Electrolysis vs. Laser Hair Removal

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When deciding how to permanently remove unwanted hair, there are two main options to choose from: laser hair removal and electrolysis. The choice may be simple once you know all of the facts.

Laser hair removal treatment consists of directing concentrated laser light at a patch of hair to impair the follicles that produce it. The pigment in the hair, which gives it its color, attracts the laser first. The laser is absorbed by dark hair pigment, concentrating the heat energy to damage the follicle so hair can’t grow back, or grows back less thick than before. People with white, gray, or blonde hair aren’t good candidates for laser since light colored hair does not absorb this energy.  Also, laser works most safely with light to medium skin tones.  Hair passes through several growth phases in its follicle, and it is during only one of these phases that the follicle is sensitive to the laser heat.  As an area of hair has follicles randomly distributed in all phases, some sensitive and some not, then a single laser treatment is effective only on a portion of these follicles. Hence, the recommendation is for several time-spaced treatments to block successfully the greatest percentage of follicles.  A 99% reduction in hair regrowth is considered a successful laser outcome.

Like laser, electrolysis eliminates unwanted hair by destroying the follicle. Unlike laser, electrolysis kills hair one follicle at a time. A hand-held electric needle is inserted into each follicle which then zaps it with a mild electric current. The hair is then pulled out of the dead follicle with tweezers. Unlike laser, electrolysis can be done on any patient,
no matter what color their hair or skin.

If you are a candidate for either one, then consider the size of the hair growth area you would like removed. Electrolysis is very slow and patients with heavy hair growth will spend a lot of time being treated, whereas you can treat a large area more quickly with laser. You might also want to consider your pain threshold as laser may feel like a rubber band snapping your skin and electrolysis more like getting a tattoo.

The Lowdown on Liposuction

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Sometimes people have bulges that just won’t budge despite diet and exercise. Liposuction may be just the answer for stubborn fat cells that will not shrink.

The good news is that liposuction is not just for the stomach and abdominal area. You are able to get liposuction on many areas of your body including your hips, neck, butt, arms, calves, or back. You also have the option of getting liposuction done on more than one area at the same time. For example, you could get liposuction on your stomach, back, and arms in the same day.

How Does It Work?

With a liposuction procedure, the surgeon is able to permanently reduce a
deposit of excess fat. Liposuction is almost always performed under general
anesthesia. Surgeons use a hollow stainless steel tube called a cannula. The
cannula is hooked up to a vacuum. It is inserted into an incision in the skin
and then fat deposits are gently sucked out of the body.

Depending on the number of locations of fat sites you have and the amount of fat removed from each site, liposuction generally takes between 1/2 hour – 3 hours.

How Long is Recovery?

Under most circumstances, recovery is usually quick. Most people can return to
work within a few days and to normal activities within about two weeks. You
should expect bruising, swelling, and soreness for at least a few weeks.
However, every person’s outcome will vary based on factors such as volume of
fat cells removed and area of removal.

Liposuction surgery has helped many people transition into a healthier lifestyle more easily and has also helped to raise the self-esteem and well-being in those individuals. Arrange a consultation with your surgeon to see if this procedure may be right for you.

The Facts on Facelifts

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Some may think that facelifts are only for people in their fifties or sixties, but that is a common misperception. In fact, the patients who often get the best results are the younger patients in their early forties. In general, the younger you are, the more natural the result and the longer lasting the results will be. The skin is more elastic and heals more quickly at a younger age.

Why would someone in their forties need a facelift? Several factors can lead to premature aging of the skin at this age with the most common being sun exposure, cigarette smoking and genetics. While genetics cannot be controlled, the other two can. Many of the changes associated with aging can be corrected with facial surgery.

The surgery takes place in an outpatient setting with the procedure being performed through an incision starting at the hairline or above and in front of the ear. The skin and fatty tissues are then lifted off the underlying muscle and fascia (connective tissue) as far forward as is necessary to correct the loose skin problem. The incision is then closed with sutures and skin staples.

Pain and discomfort after surgery are minimal. There is some discomfort but this is usually controlled with mild pain medications. Once the dressings are removed after approximately 3-5 days, the patient can resume social activities using makeup to cover bruising and hair over the ears to hide the sutures.

Facial surgery will turn back the hands of time but it will not stop the aging process.  The signs of aging usually return in seven to ten years, but patients will still look
younger than if they had not had the procedure done.

Electrolysis versus Laser Hair Removal: Q&A with Jill

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The question of when to choose electrolysis over laser hair removal is a good one, and we hear this from many of our clients.  Here are a few tips…

Q: When do I choose electrolysis over laser hair removal?

A: Electrolysis treats light colored and finer hairs that will not respond to laser hair removal.  It is also great for shaping eyebrows.  Laser works well on coarse, dark hair.  It will not have an effect on finer textured hairs whether they are light or dark in color.

