be aware that you suffer from this unless your partner complains about your nocturnal teeth grinding, or your dentist starts to notice premature teeth wear.
Untreated TMJ pain can cause various other problems: most typically ear pain or tinnitus, but it can also lead to migraine headaches, depression, and even eating disorders.

Consequences of Large Masseters

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Large masseter muscles may simply be part of your genetic makeup, but they may be due to teeth grinding, or possibly due to your eating (and chewing) habits. Regular use of chewing gum can contribute to the problem. Having well-developed masseter muscles does not in itself indicate that you have or will develop TMJ inflammation, but they can also have undesired cosmetic effects.
As the masseter muscles around the jaw become larger they can modify the shape of the lower face, creating a wider and more square-looking jaw line.

Treatment Using Botox

As Botox works by selectively blocking the nerve signals that cause muscles to contract, judiciously placed Botox injections can provide an effective way to reduce the intensity of the masseter muscle contractions. Over time this can lead to a reduction in the size of the muscles, as well as significantly relieving TMJ pain symptoms.
Botox provides effective but temporary relief – you should expect to have to re-apply Botox after some period, typically between six months and a year. You may find that the need for re-application lessens as your muscles reduce in size, and/or your TMJ inflammation reduces.
Using Botox to address TMJ and masseter problems requires far greater medical knowledge and experience than using it for typical cosmetic wrinkle control purposes. You should be sure to carefully question the credentials and experience of any practitioner before committing to a course of Botox treatment for these problems.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and experienced in providing Botox treatments. We can provide expert advice on the best ways to address your particular situation. We also have extensive experience with a wide variety of other non-invasive cosmetic procedures and can help you choose the safest, most effective, 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.
woman in the sun after botox

Can Sun Exposure Affect Botox?

Posted on July 18, 2022 by 
When considering if you should avoid exposure to direct sunlight after a Botox treatment, there are actually several factors that should be considered.

Does Sunlight Increase Botox Side-Effects?

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Botox treatment can result in short-lived side effects – including bruising, swelling, increased sensitivity, itching, and more rarely temporary pigmentation changes at the points of injections.
These symptoms typically subside within 24 hours, although they can persist for a week or so in some people. If you are prone to developing any of the above after treatment, be aware that excess sunlight exposure can exacerbate these side effects. We think it’s prudent to minimize your exposure to sunlight after Botox treatments, this will minimize your recovery time afterward.

Does Sunlight Stop Botox From Working?

The good news is that sun exposure does not seem to have any long-term negative effect on how effective Botox treatments are. The mechanism that Botox uses to block nerve impulses and relax facial muscles is not affected by sun exposure.

Long-Term Sunlight Exposure

Sunlight does not seem to affect how long the effects of Botox treatments last. However, long-term exposure to sunlight will definitely accelerate the aging of your skin and can lead to the connective tissue in the skin breaking down. This leads to wrinkles, and ultimately loss of skin tone. Even if sunlight does not directly affect Botox’s ability to smooth your skin, it is strongly recommended to use moisturizing sunscreen on a daily basis and to limit your exposure to direct and indirect sunlight.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and experienced in providing Botox treatments. We can provide expert advice on the best ways to address your particular situation. We also have extensive experience with a wide variety of other non-invasive cosmetic procedures and can help you choose the safest, most effective, 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.
woman getting laser hair removal in los angeles

Laser Hair Removal vs Electrolysis

Posted on June 17, 2022 by 
Laser hair removal and Electrolysis are two widely-available ways to remove hair from various parts of the body. They’re both useful for long-term thinning and removal of hair; however, there are some pros and cons associated with each technique, summarized below.

Laser Hair Removal

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This technique uses focused high-energy light energy pulses from a laser to target individual hair follicles. The light energy damages and ultimately kills the follicle, and any attached hair will eventually fall out. The technique cannot target 100% of hair in any given area during a single session, it only damages hair follicles that are in their active growth phase – about 30% of hair is in this phase at any given time. Any hair that regrows will be lighter and thinner than the original. Over time repeated sessions can effectively remove all hair from the treated area; minimal touch-up treatments may eventually be needed to remove any residual regrowth.
Treatments do not require significant recovery time and are also very unlikely to lead to significant side effects. Typical side effects can include short-term redness, irritation, and swelling.
For effective use of the technique, we do recommend administration by a medically qualified and experienced practitioner. Use by less-qualified personnel is strongly discouraged.

Electrolysis

This technique uses ultra-thin needles to pass an electric current through each individual hair follicle to damage the hair follicle. The damage is typically permanent, and treated hair follicles are permanently affected. Following treatment attached hair will fall out. The technique is also only effective on hair follicles in their active growth phases, and therefore also requires multiple sessions to effectively remove hair from a given area.
Recovery time is minimal; common short-term side effects include redness and skin irritation, while swelling is less common. Rare side effects can include infection and even scarring, although these are far less likely when administered by a medically trained and experienced practitioner.
Unlike laser hair removal, some do-it-yourself kits are available for at-home electrolysis treatments. The use of such kits is strongly discouraged due to their limited effectiveness and the risk of serious side effects.

