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We find that many people start thinking about hair removal as summer approaches, as they start to prepare to wear lighter clothing, and spend more time outdoors, perhaps on a beach or swimming.

Laser hair removal can be performed at any time of the year, but there are actually compelling reasons why you might want to have the procedure done during the winter months. Most of the reasons revolve around limiting one’s exposure to direct sunlight before and after having the procedure, but there are a surprising number of factors involved.

Also, bear in mind that several laser hair removal procedures will normally be required, with individual treatments separated by several weeks. Starting the process in the winter allows you time to complete the process by the time summer rolls around.

Sun Exposure Complicates the Procedure

The Laser hair removal procedure works best when there’s the greatest possible contrast between the color of your skin and that of your hair. Laser hair removal works by focusing high-intensity light energy onto the melanin pigment found inside individual hair follicles while avoiding damage to the surrounding skin cells. This is easier to achieve when your skin is as pale as possible.

Exposure to intense sunlight will result both in your skin becoming darker and your hair becoming lighter, both of which complicate the task of focusing the maximum amount of light energy onto the hair follicles and the minimum amount into the adjacent skin. We spend less time exposed to sunlight during the winter, both as a result of wearing more protective clothing but also because sunlight is generally much less intense during this time of the year. UV radiation is particularly damaging to the skin and occurs at its greatest levels in the summer.

Easier Preparation

Your practitioner will advise you to avoid direct sunlight for several weeks before a laser hair removal appointment, which can be quite hard for many people to do. You’ll have a much easier time avoiding the sun if it’s not shining as much!

Minimize Side Effects Afterwards

Your practitioner will also recommend avoiding strong heat and sunlight for several weeks after treatment. There’s a greater chance of side effects like blisters or even burns if you’re exposed to intense sunlight immediately after a laser hair removal procedure – especially as the laser treatments render your skin more easily damaged by sunlight until it’s had a chance to recover from the procedure. Obviously, it’s far easier to avoid this problem during the winter months, when sunlight is generally lower intensity.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and highly experienced in performing laser hair removal. 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.

Broken capillaries are very small blood vessels located very close to the surface of the skin. They’re closely related to spider veins but cause extended skin discoloration and are often long-lasting and distressingly visible. Spider veins are often found on the legs or face – where they tend to be concentrated on the nose and cheeks. They can start to develop at relatively young ages, although they’re found far more common among the aged.

Although they’re not indicative of any particular health problem, they are certainly regarded as undesirable by most men and women.

Typical Causes of Broken Facial Capillaries

Broken blood vessels can actually have their origin in a relatively large number of different causes, including excessive sun exposure, rosacea, frequent alcohol consumption, and physical injury. They can be caused by environmental factors, including prolonged exposure to cold or windy conditions. Hormonal changes, including those that occur during pregnancies, can result in broken blood vessels, although these are often temporary. Finally, some people are simply more prone to developing these problems than others are, either due to genetic factors or unusually thin and/or pale skin.

Available Treatments

Several treatment options exist, including Retinoid creams. These creams are based on Vitamin A and work by stimulating collagen production. They may sometimes result in dry or itchy skin.

Sclerotherapy is a medical procedure that can be used to reduce visible spider veins – the treatment involves injecting a solution into the problematic veins that causes them to wither and eventually be absorbed into the surrounding tissue. Sclerotherapy can be effective but has several possible undesirable side effects, including inflammation and rare allergic reactions.

Laser therapy uses pulses of high-intensity light energy focused onto the unwanted blood vessels. The light energy damages the blood vessels, resulting in their eventually being absorbed. A similar technique uses pulses of several different light frequencies to achieve a similar effect – this technique is known as IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) Photofacial treatment. IPL also stimulates collagen production and hence can also improve overall skin tone and condition.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and highly experienced in both Laser vein therapy and the use of IPL Photofacials for general skin rejuvenation and spider vein treatment. 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. We 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.

Botox is one of the most well-known and widely-used cosmetic procedures, for a good reason. It’s fast-acting and highly effective. But it’s best known as a way to reduce or eliminate lines and wrinkles after they’ve already formed. Recently we’ve seen more and more younger people using Botox to prevent the formation of lines and wrinkles instead of treating them after the fact.

How Do Facial Lines and Wrinkles Form?

Many facial lines and wrinkles are actually caused when our facial muscles contract – some of these lines might only become visible when we smile, for example, and be perfectly acceptable. Other lines and wrinkles might form as a result of repeated frowning or squinting and be regarded as cosmetically undesirable. Over time even minor lines can develop into more profound flaws, and some people develop permanent frowns that can be quite distressing.

