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After you spring forward this month into daylight saving time, why not turn back the clock? Minimally invasive cosmetic treatments can help you look younger, healthier, and more refreshed with little to no downtime and with fewer risks than surgery. Advances in laser technology, coupled with consumer demand, have led to safer and more efficient laser procedures to correct skin problems, reduce fat, remove unwanted hair, and stimulate hair growth.
Metro Detroit medical professionals are using non-ablative lasers to smooth and renew troubled skin for visible, dramatic results. Working beneath the surface layer of skin, lasers stimulate collagen growth to gradually rebuild and rejuvenate the skin from the inside.
Removing unwanted hair can be messy and time-consuming. With advanced laser technology, permanent hair removal is quick and more comfortable. For those who struggle with thinning hair, low-level laser therapy is a painless, noninvasive solution to promote the growth of thicker, healthier locks. And if you can’t hide your muffin top or love handles, there are no-downtime body-contouring treatments to help you lose fat and inches without surgical liposuction — just in time for warm weather fashions.
For a fresher, more youthful look, start with a cosmetic consultation to learn what will give you the optimal results. That might be a noninvasive laser treatment, a new filler to add volume in the cheek area, or a good skin care regimen using physician-approved cosmeceuticals. And remember, when you put your best face forward this spring, don’t forget the sunscreen.
Grosse Pointe Dermatology
Q: What are the latest, most unique treatments for facial rejuvenation?
A: The new Juvéderm Voluma™ XC is the first FDA-approved filler to correct age-related volume loss in the mid-cheek. Board-certified dermatologist Dr. David Balle was one of the first in the nation to use Voluma™, and he now trains other physicians on the proper use of this innovative treatment.
“With age-related volume loss, bones and fat pads in the mid-cheek gradually shrink and deteriorate, so there’s less support of facial structures. The skin sags and you see hollowed areas in the face,” Dr. Balle explains.
“Voluma™ is injected just above the membrane that covers the bone and also into the deeper fat pads, to recreate the youthful volume lost in those areas. It lifts and pulls back the cheek instantly and naturally. Voluma™ results in little or no downtime, and lasts at least two years.”
Whereas Voluma™ treats the deeper parts of the skin, turning back the clock, micro-needling works on the skin’s surface – similar to laser skin resurfacing, but without the heat.
“The technique uses microscopically thin needles to create controlled and defined tiny injuries in the skin which stimulate new collagen growth that is healthy and fresh,” Dr. Balle says.
“Micro-needling helps to smooth out fine lines and improve sun damage, blotchiness, discoloration, and acne scarring. The skin looks smoother and refreshed, and has a healthy glow.”
Micro-needling treatments can be done on the face, the neck, the décolleté area of the chest, the back of the hands, and on stretch marks, with less downtime and less risk of side effects than laser skin resurfacing.
Grosse Pointe Dermatology Associates, P.C.
Birmingham Plastic Surgery
Q: How can I reduce stubborn fat around my midsection without surgery?
A: Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Ahmet Karaca recommends a combination of two FDA-approved, noninvasive, body-contouring treatments: CoolSculpting and Vanquish. “The CoolSculpting machine secures a section of the abdomen or the hip rolls in the back, and cools the tissue. The sensitive fat cells die off, resulting in a 25 to 35 percent fat reduction in the treated area,” Dr. Karaca explains.
“Some areas of fat are difficult to treat with CoolSculpting, so we use Vanquish to smooth the top layers of fat. Vanquish employs radio frequency energy and treats a larger surface area — the whole front of the abdomen, or the back. People have lost one to two inches around the waist after a few half-hour sessions.”
Several treatments of CoolSculpting and one or more follow-up treatments with Vanquish provide the optimal results.
“Both treatments are totally safe, painless, and require no downtime,” Dr. Karaca says. “By combining these treatments, we’re getting results that are very close to surgical liposuction.”
Birmingham Plastic Surgery
Wayne State University Physician Group
Q: What is the first step on the path to having healthy, younger-looking skin?