Q: What skin color can be treated with electrolysis? With laser?

A:  For electrolysis, any skin color, from light to very dark. With laser, light to medium skin types.  Persons with dark skin are not candidates for laser hair removal, due to the risk of overtreatment.

 

Q:  What hair types can be treated with electrolysis?

A:  All hair types: fine, coarse, light and dark

 

Q: Can you treat tanned skin?

A:  The efficacy of electrolysis is not affected by tanned skin. Laser should not be used on tanned skin, or skin recently exposed to UV rays.

 

Q: What does it feel like?

A:  With electrolysis, you may experience a sensation like a slight sting or feel some heat, but it should not be painful.  Intensity settings are customized to your individual sensitivity. With laser, skin may feel anywhere from warm to hot during treatment.  Following treatment skin may feel sensitive, similar to having had too much sun.  Numbing the area with a numbing agent prior to your laser treatment will help reduce the sting.

 

Q: Will treated hair be visible following a treatment?

A:  Hair is removed with tweezers immediately following electrolysis.  With laser, the area is shaved prior to the treatment, and treated hairs work their way to the surface and shed on their own.  This takes anywhere from a few days to 10 days or more.

 

Q:  How do I manage hair between treatments?

A:  You may shave or trim hairs close to the skin.  Allow 2 – 3 days of growth prior to each electrolysis treatment.  With laser, the treatment area is shaved just prior to treatment.

 

Q:  Can I still tweeze or wax?

A:  Tweezing and waxing must be discontinued with both electrolyis and laser hair removal.  Any time a hair is removed by tweezing or waxing there is a delay in treatment of that hair follicle.  If hair is not visible above the skin it cannot be treated with electrolysis.

 

Q:  How long will a treatment take?

A:  Each hair is treated individually with electrolysis.  Electrolysis is a slower, more meticulous process than laser hair removal.  With laser, a 1/2″ x 1/2″ area is treated with each pulse of light.  The bikini area can typically be treated in 30-40 minutes.

 

Q:  How many treatments will be needed?

A:  Hairs have different growth cycles.  The average hair can take 3 to 12 weeks to complete just one cycle.  You can’t tell if a hair is in its active growth phase from the surface, and some hairs take more than one treatment with electrolysis.  Because of varying stages of hair growth there are no average treatment guidelines for electrolysis as there are with laser hair removal, though treatment intervals are generally one to two weeks apart.  With laser, standard treatment protocol is every 4 -6 weeks for an average of 5 treatments.

 

Q:  What will skin look like after electrolysis?

A:  The area may be pink immediately following electrolysis.  This normally fades in 1-2 hours.  If there is lingering pinkness or swelling, the patient may apply ice.  Areas treated with laser may feel warm to hot during treatment.  Afterward, skin may feel sensitive, similar to an area that has had too much sun exposure.

 

Q:  Is it safe?

A:  Probes used for electrolysis are pre-sterilized and disposable.  Tweezers are sterilized so no chance of cross-contamination exists.  Risks associated with laser treatments are minimized by choosing a qualified technician who is trained in laser hair removal, and completely familiar with the equipment used in treatment.

 

Dramatic Results under Local?

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We are all searching for something that costs very little but does a lot, or a very low risk investment that always pays off, makes us wealthy.  Something for nothing.  It doesn’t work that way, though.

Plastic surgery is usually like the rest of our world.  Small procedures usually yield small results.  The larger procedures usually yield more dramatic results. 

There is one procedure done in the office under local anesthesia that appears to defy the standard rule.  For such a small operation, the results are often dramatic.  Upper lid blepharoplasty is the removal of the excess upper eyelid skin.  That extra piece of skin is what makes people look old, tired.

In about one hour the procedure is done, the eyes look around ten years younger.  There is no dressing or bandage.  Showering or bathing can be immediate.  The suture is an invisible hem-type that runs under the skin and is easily slipped out at the time of the first post-op visit a few days later.

If you want to defy the rules, look younger and avoid spending a fortune, upper blepharoplasty may be for you.

What is a Mommy Makeover?

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What is this “Mommy Makeover” people are talking about?

Mommy Makeover is the combination of procedures used to restore form in the areas of a woman’s body that have been harmed by pregnancy.  Abdominoplasty, or tummy tuck, and breast augmentation are commonly included in this combination, sometimes with the addition of breast lift, or mastopexy.

Many women find that their abdominal shape has lost definition, even after they have lost their excess pregnancy weight.  Most rightly conclude that the extra skin which developed on their abdomens to accommodate the growing baby inside has failed to tighten back to its pre-pregnancy tone.  Many conclude, often wrongly, that there is still a large area of localized fat in the abdomen that is causing the protrusion.  In the most severe cases, moms who are weeks to months postpartum are asked by hapless people, “When is the baby due?”  At that point, the answer is difficult for both parties.

