Dermal Fillers
As we age our skin becomes drier, thinner, less elastic and lacking in volume, this is due to our inability to produce Hyaluronic acid, our bodies natural skin hydrator, which helps to keep our skin firm and supple.
Dermal fillers are used for smoothing wrinkles and folds or giving your mouth a fuller, more sensuous form, providing shape, lift and firmness with the bodies own natural material hyaluronic acid.
The dermal fillers which consist of a crystal-clear gel are injected in tiny amounts into the dermis with very fine needles to gently replenish the hyaluronic acid, giving natural volume to the treated area.
Dermal fillers are used for:
- Wrinkle correction - Glabella (frown lines), Oral Commissures (marionette lines), Nasolabial fissure (ridges from the root of the nose to the angle of the mouth)
- Correcting fine superficial lines
- Lip enhancements
- Skin hydration - to improve elasticity and tone.
- Shaping facial contours i.e. Cheeks and chin
- Correcting deep folds
- Volume augmentation of the lips
All areas of the skin that show signs of ageing can be treated:
- Neck
- Décolletage
- Backs of your hands
The treatment is quick and easy with instantaneous results, producing a long lasting natural enhancement.
Because the hyaluronic acid is released gradually over a period of time, the benefits of this treatment generally last for several months. However, there are no restrictions regarding the frequency of use, you can have the treatment repeated as often as you feel is necessary to maintain the look you desire.
Unlike many skin rejuvenation treatments our choice of dermal fillers are derived from a non-animal source and require no extra additives, resulting in a treatment that is safe and gentle to the skin.
Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers have undergone extensive histological and clinical studies with an increasing body of evidence relating to their ease of use, tolerability and effectiveness. More than 3 million treatments in over 70 countries provide further evidence of their safety and success.
Easy TCA Peel
Facial peel treatments are designed to accelerate the removal of old dead cells at the surface of the skin. Normally these are the layers that are damaged by elements such as sun, wind and neglect. By removing the upper layers of skin the overall skin texture is dramatically smoothed, superficial lines are removed and colour irregularities are improved, giving a fresher more vibrant appearance.
Easy TCA Peel is a medium depth peel which uses trichloroacetic acid. When applied to the skin it causes the top layer of cells to dry up and peel away over a period of several days, exposing a new layer of undamaged, smoother skin.
It has been used for many years to treat:
- Facial wrinkles
- Age spots
- Pigment abnormalities
- Melasma - Mask of pregnancy
- Sun damage
- Pre-cancerous lesions
- Acne / Acne scarring
- Freckles
- Superficial scarring
The peeling solutions reduce the impermeability of the skins superficial layers, therefore allowing penetration of the active molecules contained within the specialised post peel creams.
The treatment is administered in a single session of around 30-45 minutes duration. There may be a little redness and tightness within 1 hour of the treatment. 3-5 days after treatment you should visibly start to peel.
The peels are safe but it is very important to remember that this product will remove your own natural protection to both UVA and UVB for up to 4 weeks after treatment. Therefore it is essential to use a sun protection factor 30, wear hats and avoid strong sunlight.
More than one TCA peel may be required to achieve the desired result.
Treatment schedule for optimum results:
- Specialised cream for 2 weeks prior to peel.
- 4 weeks of individual peels combined with specialised creams.
- Conclude with 4 weeks of specialised cream application.
Wrinkle Relaxing Treatments (Botulinum Toxin)
1. Cosmetic treatments using Botulinum toxin were pioneered in 1987, achieving dramatic results in the reduction of facial lines and wrinkles.
Botulinum toxin is a muscle relaxing agent that works at the motor nerve endings (nerves that lead to muscles). It is administered via injection in minute quantity to temporarily paralyse those muscles of the face involved in frowning and raising the eyebrows. When these muscles relax the fine lines and wrinkles smooth out.