Comparison

The use of laser hair removal is growing quite quickly; it may be easier to find experienced practitioners than for electrolysis. Laser hair removal sessions are typically much quicker than corresponding electrolysis treatments, even though laser hair removal sessions can target larger areas during each treatment than can electrolysis. Electrolysis also requires many more sessions than Laser hair removal to effectively remove all hair from a large area, especially when the hair is thicker.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and experienced in providing laser hair removal. We can provide expert advice on the best technique to address your particular situation. We also have extensive experience with a wide variety of other non-invasive cosmetic procedures and can help you choose the safest, most effective, 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.
Varicose veins in female legs. The leg lies on a white sheet. Spider veins on upper calf

Top Ways to Rid Yourself of Spider Veins 

Posted on June 10, 2022 by 
Spider veins are unsightly veins located just under the skin. Unlike varicose veins, which bulge, spider veins are primarily a cosmetic problem. They typically appear as a tree or spiderweb-like patterns. Spider veins are created when blood pools in the veins, and are typically blue or red in color.
There are several possible causes for spider veins, but they are also more likely to be present as we age. Spider veins can be effectively treated using lasers, or by sclerotherapy.

Laser Treatments

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Lasers are used to focus high levels of energy into the veins, causing the blood inside to coagulate and damaging the spider vein itself, after which the vein will be gradually absorbed by the body. The laser treatment must be carefully supervised to avoid damaging the skin and tissue that surrounds the spider vein; laser treatments are also only effective on small and sparse veins that are located close to the skin’s surface.

Sclerotherapy Treatments

Sclerotherapy involves injecting a chemical solution directly into the individual spider veins being treated. The chemical solution irritates and dehydrates the spider vein, causing it to atrophy and ultimately become absorbed by the body. The chemical reaction is fast and efficient, and the needles used are extremely small, and thus unlikely to cause any significant pain or discomfort.

Comparing Techniques

The primary advantages of sclerotherapy over laser treatments are that treated veins can be both larger, and located further beneath the skin. This allows sclerotherapy to also be used when spider veins are associated with larger varicose veins. The sclerotherapy treatment also provides more rapid results – spider veins will become less visible as soon as they have been treated.
There is also a difference in the number of sessions that are typically required to resolve the problem – several laser treatments may be required before spider veins are eliminated, while one or two sclerotherapy sessions are normally enough to achieve the same or better results.
Patients typically report less pain or discomfort from sclerotherapy than with laser treatments. There are occasional side effects associated with both techniques, but these are typically mild and short-lived.
Possibly the only situation when laser treatments might be preferable is for patients who are especially intolerant of needles, or for the extremely rare case of allergic reaction to the chemicals used in sclerotherapy.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and experienced in providing both laser vein therapy and sclerotherapy. We can provide expert advice on the best technique to address your particular situation. We also have extensive experience with a wide variety of other non-invasive cosmetic procedures and can help you choose the safest, most effective, 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.
Young woman receiving laser hair removal treatment

Benefits of Getting Laser Hair Removal To Remove Facial Hair

Posted on June 3, 2022 by 
There are many effective ways to remove facial hair, including shaving, waxing, plucking, electrolysis, IPL, and depilatory creams. Laser hair removal is a very effective technique that offers some particular benefits when compared to alternative removal methods.

Permanent Facial Hair Removal

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A huge advantage of laser hair removal is that regular facial hair removal will become unnecessary after you’ve undergone a relatively small number of sessions. Over the course of a several months laser hair removal sessions will result either in a complete lack of hair growth, or in very greatly reduced growth. The freedom and convenience that this gives is perhaps the biggest advantage of this technique.

Prevents Ingrown Hairs and Minimizes Infection

The focused laser light energy damages individual hair follicles, causing the attached hair to eventually fall out. After several sessions hair either stops growing altogether, or is replaced by much finer and lighter hairs. This greatly reduces or eliminates any chance of ingrown hairs developing. As your skin is not exposed to caustic chemicals or sharp blades there’s also next to no chance of developing skin infections.
You also avoid the painful task of trying to remove ingrown hairs, along with the risk of infection and scarring that can accompany this condition.

Effective on All Skin Types and Complexions

Laser hair removal is effective on a wide range of skin types and tones. It’s especially effective when there’s a large contrast between your skin and hair colors, but it can also be used when this is not the case.

Smoother Skin

After a few treatments your skin will not only become hair-free, but the individual skin follicles will shrink in size. You’ll notice that applying makeup is easier and more effective when your skin is smooth, hairless, and less inflamed or infected.

Convenience

Laser hair removal sessions are easy to schedule and typically only take half an hour or less.
Unlike other techniques, you don’t need to let your facial hair grow before being able to treat it – this allows you to avoid the inconvenience and cosmetic effects of having to periodically allow your hair to regrow.

Your Laser Skin Care’s Laser Hair Removal

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified, and can advise you on the best ways to address unwanted facial hair. We have extensive experience providing both laser and IPL facial hair removal treatments, and can provide expert advice on the best techniques to address your particular concerns. We also have extensive experience with a wide variety of non-invasive cosmetic procedures, and can help you choose the safest, most effective, 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.
foods that can cause varicose veins

Can Certain Foods Cause Varicose Veins?

