Minimally Invasive Skin Rejuvenation in San Diego, CA
Botox®
When you smile, laugh, frown, or concentrate, you contract the muscles of your face. Over time, these dynamic facial movements create permanent lines and deep wrinkles or furrows in the skin, especially between the eyebrows, on the forehead and around the eyes and mouth. These lines can alter the expression of your face making you look sad, angry, tired or older. To diminish the appearance of these furrows, injections are administered by our physicians directly into the facial muscles that cause these unwanted lines. The injections are generally painless or mildly uncomfortable and do not require anesthesia. After treatment, the facial muscles will gradually relax and patients will notice fine lines and wrinkles softening over three to seven days. Our objective with these treatments is not to make one appear “frozen,” but to retain natural motion while diminishing lines.
Botox® Cosmetic was introduced in 2002 and approved by the FDA to treat moderate to severe frown lines. To reduce or eliminate the appearance of facial wrinkles, Botox® is injected under the skin into the muscles of the forehead, around the eyes and mouth to smooth frown and worry lines, crow’s feet and lines on the neck. Botox® is made from a purified protein that works by blocking nerve impulses to the injected muscles thereby relaxing wrinkles and giving the face a rejuvenated look.
Fillers
Soft tissue fillers are injected under the skin to contour or “plump up” and smooth fine lines, wrinkles and hollow areas in the face as well as to define and augment the lips or enhance the cheeks for a more youthful appearance.
Dermal fillers are FDA-approved and safe for use by most patients. Many fillers are made from naturally occurring substances found in the body, or synthetically made to mimic these natural substances or stimulate collagen production. Fillers are injected directly into the skin of treatment area to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and to restore volume. Many fillers are manufactured with anesthetic though additional topical or injectable anesthesia may be used during this procedure to numb the treatment area to minimize any potential discomfort. At Del Mar M.E.D. we offer our patients several different dermal filler options so our treatments are customized to provide the best possible results for each person’s individual needs.
Chemical Peel
A chemical peel is a procedure to remove damaged outer layers of skin to smooth texture, improve pigmentation and reduce scarring in order to produce healthy, glowing skin. Treatments can be done on the face, neck, chest and backs of the hands. Chemical peels can range from mild to strong and usually consist of alphahydroxy acids (AHAs) or Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) – formula and strengths strengths are tailored to each patient.
Types of Chemical Peels
AHAs are the most gentle of the types of chemical peels and typically performed by an esthetician to whom our patients can be referred. Consisting of a group of glycolic, lactic and fruit acids, AHA peels smooth and brighten the skin by treating fine wrinkles, dryness, mild dyspigmentation and acne. AHA peels are typically performed in a series of weekly treatments that take 10 minutes or less. Recovery is typically over 3-5 days. For patients who do not have the time or who prefer an even more gentle approach, Del Mar M.E.D. offers its own skin care line with these ingredients that can safely be used at home on a daily basis for ongoing skin brightening therapy.
For a medium-depth peel we use TCA peels though the depth is adjustable with this acid. TCA peels, like AHA peels, treat fine lines to improve texture and treat pigmentation disorders and blemishes to improve and brighten skin tone. TCAs are stronger, with a longer recovery time (7-10 days depending on depth) and more lasting benefits. TCAs are the preferred chemical solution for darker-skinned patients and may be used on the neck and other areas of the body. Multiple treatments may be required. Often a pre-peel skin care regimen of AHAs, Retin-A or Retinol with Hydroquinone (a skin bleaching agent) is used to prepare the skin for a TCA peel and may be used as part of the post peel skin care maintenance program once re-epithelialization (skin healing) has taken place.
Laser Treatment
At Del Mar M.E.D. we treat the most common vascular conditions: telangiectasias and redness on the face from Rosacea or sun damage, sun damage on the décolletage and superficial spider veins on the legs. Vascular lesions are abnormally superficial, dense collections of blood vessels. Laser treatment effectively cauterizes the affected vessel and resolves the lesion and its resultant redness.
Vascular laser treatment can also significantly improve the color and texture of scars that are raised. It is most effective for new, not older scars. The treatment reduces the redness and generally results in a smoother and softer texture that blends better with surrounding skin.
V-Beam/PDL
V-Beam or Pulsed Dye Laser (PDL) therapy works by producing a single wavelength of light that is absorbed by either water or pigments in the tissue (eg, hemoglobin in the blood, melanin in the skin) that is converted to heat. This process allows for precise cutting, sealing or vaporizing of tissue. With variation in the intensity of the beam or the pulse rate at which it is administered, a variety of functional and cosmetic skin problems can be treated.
Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)
Intense pulsed light (IPL) is a cosmetic skin treatment that can help reduce signs of aging, lighten darker patches of skin, and improve the appearance of scars and spider veins. IPL delivers light energy in short, gentle, adjustable pulses that minimize the risks of bruising or other problems while targeting unwanted skin pigment and redness. The device produces a broad band of light that is absorbed by a variety of color imperfections in the skin and helps encourage the body to remove them, resulting in skin that is more uniform and youthful appearing.
Q Switched Nd:YAG
Q Switched Nd:YAG laser energy is selectively absorbed by the deeper levels of the dermis and allows for treatment of deeper vascular lesions such as telangiectasias, hemangiomas and leg veins. The laser energy is delivered using long pulses which are converted into heat in the tissue. The heat impacts the vasculature of the lesions. In addition, the Nd:YAG Laser can treat at a more superficial level. By heating the subcutaneous skin in a non-ablative manner, it stimulates neocollagenesis which improves the appearance of facial wrinkles.