by Kate Dee, MD
Here’s the most important thing I have to share with you: keep your fibroblasts awake!
OK, what do I mean? By the time you turn 30, the cells in your skin that make collagen and elastin go dormant. Collagen and Elastin are what keep your skin thick and springy-- and resistant to gravity. And the fibroblasts that make them-- they fall asleep and STOP making it. By age 30! And your body breaks down collagen 1-2% per year. So, for the rest of your adult life, the skin is thinning out. Often, by age 80, the skin is completely see-through. That’s because the dermis is gone.
This is why we suddenly notice in our late 30’s or early 40’s that our skin just does not look the same. It almost feels like it happened overnight. But in fact, by that time, it has been going on for a decade or more. You just don’t notice in the beginning because when you’ve only lost a few percent, it is hard to detect.
This is why it is so important-- to Keep Your Fibroblasts Awake! This is totally possible. There are several easy treatments that poke at your fibroblasts and wake them up and stimulate collagen. Each time the fibroblasts respond with 4-6 months of collagen, and then they peter out. So the idea is to poke at them every 3-4 months to keep them awake and productive all year. You must at least make up for the 1-2% loss. That will preserve the thick, springy skin you already have. If your skin is already thin and starting to fall, you need more powerful treatments to thicken and tighten the skin. These treatments range in cost, benefits and downtime.
Microneedling with Growth Factor Serum or PRP
Infini
by Katherine Dee, MD on February 7, 2018
Why do we get acne?
Most people suffer from acne at some stage of life. Acne is driven by hormonal changes, but many factors can contribute such as manipulating the lesions, clothing, hair & skin products, air pollution, humidity, inflammatory foods, and allergies. Identifying the cause of persistent acne despite doing “everything” can be challenging. One person I know well suffered severe cystic acne for 20 years until she stumbled upon the cause - a dairy allergy - while experimenting with her diet. Despite all the best care (sticking to the Regimen below), if she consumes any cow milk or cream she will have 3-4 weeks of miserable cystic blemishes. This is made much worse if she consumes pro-inflammatory foods at the same time. And she was told by multiple doctors that diet “doesn’t matter.”
Food allergies causing acne are not very common, but it happens. Acne can also result from topicals we put on our faces. In fact, even some preparations of tretinoin (Retin-A - a great drug to treat acne) contain the comedogenic ingredient isopropyl myristate, a thickener found in tretinoin creams and many cosmeceuticals, though it has been known for years to cause pimples.
How acne forms:
Blemishes, or comedones (blackheads and whiteheads), form when a pore (hair follicle) becomes clogged and sebum (natural oils) builds up in the skin. Bacteria can grow in the clogged follicle, creating a pustule. Larger cystic acne can result when the contents of the pimple break down the wall of the follicle and spread into the adjacent skin.
Treatment of acne should:
3 steps to eliminating acne:
1. Daily Regimen: Each morning and each evening
Use only products with pure ingredients and no fragrances or irritants. Stay on the Regimen! It takes a good 3 months to change your skin completely, but you should see an improvement within days to weeks.
2. Intense Pulsed Light treatments (IPL) and Glycolic/Salicylic Acid chemical peels can be a great help in getting rid of acne. A three month program combining these treatments along with steady adherence to the Regimen should eliminate acne in most people.
3. For acne that seems to resist all efforts to defeat it-- consider allergies to products of foods. This can be challenging without help from a knowledgeable nutritionist or physician. If working on your own, consider dumping your old products and starting with the Daily Regimen and a strict anti-inflammatory diet. If acne improves, foods can be added back in one-by-one over time.
If you are not sure what products to use or need help, we can plan a program specifically for you. Please come in for a consultation.
The big Dont’s:
What about Accutane?
Accutane is a very effective drug for shrinking down the oil glands in the skin permanently, thus reducing or eliminating acne. However, Accutane is linked to a series of serious side effects, including bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease, liver damage, depression, and miscarriage and birth defects if taken during pregnancy.
In fact, women of childbearing age are required to enlist in a special pregnancy prevention program before beginning Accutane treatment. More than 7,000 lawsuits have been filed against Roche Pharmaceuticals, which stopped making Accutane in 2009, but generic versions of isotretinoin are still available. There are newer low-dose protocols now, which may reduce the toxic side effects. Therefore, low-dose accutane can be an effective treatment for severe refractory acne, but I would use it as a last resort.
If you want to come in and troubleshoot your acne, we are happy to help. Schedule a consultation here.
Infini skin tightening is revolutionizing the way that people look at skin tightening procedures and skincare. Taking advantage of radiofrequency technology, this treatment can tighten up sagging skin, make wrinkles disappear, and improve the texture of a person's skin.
Your skin is an important part of your body. In order for a product to improve the appearance of your skin, it has to take a complete 3D approach to treatment. This is exactly what Infini does. It takes advantage of RF energy to increase the volume and ionization of the skin.
How does it work?
This treatment makes use of radiofrequency energy as well as the rejuvenating powers associated with micro-needling. There are other radiofrequency treatments on the market, but they focus on addressing the outside of the skin. Since micro-needling is combined with radiofrequency treatments, your skin is rejuvenated from the inside out. The micro-needling technology allows the radiofrequency energy to be delivered right where it needs to be.
Your dermis is a deeper layer of skin. This is the layer of your skin that produces collagen. This is the layer of your skin that helps to build the structure of your skin. Your dermis is what makes your skin look and feel tight and healthy. If your skin looks nice on the outside, it’s because what’s on the inside is working well.
Infini has become very popular because it is a non-surgical treatment. It has been shown to drastically improve the way your skin looks by removing scars, by getting rid of wrinkles, and by making your skin look and feel overall tighter.
Once your dermis is heated to a certain temperature, your tissue starts to become tighter and begins to remodel. Other radiofrequency devices on the market are categorized as being ablative, non-ablative, and sub-ablative. However, Infini is one of the only products that produce a multidimensional energy approach to the dermis.
Many people have been turning to Infini as a way to treat wrinkles, to encourage collagen production, and to improve the appearance of your skin. This product has been used throughout Asia, South America, and Europe. It has helped individuals who have acne scars and individuals with premature wrinkling to tighten the appearance of their skin.
Contact us
Loose, wrinkled, or scarred skin can make you self-conscious about your appearance. Infini can help give you the attractive appearance that you want. Contact us today at Glow MediSpa in Seattle to schedule your consultation.
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