Photos should be taken as a part of the initial client assessment. Photos help to document the "baseline" skin condition and are valuable for identifying subtle skin changes that occur in the skin during treatment plan implementation.
Photos document the treatment progression of permanent hair reduction, subtle texture changes and diminishing redness from Laser Genesis or changes in pigmented lesions. It often takes multiple vein treatments over a number of months to achieve the end result. Photos help the patient to remember the baseline of their condition.
Irregular pigmentation of the face is one of the most common signs of photoaging. Pigmentation occurs because of the uneven production of melanin—a brown pigment produced by melanocytes—in the skin. Many different patterns can be seen on the faces of people of different ages.
Clients often are seeking an advanced skin care consult for pigmentary issues. An aesthetic Laser system may be used as part of the treatment plan to address the pigmentary needs. Laser Genesis and LimeLight facial are often combined with light chemical peels, cosmeceuticals, sunblock and good client education about sun protection to decrease the appearance to pigmented lesions.
Laser based technology has become a part of skin care treatment plan to address pigmented lesions. Many treatment providers with use a combination of topical agents, chemical peels, Laser Genesis and LimeLight facial in skin rejuvenation and the reduction of pigmented lesions.
"Skin-Lightening Challenges" by By: Zoe Diana Draelos, MD
Advanced Skin Care starts with daily skin care management. This usually includes facial wash, moisturizers & sunblock. Many skin care products also include the use of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in the ingredients. It is important to optimize the results of Laser based technology such as Laser Genesis, LimeLight facial and over all skin rejuvenation with good daily skin care.
Source:
"Vitamin C in Skin Care" By: Peter T. Pugliese, MD
Posted: June 2, 2009, from the June 2009 issue of Skin Inc. Magazine.
I heard from a colleague who recently attended a customer event at an aesthetic practice. The event was sponsored by Allergan and primarily promoted Latisse to their event attendees.
The physician was offering a discount on Latisse to any attendee who purchased that evening or within a few days.
I thought it was interesting that the physician did not promote her other services or products. She sold ~10 units of Latisse at the event and of course, there will be a great opportunity to market additional services to those buyers going forward but I think it would have been a more profitable event had the physician enlisted additional vendors for support and opened up her event to more promotion. She could have promoted laser hair removal (which can be safely performed year-round with CoolGlide Nd:YAG, even on tanned patients), non-invasive skin rejuvation (Laser Genesis, again, safe on all skin types, year-round), Titan, fillers and BOTOX.
Open houses and customer events are a great way to have current customers (patients) bring friends and family, enjoy some wine and hors d'oeuvres while learning about new products and services and enjoying special attention (receiving goodie bags, being offered special discounts for packages paid for that evening or within 48 hours, referral $ or points if their friends/family buy product or sign up for packages).
Customer events are great marketing tools - just be sure to leverage the event for all it is worth!
We used a Multimedia News Release (MNR) for the first time to promote the Pearl Fractional laser for "Eye-Juvenation" -- results and coverage have been impressive.
Rather than just releasing a press release, our MNR included:
Press release
Video footage (interview with Brian Biesman, MD and treatment footage)
When you prepare media documents to promote your services or a new treatment such as Pearl Fractional for skin resurfacing and dramatic skin rejuvenation, gather up other supporting documents, videos and images to expand your story and make it both dynamic and content-rich. Your efforts will pay off in the long-term!
Do you have a diverse patient population with all or most skin types and many different ethnicities?
Are you able to offer aesthetic treatments to all of these patients?
Do they know you have aesthetic products and treatments for THEM?
In other words - are you doing a good job letting your patients know exactly what you can offer them, and which services are safe and effective for their individual needs? Do you use marketing materials that feature models of different age groups? Different ethnicities? Both male and female models if your clientele is both male and female?
Cutera recognizes this need exists. We offer a way to create customized patient brochures to help our customers reach out to their entire practice. Customers visit CuteraPatientTools.com, choose the application, then select a brochure cover model(s) who best suits the patient group they are targeting. They can customize the back panel of the brochure with their practice information as well.
For example, if you want to offer customized laser hair removal patient brochures, you can choose from photos of men and women of all ages, from skin types I -VI. A specific example -- create and print a vein treatment brochure that features a woman of Mediterranean heritage or show an older couple who are contemplating fractional skin resurfacing such as Pearl Fractional.
