- « Follow Us
-
Phone 512.401.2500 | Fax 512.401.2501
2745 Bee Caves Road, Suite 101
Austin,
Texas
78746
| Map It
Question:
I want the mildest chemical peel that you offer. I can’t take much time off work right now but I hate to wait any longer. What sort of benefits will I get from your mildest peel?
Answer:
We have a variety of peels that would be considered “light”. Each is administered by our registered nurse. They usually have a day or so of flaky skin and mild redness, but in general you could perform one afternoon and return to work the next day. There are a variety of these peels available for different concerns. The peel that is best suited to you will be chosen during your consultation.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I’m 67, and I would like to renew my skin for a large charity dinner I’m attending. I’ve had several cosmetic surgeries in the past, including a nose job, a facelift, and laser skin resurfacing. Would a chemical peel be safe for me?
Answer:
A chemical peel would be safe for you as long as your laser resurfacing was more than a few months ago and you are otherwise in good health and don’t have any other contraindications. Of course there are many different strengths of chemical peel and also laser treatments available so we would want to match your concerns with the treatment that would provide the best results for your desired improvement and tolerance for recovery.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I’m an author, and I’m going on my first book tour soon. As a 43 year old, I’m a little older to start in the publicity/book signing game. I have about three weeks until I leave, and I’d like to get some sort of skin rejuvenation before I leave. Will three weeks be enough time to recover and see the results from a chemical peel?
Answer:
You didn’t provide whether you were a male or a female which matters to some degree because most men do not want to wear make-up. Even in the case of a deep chemical peel three weeks is plenty of recovery time if you are willing to use a concealing make-up. The recovery from a deep peel is 2 weeks. That means for most patients make-up can safely be introduced at 2 weeks to cover the remaining erythema, redness, of the skin. Men who are unwilling to wear make-up will look a little “sun-burnt” for a period of a few more weeks depending on the depth of the peel. Another great option for skin rejuvenation is a fractionated CO2 laser. This treatment provides great skin tightening as well as improvement for pigment, but because of the fractionated nature also allows for quicker healing time.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I’ve heard that both chemical peels and dermabrasion can help renew skin to make it look younger. Which of these treatments is more effective?
Answer:
It is not really a question of which technique, chemical peel or dermabrasion, is more effective, but rather which one is indicated for a condition. Both techniques can be equally effective, but usually are performed for different indications. A chemical peel, and there are many strengths so we are talking here about a surgical peel, is usually performed for diffuse facial aging including pigmentation changes and wrinkles. Dermabrasion can be added to a peel for areas of scarring, for example acne scarring, or deep perioral wrinkles. Dermabrasion does carry more risk of loss of pigment or scarring however so you need to balance the treatment with the condition and provide the level of intervention that will give the best results with the least risk.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I’m a 38 year old woman interested in a chemical peel. I’m trying to prepare for the procedure as fully as I can. How much does a chemical peel hurt?
Answer:
Chemical peel is a very general term and so the answer to your question depends on what kind of peel you need/want. A variety of light chemical peels can be performed as a series of peels at monthly intervals in an office setting by a nurse or aesthetician. These peels cause very little discomfort and when provided with physician prescribed skin care can provide a great deal of benefit. Heavier chemical peels, what we refer to as surgeon strength peels, are performed by the physician only and include such peels as Jessner’s/TCA and Phenol peels. These are performed under a twilight type of IV anesthesia because they would otherwise not be tolerated. Post peel however there is very little discomfort. With the Jessner’s/TCA peel there is really no pain only swelling, redness and a feeling of tightness. The Phenol peel causes a little more discomfort, but is also well tolerated.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Jessica,
It is not unusual as women get into the middle to late 40′s for age related changes to catch up with them and begin manifesting. Of course a healthy diet and hydration are always important to the body and in turn the facial appearance. Additionally, as menopause occurs or approaches changes in hormone levels can affect skin quality and tone leading to a more rapid progression of aging. All of these things are big topics and are better addressed in person. However, we tend to look at facial aging with three main points in mind: 1) skin quality 2) gravitational effects 3) volume loss. Skin quality can be improved through sun protection, the use of good skin care products like PCA, and the addition of therapies such as Botox, Restylane, Juvederm and Fraxel laser. All of these are listed on this site with more information. The second element, gravitational effects on the face, need to be corrected through the use of surgical procedures. At 46, we usually try to limit the procedures to minimally invasive office procedures that have a quick recovery time. The third element is volume loss. This can be addressed through the use of facial fillers such as Restylane, Perlane, Radiesse and Juvederm or through the use of autologous fat. As you can see there is much that can be done to reverse the signs of aging. We would love to be able to have the opportunity to tailor a personalized plan for you. Please spend some time educating yourself on our site and please plan to come in and have a personal conversation.
Ed Buckingham
Amy,
Skin rejuvenation to repair sun damage and wrinkles requires ongoing care and sometimes a little kick start. What I mean by that is that the place to start is will good skin care products. We offer our patients PCA skin care products. We believe that it is an excellent line and provide our patients with great results to improve their skin if that is all they want to do or to maintain their skin after a treatment.
The kick start to improving skin can be either a chemical peel or laser. It depends on the amount of downtime you can tolerate verses the degree of improvement to seek. The Fraxel re:store laser is a series of treatments in the office that provides for the least downtime, but also the lower end of results. It works very well for pigment, but only OK for wrinkles. The next step up from that is the Fraxel re:pair laser. It has a little more downtime, about 10-14 days without makeup, but is a one-time treatment in the office with very good results for both pigment and wrinkles. The last option is a deep chemical peel. We do this treatment in the ambulatory surgery center. It has 14 days without makeup, but offers the most improvement for your skin. We may also recommend Botox prior to your treatment and after to maintain the results in certain areas. Once your skin is healed we again recommend PCA skin care to maintain your result.
So, there are many different options that can be tailored for each patient. The most important things to consider are how long you want to wait for results and how much down-time if any you can tolerate. At your consultation we can explore all the options in more detail and determine which course of therapy would be right for you.
Ed Buckingham
Kathy,
Thanks for your question about facial lines. In general facial lines are caused by sun exposure, age and muscle contraction. Wrinkles take two forms, lines that are only present with muscle activity ie. scowling or smiling, and lines that have become etched in and are present at rest, but may be made worse with muscle activity. Lines of the upper face such as the forehead and smile lines (crows feet lines) are very much a result of repetative muscle contraction. The lines around the mouth are also a result of muscle contraction, but are less able to be treated with muscle relaxation.
The treatment of wrinkles begins with good skin care. We offer a full line of PCA skin care products and can recommend the products which would be most beneficial. We then utilize Botox to treat the muscles responsible for the lines especially around the eyes, frown lines and forehead lines. Even if you do laser treatment or some other wrinkle treatment Botox will maintain your result and in some cases is all you need in addition to good skin care. Botox is less helpful for the lines around the mouth, but can be used in small quantities. For lines that are there at rest as well we utilize various methods of skin resurfacing and fillers. Skin resurfacing can be as mild as a light peel or we may utilize Fraxel, a deep peel or even dermabrasion in select cases. Facial fillers such as Restylane, Juvederm and Radiesse can be employed for deeper lines and folds.
Through this combination approach we are able to provide substantial benefits to aging facial skin without performing lifting procedures.
Please take some time to look at our before and after gallery and by all mean give us a call. We would love to see you.
Ed Buckingham
