Tammy,
Your question regarding light chemical peels after a facelift is complicated. A facelift is really intended to lift sagging fat pads and skin. It can have some improvement for facial lines that are deep, but it really doesn’t treat the skin itself. Chemical peels on the other hand do treat the skin. For example a chemical peel can help to reduce fine lines and brown spots, while that is not the role of a facelift. So to think that a chemical peel will maintain your facelift results is really misleading. What a chemical peel can do for you is to improve the tone, texture, color and fine lines in your skin. Whether it is a series of light chemical peels or a surgical peel, either can help the skin appearance significantly. Light chemical peels are done as frequently as every 3-4 weeks. The surgeon’s peel is usually only done once every several years as long as you maintain your skin with good skin care, sun protection, light peels and perhaps Botox.
Please feel free to call us if you would like to discuss this further. We would love to talk to you.
Ed Buckingham
Christina,
Dermabrasion and microdermabrasion are very different. Microdermabrasion is a procedure utilizing crystals to remove the dead skin cells from the outer surface of the face. It will only allow your face to feel smoother but will not stimulate collagen production or improve wrinkling. Dermabrasion is a procedure utilizing either a diamond sanding wheel or a wire brush to remove the outer epidermis and dermis of the skin which is much deeper than micro-dermabrasion and allows for improvement in wrinkles and collagen production. We usually utilize a trichloracetic acid chemical peel for the wrinkles on the entire face, which also improves pigment, and allows for collagen regeneration. We combine this with dermabrasion for the perioral area in patients with a deep perioral lines. The dermabrasion does require a significant downtime and there is a small risk of pigmentation loss and scarring. It does offer the best chance for the most significant improvement however. We have examples of both chemical peels and dermabrasion on the site and I encourage you to explore our photo Gallery. Thank you for your question; we would be happy to see you anytime.
Ed Buckingham
Kelly,
Yes, we treat acne scarring. Each case is very different both from the degree of scarring as well as the patient’s tolerance for down-time. Treatment will begin by surgically excising any scars which are too deep for resurfacing. We then tailor resurfacing based upon severity and tolerance for surgical down-time. The Fraxel laser works moderately well for acne scarring with down-time limited to a few days with each treatment. For patients who are willing to have more down-time chemical peels and surgical dermabrasion are effective. In patients with a significant atrophic component to the scarring we utilize autologous fat transfer to plump the skin and reduce the pitting of the scarred skin.
I hope this helps to answer your question. Please feel free to call with any further questions. We would love to see 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