 

Usually, the abdominal protrusion results from an injury to the rectus, or “six-pack” muscles such that they are no longer connected to each other in the midline.  This allows the intestines and other abdominal contents to protrude outward, like a giant hernia.  To the extent this has happened, the waist also loses its inward curve, and becomes more straight-up-and-down.  The pubic area often drops as well. The hidden aspect of a good abdominoplasty has to do with the muscle repair and tightening that goes on beneath the skin.  In many cases, it is now possible to perform a drainless tummy tuck.  For more information about that term, please see our site at http://www.myplasticsurgerygroup.com/cosmetic-procedures/tummy-tuck/.

The breasts often undergo significant change after pregnancy and/or breastfeeding.  At the very least, a diminishing amount of firm breast gland tissue is replaced by a softer, fatty tissue.  This can result in a deflated look to the breasts, or a smaller breast size with the same amount of skin wrinkled over the tissues underneath.  A breast augmentation can restore the volume and re-inflate the wrinkled skin envelope.  This can be done via traditional or endoscopic approaches using saline or gel implants.  The various shapes available make it easier to match a woman’s chest width with her preferences for size and upper breast fullness. For more information, see our hiddenscar.com website.

If the breast has underlying sagging, or ptosis, the nipple will have dropped below the level of the infra mammary fold, that fold of skin that divides the breast from the upper abdomen.  If a breast augmentation is done on this type of breast, without doing anything else, the newly augmented breast mound will be higher on the chest than the nipple.  This can look worse than the original sagged breast unless a lift or mastopexy is done.

A mastopexy is done by deciding where the nipple, surrounding areola and breast tissue should be elevated.  By means of incising around the areola and straight down from there to the bottom of the breast, the tissues are separated from the skin, and mounded up higher on the chest. The excess skin is then taken out beneath the breast where the scars can be better hidden.

No patient, and no plastic surgeon want to do a breast lift unless it has to be done.  The lift takes extra time, and puts extra scars on the very part the person wants to see improved.  The lift, if it is believed necessary, is planned for the final stage of the combined operation to make absolutely certain that it must be done.  Occasionally the augmentation fills out the skin enough in the lower part of the breast so that the nipple no longer appears to fall below the breast, but is now more centered.  Other times the abdominoplasty tightens the upper abdomen skin so that the infra mammary fold is pulled down enough to center the nipples. In these cases, the lift is not done.

This combination of procedures is done in a certain order to maximize results and minimize incisions. Many patients prefer this combination over a plan which would involve two, or more separate operations.  Recuperation time and money are saved for these patients who are good surgical candidates and want to combine abdominal and breast rejuvenation into the Mommy Makeover.

We’re Hiring

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My Plastic Surgery Group is currently hiring for several positions.

Patient Coordinator – New patient consult and intake, scheduling, patient follow-up.  This position works closely with the surgeon to ensure seamless patient care.

Medical Assistant – Attends consults with the doctor for injection, reconstruction and surgery follow-up patients; orders clinical supplies; stocks patient and procedure rooms; monitors hazardous waste and laundry.

Job descriptions are summarized, and do not include all duties.

Interested candidates can send their resume to Loretta Lungren Vestermark at lvestermark@sandojonesaker.com.

Smooth Your Facial Skin with Dermabrasion

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Roughened skin, which may be a product of acne with pitted scars, less-than-ideal scars from prior surgery or trauma, or uneven  surfaces from aging,  can present special cosmetic challenges.  Dermabrasion enjoys a valued position in our surgical armamentarium.  It is a technique in which the surgeon literally sands the damaged skin, much as one might sand a piece of wood, using a high-speed rotary device. Although laser, and in some instances chemical peels have been used as substitutes, dermabrasion has provided safe, consistent results with rapid recovery.  In many instances the procedure can be done under a local anesthetic (numbing medicine) in the doctor’s office with or without oral calming medicine.

The skin is abraded to create an appearance not unlike a “rug burn” which over the next 5-10 days of very simple home care, yields to the growth of a newly healed surface of smooth pink skin, which may be camouflaged cosmetically as it fades normally over 6-10 weeks.  If one has any history of cold sores or fever blisters in the mouth area, the doctor should be alerted in advance so that protective anti-viral medication can be taken as a precaution.

Dermabrasion should not be confused with microdermabrasion which is also an office treatment , usually by a licensed aesthetician, using a high pressure sand sprayer to remove the outermost epithelial layer of dead skin cells to exfoliate and freshen the skin appearance.  Dermabrasion, on the contrary, is a deeper, more powerfully active procedure.  It is nearly the ideal approach to smooth the vertical lip lines we all seem to develop over the years.  Be certain to ask the health care professionals at My Plastic Surgery Group for more information, and prepare for a future of smooth facial skin.