Posted on May 26, 2022 by 

Varicose veins (as well as less-visible spider veins) normally indicate damage to the walls of the veins; typically due to damaged or malfunctioning blood vessel valves that normally prevent reverse blood flow. There are many possible causes for the blood circulation problems that can result in this damage – ranging from being overweight, high blood pressure, sedentary occupations, and over-tight clothing. Frequently multiple causes are present; they’re also frequently found to be present in multiple generations of the same family.

While there are obvious ways to reduce the occurrence of varicose veins, such as losing weight, eating a healthy diet, keeping active, and avoiding smoking or excess alcohol, there are several foods that are known to increase your chances of developing varicose veins. It may be an overstatement to say that these foods directly cause varicose veins, but it would also be prudent to limit your consumption of them in the interests of reducing your chance of developing varicose veins, as well as other health problems.

Fried Foods 

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Fried food, while a foundation of many people’s diets, is directly responsible for several health problems. Firstly it’s a very highly concentrated source of calories and a prime cause of obesity. Secondly, it contains high levels of saturated and trans fats, which contribute to the build-up of fatty plaque in the arteries. Plaque increases your risk of developing artery disease, heart failure, and strokes. More directly it obstructs blood flow in the arteries, increasing your chance of developing circulation problems that can lead to varicose vein development.

Dairy Products 

While dairy products are a good source of calcium and protein, full-fat dairy products contain high levels of saturated fat. This can cause heart disease, as well as increase the chance of developing a number of conditions, ranging from diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and several cancers. Dairy products can also contribute to becoming constipated by slowing down your digestion, leading to damaged or weakened veins swelling. 

Processed Foods 

Processed foods are known to contain high levels of sodium, sugar, and fat, while often removing the fiber and roughage that help us properly digest food. High sodium levels increase water retention by the body and contribute to a lowering of the fluid levels in the blood. As the blood becomes thicker it also becomes harder to pump, resulting in more stress on the heart, and an increased chance of damaging any weakened blood vessels.

Alcohol

Alcohol has a similar effect to high sodium levels – it dehydrates the body, resulting in increased blood viscosity, and a higher chance of developing blood clots. Both ultimately increase your chance of developing varicose veins.

Healthy Alternatives

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

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and can advise you on the best ways to treat varicose or spider veins. We have extensive experience providing both laser vein therapy and Sclerotherapy treatments and can provide expert advice on the best techniques to address your particular concerns. We also have extensive experience with a wide variety of non-invasive cosmetic procedures and can help you choose the safest, most effective, 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.

woman looking in the mirror debating on botox and if it will help her acne

Can Botox Help Treat Acne?

Posted on May 20, 2022 by 
Botox is best known as a particularly effective way to treat muscle-related facial lines and wrinkles. There are however several other cosmetic problems that can potentially be treated using Botox – acne outbreaks being one of the lesser-known ones.

Causes of Acne Outbreaks

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Acne occurs when hair follicles become blocked and infected. This can be caused by one or more factors, including overactive production of oil by the sebaceous glands, unusually high shedding of dead skin cells, and the presence of fast-reproducing acne-causing bacteria.
There are many different reasons why these factors might exist, ranging from excess hormone production, medications, stress, hereditary factors, and even personal hygiene.

How can Botox Help?

Botox works by blocking the passage of nerve signals that cause muscles to contract, which in turn accentuates adjacent facial lines and wrinkles. But the same nerve-blocking effect can also be used to block or limit the signals that are transmitted to the sweat glands, thereby controlling excessive sweating and limiting the production of oil by the skin’s sebaceous glands.

Why is Botox Particularly Effective?

While there are several effective ways to treat acne outbreaks after the fact, Botox holds the possibility of preventing acne outbreaks from occurring in the first place.
In general Botox as a way of controlling or preventing acne is most effective in adult patients, and unfortunately not in teens, who are most likely to suffer from acne during adolescence.

Other Factors

Using Botox to control acne is less common than its traditional usage to reduce lines and wrinkles. For this reason it may be harder to find a medically qualified practitioner who has experience with this kind of treatment. We strongly recommend consulting with a practitioner who can demonstrate their experience in this area – you’ll be far more likely to get the results you want, and less likely to suffer from any unwanted side effects. Your practitioner may well recommend combining Botox with other non-invasive techniques to control your acne, depending on your medical history and the degree to which you suffer from acne.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and highly experienced in performing Botox procedures. We can provide expert advice on the best techniques to address your particular concerns and will be happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have. We also have extensive experience with a wide variety of non-invasive cosmetic procedures and can help you choose the safest, most effective, 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.
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Meet Dr. Fedonenko

Dr. Fedonenko is a member of the American College of Physicians and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine.

She completed her Residency at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 1998 and has since specialized in Cosmetic Dermatology.

She obtained additional training in aesthetic medicine procedures soon thereafter, and the results of her extensive training and experience show in each and every patient’s face. She’s a doctor that can truly been trusted with your skin care and anti-aging needs.

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Suite 102, Los Angeles, California 90048
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