A: According to Dr. Steven Daveluy, a board-certified dermatologist and assistant professor with Wayne State University Physician Group Dermatology, the first step to improving your skin is protecting it from the sun to prevent sun damage. If you’re not protecting your skin, the sun will basically be working against everything you do to look younger and healthier.
I usually recommend that all my patients wear a moisturizer containing broad spectrum sunscreen every day, and I tell them to reapply it throughout the day. There are also makeup products that contain sunscreen, to make reapplication more convenient. In my experience, wearing sunscreen saves patients money because they need fewer and less frequent skin treatments.
The first step in rejuvenating skin is to optimize a patient’s skin care regimen. It’s vitally important to speak with a dermatologist to make sure you’re doing everything you can. We carry several skin care lines that have multiple ingredients to help fight aging and make the skin look better.
We also offer various procedures to help reverse the signs of aging and sun damage, including Botox, Dysport, fillers, chemical peels, and lasers. It’s important to assess a patient’s individual needs to decide the best options, so we usually start with our cosmetic consultation. We want the patient’s input because what we think may be bothersome may not be what the patient is concerned about. We find out what a patient’s target areas are, and what really bothers them about their skin, and we create a customized treatment that will give them the very best results.
Wayne State University Physician Group
Dr. Myra N. Danish
Q: What types of laser treatments will give me smoother skin with no downtime?
A: There have been major advances in permanent laser hair removal that make treatments quick, essentially painless, and without downtime, says facial cosmetic surgeon Dr. Myra N. Danish, M.D., F.A.C.S.
“The old lasers used to hurt quite a bit and there was a higher risk for adverse skin reactions like scarring and discoloration,” she says. “Now we use the Lumenis LightSheer laser, which is much more comfortable. The laser treats all skin types and can remove hair permanently from all parts of the body, including sensitive areas like the bikini line. We can treat larger areas, like the back or the legs, within 20 minutes. This advanced technology allows for no scarring or discoloration, and produces great results with smooth, hairless skin after about six treatment sessions.
“Laser photo facials also have no downtime or risk of scarring and can help with discoloration, including redness, and also help with regenerating collagen, minimizing pores and fine lines, and reducing acne breakouts by killing bacteria in the skin,” Dr. Danish explains. “We do about six treatment sessions; afterward, you have smoother, healthier, glowing skin.”
Dr. Danish recommends a facial analysis and consultation to determine the treatment options that will help her patients look younger and fresher and give them the very best results.
Myra Danish, M.D., F.A.C.S.
FACE Skincare ~ Medical ~ Wellness
Q: What is the newest, most effective treatment for looking 10 years younger without surgery?
A: FACE is the only skin care facility in Michigan that offers the Synchronize Lift™, a noninvasive treatment approach for complete overall restoration of facial features. Unlike a liquid face-lift, the Synchronize Lift™ addresses all aspects in the Triangle of Aging™ — including volume, wrinkles, sagging, elasticity, collagen, and sun damage. Using a combination of injectables, lasers, and energy-based technologies, the Synchronize Lift™ restores true facial harmony. Your skin will look natural and at least a decade younger, all without surgery.
FACE uses a variety of the best injectables. One of the latest breakthrough fillers is Juvéderm Voluma™ XC, the first and only FDA-approved filler to instantly add volume and structure to the cheek area. Voluma™ lifts and contours, improving hollows underneath the eyes and flattening in the midface. This incredible filler will give you a more youthful profile for up to two years!
Put your best face forward. Call FACE, the experts in noninvasive skin rejuvenation.
FACE Skincare~Medical~Wellness
Gina Randhawa, M.D.
Q: How can noninvasive lasers help improve my appearance?
A: Noninvasive laser treatments can often postpone the need for surgical procedures and can give you very good results without anesthesia, a hospital stay, or downtime, says internal medicine physician Dr. Gina Randhawa.
“Patients who see early signs of aging in the face and neck, such as skin laxity and fine lines and wrinkles, are getting great results with Thermage®, a nonsurgical treatment that uses radiofrequency energy to tighten skin, renew facial contours, and stimulate collagen,” Dr. Randhawa says.
