SHOPPING CARTWhat is a Photofacial: Skin Rejuvenation?
“Clears the Canvas”
The Photofacial, also know as skin rejuvenation, is an Intense Pulse Light (IPL) based technology. The Photofacial technology is designed to remove hyper-pigmentation in the skin associated with sun damage (brown or red spots), age spots, redness-associated to the sun, acne or rosacea. It also removes broken capillaries, little red veins typically around the nose and cheeks. The Photofacial can also help stimulate collagen production to aid in the reduction of pore size, as well as softening of fine lines.
How it Works:
The intense light of the Photofacial was designed to mimic an artificial sunlight, without exposing the skin to the harmful UVA/UVB rays that normal sunlight provides. Instead, the IPL is a pure and intense light and provides two healthy components to the skin: Light and Oxygen. Light and Oxygen are the two components needed to actually reverse and remove the sun damage and hyper- pigmentation from the skin. The IPL also has an optical function, in which it is able to seek and find the pigment. In other words, the IPL is “color-seeking” and instantly attracted to any discoloration in the skin.
The unique aspect of the Photofacial is that it is able to identify discoloration throughout all layers of the skin (epidermis through dermis layers). This enables all sun damage in the skin to be removed from a “bottom up” effect. The damaged pigment is literally raised to the surface layer of the skin and sloughs itself off shortly thereafter.
What Makes Our Technology Different:
The Photofacial Skin Rejuvenation hand piece (SR) is unique because it adds the element of Radio Frequency (RF), an electro-magnetic element that enables the IPL to travel deeper into its “endpoint”, i.e. to the deepest layer of the skin where the most damage typically lies. This is because the RF “follows the past of least resistance”. Imagine the intense light from the photofacials essentially creating a pathway of light to its target of hyper-pigmentation in the skin. The RF follows directly behind the pathway cleared from the light and is able to deliver an additional amount of energy to the skin.
The Radio Frequency in addition to the IPL essentially will yield two benefits:
- It yields faster and efficient results
- Stimulates the collagen of the skin on a much deeper level, therefore, promoting more skin tightening than the average Photofacial (that primarily focuses on removing discoloration).
Why Radio Frequency Builds Collagen:
Radio Frequency provides heat and energy to the skin and collagen. Any time there is a specific amount of heat and energy penetrating the deep layers of the skin, the body automatically goes into a “fix it/ replenishment mode”. This is because the heat, in essence, is denaturing (breaking down) the existing old collagen, automatically prompting the body to replace with new collagen.
The Radio Frequency is also able to build collagen more quickly and efficiently because it “follows the pathway of least resistance” of the Intense Pulse Light. When sun damage is removed, the body also begins to create new healthy skin and collagen. Therefore, the two technologies provide an amazing combination of skin tightening and rejuvenation.
Why Photofacial Benefits You:
The Photofacial primarily removes sun damage, which is the number one leading cause to pre-mature aging. Before any other skin rejuvenation procedure takes place, such as skin tightening, laser resurfacing for deep wrinkles or scarring, it is typically recommended that a series of Photofacials first occur. This is because it clears the pathway for the other lasers by providing new healthy and rejuvenated skin. It enables the other treatments to begin with a “clear canvas” if you will, which ultimately will allow for safe, fast and efficient treatments with longer lasting results.
The Photofacial in and of itself is one of the single most effective skin rejuvenation and anti-aging technologies. This is because it removes all the sun damage and promotes new collagen growth. Therefore, it provides an overall evenness to the color and texture of the skin- leaving you look years younger!
Downtime and What to Expect:
The Photofacial is non-invasive and virtually provides no downtime and absolutely no side effects. The treatment itself provides minimal discomfort. The sensation is often described much like a “rubber-band snap” on the skin, which only lasts momentarily. For men, they can experience a little more discomfort around the beard line (as they typically have course facial hair). Although the Photofacial will not remove hair (it is penetrating on a different wavelength than lasers for hair removal), it can temporarily retard the hair growth process and provide discomfort where the hair is more course on the face and neck. However, the hair will grow back, typically within 4 weeks.
After the first Photofacial treatment, you can expect to see initial edema (subtle redness), which will subside within 30 minutes to one hour. The next day you may even expect to see all of the sun damage on the skin become darker in color and/or see new spots “you never noticed before.” Don’t be alarmed. This is a good thing! This is illustrates all of the damage that lies deeper below in the dermal layers of the skin has been penetrated and is literally moving “up and out.” The brown spots will likely have a “crusty-like” texture. The best analogy is that it looks like someone sprinkled “pepper” on the skin. If you are female, this is nothing that a little concealer or foundation couldn’t cover. If you’re male, it will just seem as if the spots already present appear a little darker, but nothing significantly noticeable.
The spots will begin to slough themselves off within a few days as you regularly wash your wash using a gentle exfoliating cleanser.
NOTE- Do not pick or attempt to “scrub” the spots as this can cause irritation and severe skin sensitivities.
Recommendation:
For convenience, it is recommended to have a Microdermabrasion one week post Photofacial. This is to ensure the exfoliation of all the remaining spots that may still be present, and to leave the skin looking and feeling silky smooth.
Treatment Protocol:
The Photofacial treatment protocol suggests 3-5 treatments. However, as science and technology advances, it is highly suggested a series of five is complete to achieve the maximum effects of the skin rejuvenation.
The Photofacial is also performed once every 4-6 weeks
The Photofacial can treat anywhere on the body where sun damage is present. The most commonly treated areas include:
- Face
- Neck
- Declote (Chest)
- Back of Hands
- Shoulders
- Arms
- Back
Maintenance:
To maintain the best results it is required that you wear a sun block SPF 30+ with UVA/UVB protection. This is primarily because your skin will naturally be more sensitive to the sun post photofacials (or any skin rejuvenation treatment). This is because we have removed all the damage and provided you with new healthy skin. Therefore, you must always wear sun block daily to ensure new damage is not created.
However, the sun is inevitable. Therefore, maintenance treatments are highly recommended every 6 months to ensure you maintain the optimum results.
NO SUN 2 WEEKS PRE & POST Photofacial
Why? This is because we have something known as malaninsites in our skin (provides melanin and protection to the skin or, also know as “color”. When exposed or stimulated by the sunlight, the malaninsites become activated. Therefore, if you have recently had sun exposure those malaninsites are still activated and can be over-stimulated with the intense light and heat of the photofacial. This increases the changes of burning, blistering or hyper-pigmentation.
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