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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.
woman before and after a botox touch up session in los angeles

Why It’s Sometimes a Good Idea to Have Your Botox Touched Up

Posted on May 9, 2022 by 

The effects of a Botox procedure are not immediately apparent – results start to appear two to four days after treatment and continue to develop for a week or two afterward. There is no hard-and-fast rule – Botox simply affects people differently, and naturally, the quantity of Botox administered is also a factor.

Experienced practitioners are typically conservative in the choice of how much Botox to administer – it’s easy to reapply small quantities afterward if needed, but if the initial dose is too large you may have no choice but to wait for the effects to gradually fade away. The effects of a Botox treatment typically lasts anywhere from three to five months, so you could have a long wait.

Touch-ups are also often needed to maintain perfectly symmetrical results – it can be difficult to predict exactly the effect of a Botox injection, so practitioners will often plan on applying additional small doses of Botox after the primary treatment, to correct for small differences in muscle behavior, and to adjust for any unbalanced or unnatural looking results.

Using Other Procedures to Augment Botox

It’s also possible to combine the use of Botox with other non-invasive or minimally-invasive cosmetic procedures. Dermal filler products can be used alongside Botox, to supply additional bulk beneath the skin, or to contour and enhance facial features. If you choose a practitioner who’s experienced in both procedures they will be able to help you achieve results beyond what is possible using only Botox or dermal fillers.

When is it Time to Repeat the Procedure?

When you see the effects of your Botox start to diminish, typically by the slow reappearance of fine lines and wrinkles, or by your skin starting to loosen up and look less smooth, it will be time to make another appointment to have your Botox re-applied. Here too it’s difficult to predict the delay between treatments – your experience and results will provide the best guide here. Four months is often given as the best estimate for how long Botox will last, but this depends very much on each person and their expectations.

How to Maximize the Period Between Touch-Ups

You can do several things to help prolong the effects of your Botox and delay having to re-apply it. We recommend avoiding sun exposure – direct as well as indirect and applying sunscreen as part of your daily regimen. Regular use of moisturizers can help to keep your skin looking youthful, and delay the need for Botox to be applied. A healthy and well-balanced diet, keeping active, and trying to reduce stress can all contribute to a healthier complexion.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and highly experienced in performing both Botox and dermal fillers 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.

woman getting botox in her forehead in los angeles

Are There Long-Term Side Effects of Botox?

Posted on April 28, 2022 by 
Botox has proven to be a very effective and popular way to reduce or even eliminate many facial lines and wrinkles. The effects of each Botox treatment are temporary, typically lasting between three and six months, and so Botox procedures have to be periodically repeated to stop lines and wrinkles from eventually reappearing. As a consequence, many have wondered if the long-term use of Botox has negative consequences.

How Does Botox Work?

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It’s important to understand that the primary objective of using Botox is not to eliminate facial lines, but to block the facial muscles that are the cause of these lines. Botox doesn’t directly affect muscles, but it does block the nerve impulses that cause muscles to activate. A consequence of this is that Botox can only affect facial lines that are the direct result of one or more facial muscles activating. If you have facial lines that are present regardless of how your facial muscles are working, then Botox typically gives only very minimal results.

Long-Term Consequences of Over-Use

Over-enthusiastic long-term application of Botox can indeed be associated with several side effects. One effect which may be viewed as a positive is that your skin will retain its smooth appearance even after Botox applications have stopped. Negative side-effects of prolonged over-use of Botox may include muscle weakness as the facial muscles involved with Botox application slowly lose their ability to function normally. This might be regarded as a positive if these same muscles result in the development of prominent lines and wrinkles.
Judicious and careful application of Botox (in the hands of a medically trained and experienced practitioner) will minimize the possibility of developing these side effects. In particular, it’s important not to try to eliminate every single fine line – doing so can not only result in strikingly unnatural-looking results but also greatly increase the chance of long-term muscle weakness developing.