Think about your patient base, what you can do for them and ensure they know it.
Laser based technology in advanced skin care may cause photosensitivity reactions. In a small number of people photosensitivity reactions have been reported after Laser Genesis treatments. If this should occur, please have the patient refrain from using their skin products 24 hours before and after the Laser Genesis treatment.
Alpha hydroxy acids also cause increased sensitivity to the sun.
The American Society of Plastic Surgery (ASPS) released statistics today, indicating "ethnic cosmetic procedures increased 11 percent in 2008, with more than 3 million performed, while procedures among Caucasians dropped 2 percent. Cosmetic procedures among Hispanics, the largest and fastest growing ethnic group in the U.S., experienced the greatest growth; up 18 percent."
That is great news for any practice offering aesthetic procedures with a diverse patient population.
"We're seeing a rise in Hispanics opting for cosmetic procedures that coincides with the growth we're seeing in the nation's population," said ASPS President John Canady, MD. "Less social stigma, as well as, advances in procedures allow patients to maintain their ethnic look. While the majority of patients continue to be Caucasian, the profile of the typical patient is changing."
Tripti Burt, MD, is shown here treating her hispanic patient with fillers and Cutera's Laser Genesis to improve her skin's tone and texture.
Things to ponder: What are you doing to reach out to your diverse patient base? What aesthetic laser (and other) procedures can you perform safely on these patients? Do they know these options are available to them?
Any signs of acne should be treated as soon as possible. The longer acne is left to progress without treatment, the higher the possibility of scarring. Acne treatment primarily depends on the type of acne and its severity. Your dermatologist can best prescribe the appropriate treatment for your acne but it pays for you to be knowledgeable about this skin condition. Here are some of the common procedures in treating acne.
Infrared technology of aesthetic laser systems can be used to treat textural issues from acne. However, it is very important to control the breakouts prior to starting any treatment. Laser Genesis is effective to help decrease the redness and improve textural issues of mild acne scars.
“I’m not looking for the fountain of youth,” said Jeannie Wright, 60, of Memphis. “I don’t want magic, but just to look the best I can at my age.”
Wright tried Pearl, one of the city’s newest technologies to treat multiple brown spots on her face. Pearl uses a controlled thermal effect to vaporize part of the epidermis. It treats sun damage, hyperpigmentation, uneven textures and fine wrinkles and stimulates collagen production.
Wallace found the results of his surgery could be enhanced by lasers, so two years ago he joined with Mona Sappenfield in a new medi-spa, Mona Spa & Laser Center-Germantown, where Wright was treated with Pearl.
“Combination is where it’s at,” said Sappenfield. One of her most popular treatments is a laser double-punch: Laser Genesis for pores and redness and to jump-start collagen production, and Titan, which goes deeper into the skin and actually tightens it.
Pearl is a more aggressive treatment and may come as a surprise to laser users accustomed to just a few stings and no down-time. To get Pearl, your skin must be numbed with ointment. You’ll spend the next three days with your face slathered in Vaseline to keep it from hurting, and after that come two or three days of peeling.
It was well worth it for Wright, who saw, to her astonishment, nearly all of her spots literally drop off her face. Improvements have continued.
“My skin has gotten smoother and my pores tighter. … I don’t have a wrinkle on my face,” said Wright.
Women appear to believe cosmetic procedures can give them the edge in an increasingly competitive workplace.
Source: February 11, 2009 Healthy Aging.
Women consider laser based technology, chemical peels and advanced skin care very important part of the "dress of success". Laser Genesis can be used on all ages and skin types to improve tone, texture and poor size. Limelight can treat pigmented lesions anywhere on the body and provide a vascular treatment to the face, neck and chest.
Melasma is often diffifult to treat and usually requires a multimodality skin care treatment plan. The treatment of Melasma may require a combination of laser based technology such as Laser Genesis, chemical peels, sun protection and skin care products over several months in order to diminish the appearance of the pigmented lesions.
Postinflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) is a possible transient side effect of laser based technology, chemical peels, skin rejuvenation or trauma. Sun exposure, genetic predisposition, hormones and inflammation are just a few of the contributing factors in the formation of pigmented lesions in skin types III-VI. Properly identifying clients at risk of developing PIH is key to developing a skincare treatment plan with "prevention" as the primary focus.