How Does Botox Work?

Botox is a naturally occurring neurotoxin, which, when diluted and injected into facial muscles, prevents nerves from transmitting signals that cause the muscles to contract.

Botox is applied very carefully to the specific areas where the practitioner has determined that weakening the muscles will have the desired effect. The effects of Botox develop fairly rapidly after treatment but are not permanent. Under normal circumstances, a Botox treatment will last several months but will eventually need to be repeated.

How Can Botox Be Used to Prevent Problems from Developing?

Just as Botox can be used to treat existing lines and wrinkles, it can also be used so as to prevent many lines and wrinkles from forming in the first place. Naturally, it’s easier to identify and locate the muscles causing lines and wrinkles once they’ve formed – anticipating the development of these cosmetic problems in advance does require more skill and experience on the part of the practitioner applying Botox.

One advantage of preventative Botox is that deep lines and wrinkles will not have a chance to develop – well-established facial lines often leave a lasting trace on the skin, even after Botox has stopped them from developing further. By using Botox judiciously, in advance of developing these cosmetic flaws, you have the ability to maintain your youthful appearance indefinitely.

At What Age Should You Consider Botox?

Although there’s some disagreement as to the optimum age to start treatment, we believe that it’s appropriate to consider preventative Botox when one reaches one’s early 30’s. Of course, the decision when to start depends heavily on the condition of one’s skin, the patient’s lifestyle and general health, and not least on the patient’s expectations and desires. It’s very important to choose a Botox practitioner who is not only medically trained but also highly experienced – Botox is only safe and effective when it’s skillfully applied. Botox can easily lead to unnatural and artificial-looking results when misused by inadequately experienced practitioners.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and highly experienced in using Botox for cosmetic purposes, including preventatively. 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. We 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.

IPL Photofacial treatments are a safe and effective way to treat a number of different cosmetic problems around the face, including sun spots, rosacea, spider veins, uneven pigmentation, wrinkles, and large pores. IPL can also be used to treat several other kinds of pigmentation irregularities and general age-related loss of skin tone. IPL treatments can also be applied to the neck, chest, and hands.

How Does IPL Work?

IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) uses intense light pulses tuned so as to be primarily absorbed by areas of darker pigmentation. The IPL light pulses penetrate deep into the skin and help to stimulate the body’s natural production of collagen. Collagen is a key component of skin tissue and contributes to the skin’s overall tone, resiliency, and youthful appearance. IPL helps the body to produce collagen using its natural processes and doesn’t involve injecting or applying artificial products to the skin.

Are Multiple Treatments Needed?

Multiple IPL treatments are required, typically spaced apart by four weeks. This delay allows the body time to regenerate its skin cells and gives time for the full benefits of each session to be achieved. Incremental improvements will be seen after each treatment session – anywhere from three to six treatments will usually be needed to achieve optimum results. The actual number of treatments depends on several factors – the type or types of skin blemishes being treated, the patient’s skin type and complexion, the skin’s condition, and the patient’s expectations.

Combining IPL with Other Treatments

IPL treatments can be combined with several other non-invasive cosmetic procedures, including chemical peels and Microneedling. Your practitioner will be able to explain the various ways that these procedures can be combined and should advise you on the best way for you to achieve the results you’re looking for.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and highly experienced in a wide range of non-invasive cosmetic procedures, including IPL Photofacials, chemical peels, and Microneedling. We can provide you with expert advice on how best to address your cosmetic concerns and pride ourselves on providing the most effective and cost-effective way to achieve your goals. Call us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule a free consultation, or visit us online for more information.

CoolSculpting is a safe and effective non-invasive way to selectively remove fat deposits near the surface of the skin. CoolSculpting is primarily a way to improve one’s cosmetic appearance – it is not an effective way to actually lose weight. So, if one is actively trying to lose weight, the question arises: should you wait until after you’ve reached your target weight before considering CoolSculpting, or should you go ahead without waiting?

Diet and Exercise vs CoolSculpting

Losing weight through diet and/or exercise is undoubtedly the most effective way to improve one’s health and general appearance. Still, for all but the most focused bodybuilder, it’s not a practical way to achieve weight loss on specific parts of the body. Conversely, while CoolSculpting is not an effective way to lose weight, it is an extremely efficient way to change the appearance of specific body parts.

Dieting and CoolSculpting are not really in competition with each other – each has its place, and each can help you improve your appearance and self-image in different ways.

Motivation

A significant problem when attempting weight loss by diet or exercise is the long period of time that the diet and exercise need to be maintained to achieve significant results. The main problem with keeping to a diet is maintaining one’s motivation. CoolSculpting can, by bringing you fast results, also boost your motivation and a general feeling of well-being. This, in turn, can allow you better to stick with your longer-term diet and exercise programs.