Other Long-Term Effects

Aside from over-use, long-term use of Botox does not appear to be associated with other negative side effects. It’s certainly very highly recommended to choose a medically trained and certified practitioner who will be able to analyze your medical history and any medical conditions that you suffer from, both in order to verify that you don’t suffer from any conditions that might reduce the effectiveness of Botox, and also to carefully tailor the Botox dose and techniques to your particular needs.

Long-Term Effects After Stopping Botox

Some express concerns that stopping Botox after using it for several years can trigger other problems. We don’t believe this to be the case, in particular not only will your face not look older if you choose to stop Botox applications but many of the benefits resulting from long-term Botox use can be expected to remain even after stopping.

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 about our procedures. 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 getting botox in los angeles

What’s the Difference Between Botox and Facial Fillers?

Posted on April 14, 2022 by 
Botox and facial fillers are both applied via injection, but the two minimally invasive cosmetic procedures differ in all other respects. The essential difference is that Botox can be used to indirectly reduce lines and wrinkles by blocking nerve signals to the muscles that actually cause the lines and wrinkles. Dermal fillers, however, are used to reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles by adding extra volume and structure beneath the skin.

Botox Usage

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Botox is primarily known as an indirect muscle paralyzer. It accomplishes this by blocking nerve impulses along the nerves that normally control the muscles. Muscles can only contract or relax, but in doing so they can cause visible lines to become apparent in the overlying skin. Over the course of time, these lines can become more and more developed, to the point where they remain visible even when the underlying muscle is not activated. Depending on where the lines are located, and on cosmetic preferences, these lines might be regarded as attractive, or (more likely) undesirable. Botox can only be used to address lines and wrinkles directly associated with muscular contractions, and even then its effectiveness can depend on how developed these lines have become. Botox will have no, or only limited success when used on very deep and developed lines, or on wrinkles that are not directly due to muscle activity.
Botox injections typically last between four and five months, although there is some variation between individuals. There is no FDA-approved antidote in case of excessive Botox use, although research into possible candidates continues.
Botox also has some non-cosmetic uses, including reducing teeth grinding caused by oversized jaw muscles, and reducing excessive sweating when applied to the armpits.

Facial Fillers Usage

Facial filler products can address two primary types of problems. They can be used to fill in loose or wrinkled skin by adding more volume directly beneath. They can also be used to address the more significant loss of volumes, such as hollow cheeks or sunken eyes. There are very many different formulations of facial filler products, each adapted to the specific need being addressed. Some fillers have very smooth textures and can be used to enhance lip definition. Others form a much thicker texture after being injected and are able to provide some support as well as adding additional volume.
Facial filler products primarily use hyaluronic acid as their primary ingredient. Hyaluronic acid is able to bind moisture and is found naturally in the body, where it’s an important component in our joints, skin, and eyes. It performs the same function when injected as a facial filler, where it helps retain moisture and add bulk, to the treated area.
Facial fillers, depending on the type and location of use, can provide benefits from anywhere between five months to two years. It’s also possible to correct for over-use of hyaluronic acid fillers after the fact, by injecting another product that is able to dissolve the filler, if necessary.

Comparing Both Procedures

Botox can be used proactively, to prevent the formation of some lines before they become over-developed. Botox is very effective when used on lines linked to changing facial expressions, such as laughing or frowning. Facial filler products are effective when used on lines that are always present, regardless of the underlying muscles.
It’s quite possible to combine the use of both procedures, using each to address the problems they’re best adapted to. Your practitioner should be able to advise you on the best combination for your particular needs.
To maximize the benefits of either procedure and to minimize the chance of developing side effects, it’s extremely important to choose a medically-trained and experienced practitioner. Both Botox and facial fillers can produce effective, natural-looking results, but they can also, in the hands of an insufficiently qualified practitioner, produce the exact opposite effect.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and highly experienced in performing both Botox and facial filler 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 about our procedures. 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 getting botox in between her eyebrows in los angeles, California

Is Botox Painful? 

Posted on April 11, 2022 by 
As Botox is administered using needles, it’s not unusual that the first question potential patients ask is how painful will it be? As “no pain, no gain” is not the answer they’re typically looking for; we gathered some relevant information.