“I also use Zerona®, a noninvasive cold laser that painlessly shrinks fat cells, reducing inches of fat and contouring the body as an alternative to invasive surgical liposuction.”
Gina Randhawa, MD, PC
Renew Hair & Skin Center
Q: What can I do to prevent hair loss?
A: Renew owners Suzie Meklir and Robin Welford have discovered a new science contributing to the growing population of people experiencing hair loss and thinning. The answer: Healthy hair begins within, starting at the cellular level. Renew’s “patented process” to stimulate hair growth, which includes low-level laser therapy (LLLT), is helping to prevent the progression of hair follicle cell damage that occurs daily and leads to hair loss. Follicle cells can be damaged by aging, stress, free radicals in the environment, medications, diseases, and medical conditions such as iron deficiencies and thyroid problems.
European studies suggest LLLT improves the blood flow at the roots and stimulates follicular cells, which can cause the hair to grow in thicker and stronger. FDA-cleared low-level laser therapy, along with a protein-enriched diet, vitamin supplements, and nourishing hair and scalp products will achieve the optimal outcome.
Call Renew for a complimentary consultation today.
Renew Hair and Skin Center
Michigan Hair & Skin Center
Q: Is there a simple, safe, and effective treatment to stop hair thinning?
A: FDA-approved low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is the medically tested, noninvasive, painless solution.
“Our program of laser light therapy not only stops hair loss, it stimulates the growth of new hair without invasive treatments or harmful side effects. It makes all hair strands thicker and healthier, including thin, weak, and sun-damaged hair,” says Carol Wagner, owner of Michigan Hair & Skin Center, the first and most experienced center in the metro Detroit area specializing in light therapy for thinning hair.
“Light energy from our state-of-the-art machines safely clears away buildups of the chemical DHT that can clog hair follicles,” Wagner explains. “It increases blood flow to the scalp so that active follicles can receive the nutrients needed to regrow hair.”
The all-inclusive program generally lasts one year, and includes relaxing laser therapy sessions and natural, vitamin-rich hair products to cleanse and nourish the scalp and to promote hair growth. A natural follicle stimulant helps regrow hair in problem areas without requiring lifetime use.
While it’s important to learn the cause of your hair loss, it’s even more important to do something about it when you first notice any thinning.
“Eventually hair follicles die, so the sooner one seeks treatment the better,” Wagner says. “For people who are too busy to come in for weekly treatment sessions, we offer at-home remedies including lasers for purchase, hair products, (in-office) evaluations to chart progress, and support when you need someone to talk to. We have the solutions to help you keep your hair on your head, and three locations for your convenience.”
Michigan Hair and Skin Center
Sadoff Dermatology, P.C.
Q: How can I combat the effects of past sun exposure?
A: I believe in addressing a patient’s entire skin, and that starts with a thorough skin exam, checking areas which are difficult for patients to see themselves. Using a hand-held dermatoscope, we are able to look below the skin surface and assess whether a mole requires removal.
When a patient is informed and educated about their skin condition, we can collaborate on the treatment strategy and achieve a better outcome.
Restoring sun-damaged and aging skin requires an individualized approach. Blotchy, brown areas benefit from laser and peels, while fillers combat the effects of gravity and volume loss. New techniques produce a natural result. Patients will look healthy and youthful, and won’t be asked, “Who does your filler?”
Wendy Sadoff MD Dermatology, PC
Arnold Gross, D.P.M., PC, Eric Foreman, D.P.M.
Q: What are the benefits of laser treatment for toenail infections?
A: In just one 30-minute office procedure, The PinPointe FootLaser can painlessly vaporize unsightly fungus under the nails with no complications.
“Toenail fungus is very common and there has never been a good treatment,” says board-certified podiatrist Dr. Arnold Gross. “Your choice has been topical creams and liquids that rarely work, or a pill that has a long list of possible side effects.”
Dr. Gross and his partner, Dr. Eric Foreman, are the first to offer the state-of-the-art, FDA-cleared PinPointe laser system in Michigan. Within three months of treatment, patients start to see new growth of smooth, clear, fungus-free nails.
