Part II of this series continues as Dr. Anne Truitt discusses the traditional to the latest in skin beauty.
Courtesy of Compare Fibre
4. Procedural devices: This could be a talk all by itself as many devices have been created over the last few decades to contribute to beauty and turning back the hands of time. From ultrasound to Intense Pulsed Light to lasers, science has jumped leaps and bounds past the quirky comment of Austin Powers with his laser beam. For this section, I will focus on lasers, or Light Amplification of Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Sounds scary, but it’s not when the treatments are done to appropriately treat the skin condition or aesthetic issue. Laser settings often need to be dialed down to reduce possible damage to skin of color due to increased melanin, or pigment of the cells.
One of the greatest accomplishments in laser technology lasers in the last decade is the ability to deliver fractionated laser energy to the skin. Previously, most lasers emitted a full blast of energy, creating full ablation or destruction of the skin which carried a high risk of scarring and a lengthy recovery time. Now this energy can be broken up, or fractionated into small pockets of delivery, similar to aeration of a lawn sprinkler. This “mini” destruction will allow the skin to rebuild, thus reducing wrinkles and hyperpigmentation from sun exposure and the aging process. There are many different devices on the market now with a similar mechanism of action, but the ablative laser still requires a lengthy downtime and recovery period.
Courtesy of Jacob Owens
5. Cellulite and fat: Yes, there is a difference. Cellulite is more of an appearance definition: the rippling of skin as fat cells push out and the fibrous septae (or tethers) of the tissue pull down. Fat is the actual collection of adipocytes (or fat cells). Kybella is an injectable treatment that was FDA-approved about 5 years ago for the treatment of the dreaded double chin. It is composed of deoxycholic acid that is injected under the chin. Kybella will not only cause the destruction of the cell but also the inability to store or collect fat.
A few months ago, EMSCULPT NEO hit the market, targeted for your fat cells. It is a device that emits both radiofrequency and high intensity electromagnetic energies to reduce fat and build muscle in the traditional problem areas: belly, bra bulge, and buttocks. Alternatively, you could swing the temperature the other way and freeze the fat in a process known as cryolipolysis. This is done with a cooling device such as Coolsculpting. So with either heat or cold, these are both effective ways to reduce your problem areas by about 25%, without surgery.
Finally, the newest on the market this year to treat that pesky buttock cellulite is “Qwo”. It is an injectable collangenase that targets the causes of cellulite: it breaks down the septae, redistributes the fat, and stimulates growth of new collagen to give a firmer appearance.
Courtesy of Ava Sol
6. Time to pucker up with the new Restalyne Kysse lip filler. Now there are many, many fillers on the market so what makes this new one different? This is the first lip filler with XpresHAn Technology™ to provide more flexible movement and natural-looking volume. And it lasts for up to 1 year! So say goodbye to those firm duck lips and make your pout a bit more natural with Kysse. Don’t you just want to “kysse” technology!D
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Dr. Anne Truitt is a physician who is a board-certified specialist in dermatology & fellowship-trained Mohs Micrographic Surgeon. She is the current President of the San Diego Dermatological Society. Website Instagram