Does Botox Hurt?

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Botox needles are very small – as a result, many patients report feeling no pain at all. That’s not guaranteed, however, and some patients do indeed experience some discomfort. Typically patients report that they experience a mild sensation. The Botox solution itself doesn’t sting when it’s injected.

How Can Pain be Minimized?

Your practitioner may cool the area being treated to reduce any painful sensations. They may also use a topical anesthetic cream to reduce discomfort further.
Choosing an experienced practitioner is also extremely important. Inexperienced or unqualified practitioners are far more likely to cause pain, as well as create inferior results.

Procrastination Can Cause Problems

Some patients are indeed nervous about needles, and it’s not unusual to find people who might have benefited from Botox but who waited for extended periods before finally deciding to try it. In almost all cases, these patients report that the procedure was far less painful than they anticipated.
It’s unfortunate that delaying starting Botox can allow facial lines to develop to the point that Botox can only reduce but not eliminate them. Using Botox before deep lines have a chance to develop can be more effective than trying to remove lines after they’re present.

Don’t Be Afraid to Discuss Concerns With Your Practitioner

If you have any trepidation about having Botox, don’t be afraid to discuss this with your practitioner. They should be able to reassure you and perhaps take extra precautions to minimize any chance of discomfort. It’s fairly common for potential patients to be nervous about injections, and your practitioner should be willing to take the time to answer all your questions, including ways to reduce any pre-treatment anxiety.

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 about our procedures. 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 getting microneedling done at your laser skin care

Microneedling vs Botox 

Posted on March 31, 2022 by 
Botox and microneedling are both popular and effective cosmetic procedures. Although both are capable of producing impressive results and are sometimes regarded as similar in their ability to combat the effects of aging on the complexion, they are very different procedures, each having its own distinctive advantages.

Botox

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Botox involves injecting carefully controlled amounts of the Botox toxin to block the ability of selected nerves to cause adjacent muscles to contract. By restricting the movement of facial muscles that cause lines or wrinkles to appear and deepen, the overall effect is to smooth the skin. Overuse of Botox can prevent your face from showing a full range of expressions and emotions, and so it must be carefully and skillfully applied to avoid unnatural-looking results.
Botox is also only effective when used to reduce the visibility of lines and wrinkles caused when facial muscles are activated. Any lines or wrinkles that are not directly associated with muscular movement cannot be effectively treated by Botox.

Microneedling

Microneedling involves the carefully controlled use of an array of hundreds of very fine, very short needles to puncture the surface of the skin; the resulting microscopic pin-pricks stimulate the body to create tiny new blood vessels and boost the production of elastin and collagen, improving the skin’s overall condition, texture, and resiliency.
Microneedling can be used to treat facial lines, skin blemishes, scars, and enlarged pores. Microneedling can safely be used without running the risk of creating abnormal-looking results.

Primary Differences

While Botox is an effective way to hide many of the effects of aging, it’s a temporary solution, and will eventually have to be reapplied. Microneedling does not merely address the symptoms of aging, but it can help stimulate the natural mechanisms used by the body to regenerate healthy skin tissue. As such it can provide longer-lasting improvements, without the risks associated with over-use of Botox.
Botox is particularly effective when used to treat unwanted lines caused by squinting, frowning, or laughing; microneedling is effective on a wide range of skin problems, including fine lines, scars, large pores, uneven pigmentation, and dull or uneven texture.
The results of Botox appear rapidly after treatment, while microneedling results develop slowly, as the skin heals after each procedure, and long-term improvements develop slowly.

Combining Both Procedures

It’s possible to combine both procedures, using Botox to provide larger-scale improvements, and microneedling to address skin texture problems, and to stimulate deeper skin regeneration. Despite this most practitioners avoid performing both procedures at the same time – Botox should be applied to healthy skin, while microneedling creates microscopic wounds that take time to heal.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and highly experienced in performing both Botox and microneedling 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 about our procedures. 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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