The ideal areas for treatment are:
- The glabella (between the eyebrows)
- Frown lines of the forehead
- Laughter lines
- Crows feet around the eyes
Injections take effect about 3 to 14 days after treatment, with results lasting from 3 to 4 months. Repeated treatments will result in atrophy or thinning of the muscles producing longer lasting effects.
Because the toxin is injected in such small amounts the safety profile is high. It is possible that there will be a small amount of bruising at the site of the injection, however this is uncommon.
2. Botulinum toxin was first used in 1980 to effectively treat muscle disorders such as lazy eye, eye ticks and uncontrolled blinking. It now has a much wider range of medical applications including the treatment of hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) muscle spasms in stroke victims and helping people with Parkinson's control their movements.
There is evidence that it may also help with the treatment of:
1. Migraines
2. Depression
1. A clinical study, Botulinum Toxin Type A as a Migraine Preventive Treatment, was conducted by Stephen Silberstein, MD, of the Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine; Ninan Mathew, MD, of the Houston Headache Clinic; Joel Saper, MD, of the Michigan Head Pain & Neurological Institute; and Stephen Jenkins, MD, of Allergan, Inc. for the BOTOX Migraine Clinical Research Group. The objective of the study was "to assess the safety and efficacy of botulinum toxin type A (BOTOX; Allergan, Inc) in the prevention of migraine."
In a controlled study of 123 subjects compared with those who received placebo injections, the subjects in the Botox treatment group experienced:
- significantly fewer migraine attacks per month
- reduced severity of migraine attacks
- fewer days using abortive/rescue medications
- fewer episodes of vomiting
Conclusions:
"Pericranial injection of botulinum toxin type A, 25 U, was found to be a safe treatment that significantly reduced migraine frequency, migraine severity, acute medication usage, and associated vomiting."
2. Eric Finzi, MD, PhD found that, during a pilot study for the use of botulinum toxin as a treatment for depression, the injections prevented the patients from frowning, which, in turn, helped to lift their depression.
"I think there is direct feedback between the facial frown muscles and the depression center of the brain," Finzi tells WebMD. "If you can prevent the negative signals that occur when someone frowns, the brain interprets this as meaning that things are better."
Hyperhidrosis
1% of the population suffer with Hyperhidrosis, a disorder characterised by excessive sweating.
Sweating is one of the most important ways in which the body loses heat, however people with hyperhidrosis produce sweat in amounts far greater than needed to control their body temperature due to an over activity of the sweat gland.
Sweat glands are stimulated by nerves that release a chemical called acetylcholine and causes sweat production.
Muscle relaxing injections are recommended for the treatment of hyperhidrosis. When small doses are injected into the skin, in the vicinity of the sweat gland, the release of acetylcholine is blocked thereby temporarily reducing or abolishing sweat production.
Using a very fine needle you will be injected with a small amount of solution into 10-15 places about 1cm apart and spread evenly in each armpit.
A treatment takes about 20 minutes with the effects becoming apparent over the first week and lasting from 3 to 6 months.
These treatments should only be administered by experienced, well-trained doctors and nurses.
Pregnant and breast feeding Ladies cannot be treated with botulinum toxin.
Sclerotherapy
Millions of women are bothered by thread veins - those small yet unsightly clusters of red, blue or purple veins that appear most commonly on the thighs, calves and ankles.
Sclerotherapy is a treatment for thread veins and has been used safely in the medical profession for many years.
Thread veins in men aren't nearly as common, men who have them don't tend to consider them a cosmetic problem. However, sclerotherapy is equally as effective for men who seek treatment.
It is a simple procedure requiring no anaesthesia. The sclerotherapy agent is injected into the thread vein using a needle as fine as a human hair; approximately one injection is administered for every inch of the thread vein, causing atrophy (break down) of the vein.
In order for sclerotherapy to be effective, four treatments are normally required at intervals of approximately 4 weeks.
After treatment the skin of your legs will appear younger, clearer and more healthy-looking. If you've been wearing clothes to hide your thread veins, you'll now be able to broaden your fashion horizons.
Often, patients are surprised at the dramatic difference in appearance between a treated leg and an untreated one.