Conclusions

Our experience is that there are clear benefits to NOT delaying CoolSculpting treatments until after one has lost weight. The benefits of CoolSculpting will increase your chances of successfully maintaining long-term changes to your diet and daily exercise, and you will be able to enjoy the benefits of your CoolSculpting treatment straight away.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and highly experienced in a wide range of non-invasive cosmetic procedures, including CoolSculpting. We can provide you with expert advice on how best to approach general weight loss, as well as helping you choose the treatment or treatments best able to help you achieve your goals. Call us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule a free consultation, or visit us online for more information.

Laser hair removal can be used on just about any part of the body that contains unwanted hair – it can be used occasionally to reduce or thin hair growth, or it can be applied repeatedly over the course of several months to permanently stop hair from growing back.

Unwanted hair in the bikini area has presented a particular problem for many women – the hair in this area can be especially thick and bristly, and the skin is easily irritated. Traditional shaving can easily lead to ingrown hairs, which can become inflamed and infected. Laser hair removal is a great alternative and gives an unbeatable combination of benefits.

Eliminates Ingrown Hairs

The single most important benefit is that laser hair removal results in the entire hair follicle falling out. Cut-off hairs cannot snag and become ingrown as they continue growing. This also avoids the primary cause of irritation and infection after shaving.

Leaves Skin Softer and Much Less Irritated

Laser hair removal targets the individual hair follicles – it does not have any effect on the skin itself and can, therefore, be used on even susceptible parts of the body.

Avoids Cuts and Scars

Shaving always carries the risk of irritating sensitive skin and snagging or cutting the skin. This can result in irritation or even infection and create slow-to-heal and unaesthetic-looking cuts or scars. Laser hair removal avoids this problem entirely.

Gives Long-Lasting Results

You’ll enjoy the benefits of laser hair removal for an extended period after treatment, and after several sessions, you’ll only need occasional touchups.

No Need to Allow Hair to Periodically Re-Grow

You don’t need to regrow your hair before having a laser hair removal session – unlike waxing, the laser does not need hairs to protrude to be able to remove them. If you do have some hair regrowth between the treatments, you should always shave the area before your next laser hair removal session.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified; and highly experienced in a wide range of non-invasive cosmetic procedures, including laser hair removal. We can provide you with expert advice on how best to address your particular concerns, and in particular, choosing the treatment or treatments best to achieve your goals. Call us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule a free consultation, or visit us online for more information.

Chemical peels offer a fast and easy way to address a surprising variety of different cosmetic issues. While they, of course, offer these benefits to both men and women, they’re beneficial for men, as they offer a fast, easy, and natural way to address skin flaws without having to resort to using cosmetics.

A very large variety of chemical peel products are available today – the choice depends on the particular condition (or conditions) that need to be addressed. They’re also available in a range of different strengths.

Chemical peels all work by accelerating the shedding of dead skin cells, revealing the new, undamaged skin cells beneath. They also help to stimulate the body’s natural production of collagen, a key part of the skin’s structure and vital for maintaining a healthy and youthful skin tone.

They can be used to effectively treat many different conditions, including the following.

Lines and Wrinkles

Chemical peels are an extremely effective way to combat fine lines and wrinkles, either developed due to excess sun exposure or as part of the natural aging process. They can also be used to address more pronounced lines and wrinkles by using a more aggressive chemical blend.

Uneven Skin Pigmentation

Chemical peels offer a practical way to reduce uneven skin pigmentation, either as a result of excess sun exposure or due to other causes, including genetic. They can be used to fade out areas containing excess melanin pigmentation, either in extended areas or in small spots.

Uneven Skin Texture and Scarring

Chemical peels can be used to even out or balance areas with irregular texture, as well as areas with scarring. They can be used to reduce acne scars, but they can also help to reduce visible scars caused by past injuries or surgery.

Prominent Skin Pores

Chemical peels can’t reduce the size of your skin pores, but they can help to make them less prominent and visible.

Dry Skin

Chemical peels are available for many different skin types, including dry skin. They can be used as a way to hydrate dry skin while also helping to reduce further acne infections.

Your Laser Skin Care

Your Laser Skin Care practitioners are medically qualified and highly experienced in using different chemical peel products to address many different cosmetic issues. We can provide you with expert advice on how best to address your particular concerns, and in particular, with choosing the product or products best able to achieve your goals. Call us at (323) 525-1516 to schedule a free consultation, or visit us online for more information.