Laser based technology has been used in the Laser revision of scars. Laser Genesis is often a part of an advanced skin care treatment plan to induce collagen remodeling during the healing phase of the scar.
Telangiectasia may be treated with Laser based technology. The Nd:YAG 1064nm Laser effectively treats facial veins as well as telangiectasia of the lower extremeties. If varicose veins are present then the patient will require treatment of the varicose veins prior to treatment of the telangiectasia. Laser Genesis is effective in treating diffuse redness that often occurs with telangiectasia. LimeLight may also be used to treat diffuse redness and vessels seen on the face, neck and chest.
A telangiectasis refers to a visibly dilated blood vessel on the skin or mucosal surface. Telangiectases that develop in the absence of any preceding or coexisting cutaneous or systemic disease are considered to be primary or essential. Telangiectases resulting from or in association with a known disease state are classified as secondary.
A skin care treatment plan for the management of Rosacea must first start with assessing the clinical signs and symptoms. Laser based technology is often part of advanced skin care for the managment of Rosacea symtoms of redness. Laser Genesis is very effective at treating the diffuse redness. LimeLight may also be used to treat the diffuse redness but also to provide a vein treatment of facial telangiectasia.
Rosacea is a common condition characterized by symptoms of facial flushing and a spectrum of clinical signs, including erythema, telangiectasia, coarseness of skin, and an inflammatory papulopustular eruption resembling acne. Rosacea
Before the initiation of therapy, the triggering factors that exacerbate the patient's rosacea should be identified and avoided if possible. These factors may be unique to each individual patient.
Author: Agnieszka Kupiec-Banasikowska, MD, Consulting Staff, Division of Dermatology, Georgetown University Medical Center Coauthor(s): Mana Ogholikhan, MD, Staff Physician, Division of Dermatology, Georgetown University Hospital; Ravi Ratnavel, MD, Consulting Staff, Department of Dermatology, Stoke Mandeville, Thames Valley Nuffield, Paddocks Hospitals, UK
Vitiligo is an acquired pigmentary disorder of the skin and mucous membranes, and it is characterized by circumscribed depigmented macules and patches. It is a progressive disorder in which some or all of the melanocytes in the affected skin are selectively destroyed.
Depigmentation most often begins on the fingers, hands, and wrist but soon spreads to the face and feet. Depigmentation is progressive. The individual lesions progress from hypopigmentation to depigmentation. The white skin is more susceptible to sunburn.
It is important to determine if the depigmentation is true vitiligo. Any physical, chemical, or infectious agent that destroys the epidermis will destroy the pigment cells located along the basal layer. If the injury extends deep into the dermis and involves the hair bulbs and the other appendages, the normal reservoir of new pigment cells is destroyed, the skin will probably remain permanently white.
It is important when working with Laser based technology to properly identify the root cause for the loss of pigment. If the loss of pigment is from trauma, chemicals or infectious agents then it may be safe to use Laser based technology for laser hair removal, Laser vein treatment, Limelight for pigmented lesions and Laser Genesis for new collagen production.
Author: Andrew D Montemarano, DO, Consulting Staff, The Skin Cancer Surgery Center
Pathophysiology
The pathophysiology of melasma is uncertain. In many cases, a direct relationship with female hormonal activity appears to be present because it occurs with pregnancy and with the use of oral contraceptive pills. Other factors implicated in the etiopathogenesis of melasma are photosensitizing medications, mild ovarian or thyroid dysfunction, and certain cosmetics.
The most important factor in the development of melasma is exposure to sunlight. Without the strict avoidance of sunlight, potentially successful treatments for melasma are doomed to fail.
Race
Persons of any race can be affected. However, it is much more common in constitutionally darker skin types than in lighter skin types, and it may be more common in light brown skin types, especially Hispanics and Asians, from areas of the world with intense sun exposure.
Treatment with Cutera Laser Based technology may include the use of a Limelight facial in the "C" mode and Laser Genesis to treat the pigmented lesions. The use of Laser Genesis also provides improvement in texture of skin rejuvenation.
Laser based technology may be combined with a chemical peel in an acne skin care treatment plan. Laser Genesis is often used to address both diffuse redness and textural issues of acne.
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