The Right 'botox' for you

The number one cosmetic treatment: getting Botox, has even more choices for those looking to refresh and rejuvenate their look. Knowing what treatment to get, and now which product to get, has gotten more complex. At last count there were over 140 different indications for the use of Botox in medical and aesthetic treatments.  Some of the most common reasons to get these treatments are to resolve a permanent brow scowl, to renew the tired appearance of eyes,  to alleviate the deep forehead furrows. The furrows we all devlop are influcend by the weakening elasticity of the face, our genetics, and our expressions.  Botox itself was the first cosmetic neurotoxin approved. If you want to put a correct generic term to the treatment it is called BoNT-A, and all the current brand products are under this category of medication. The current BoNT-A products include Botox, Dysport and now Xeomin. Depending upon your treatment goals and you and an experienced injector can decide which treatment is right for you.The clinical effects of the boulinum toxin (BoNT-A) are related to the dose, the placement, and the product but are transient, and usually diminish over several months and resolves because of natural regeneration of the nerve terminals in the muscle treated. The three products come from the same source, but they do have some differences. For some areas, and for some patients, you can have successful treatment with either Botox, Dysport or Xeomin, and getting treatments based on price may be a reasonable strategy. But for most, you should get a consultation, the product and the desired affect should be done after planning. The products do have different proteins associated with them, and this will affect how each of us reacts to the treatment and may also affect how long the treatment effects last as the proteins even affect how much spread the product will have after placement. Even experts will disagree on how to switch patients from one product to the other, so we will likely be hearing much more about this as time goes on. At Hada Cosmetic Medicine the most common 'botox' used is still Botox itself, but as Dysport is relatively newer, and Xenomen is extremely new, it is probably too early to say which product will ultimately be the most popular with injectors and clients. 

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Home vs Office? Do It Yourself Or Get a Professional?

DYI is absolutely fun, and lots of projects do go better with the DYI. But for the best skin results, and the best time efficiency, intense pulse light...IPL...treatments and laser resurfacing procedures with your physician's office is preferable to home therapy with the small home devices they are selling. The reasons are basically straight forward. The lasers are more specifically tailored to your skin type and treatment goals. The office lasers are more powerful, and have undergone years of scientific development to optimize the effectiveness.And what is best is to see your treatment specialist so that your aesthetician can continually evaluate your skin and your results with you.

Your Skin's Universal Need: Anti-oxidant

When it comes to health and nutrition there are certain universal needs! We all need oxygen for our lungs, water for our kidneys and other organs, and a few other nutrients. When skin ages the skin thins due to less collagen, the components of the skin like the glands and elastin that makes it supple break down due to actual damage of those organs. The destruction of the skin from within is mostly from what we get due to metabolism and exposure to sun which are called free radicals. To prevent the formation of the free radicals, to help heal the damage that they cause we recommend topical antioxidants. We can take in antioxidants in our diet, but not in quantities sufficient to help repair skin damage. When patients ask me what is the ideal antioxidant to begin with the resounding answer has always been Vitamin C. I also recommend a product you do not react to, and a product that is specially formulated to be effective, so there are some excellent choices. Vitamin C actually is made in many forms, and when formulated in combination with other antioxidant agents it is a more powerful skin tool. Research shows that specific combinations of antioxidants, when effectively formulated and medically tested, perform synergistically to provide superior results to single antioxidant formulations. Skin Ceuticals C E Ferulic and Phloretin C F protect against free radical damage, while stimulating collagen to help diminish signs of premature aging. Phloretin C F divides and conquers the range of reactive oxygen species throughout the skin.  Phloretin also accelerates cell turnover for a more radiant appearance making it a great choice for more oily or problematic skin types. C E Ferulic also replenishes essential skin lipids to enhance the skin's barrier function making it a great choice for more normal to dry skin types. Revaleskin’s products have taken protection against free radicals even farther with its ORGANICEUTICAL^® anti-aging skin care products exclusively formulated with the powerful, natural super-antioxidant ingredient CoffeeBerry Extract. Derived from the outerlayer which is the fruit of the coffee plant (Coffea arabica), CoffeeBerry Extract has one of the highest antioxidant scores ever recorded and can now help your skin look smoother and younger. CoffeeBerry. Extract  is exceptionally rich in polyphenol antioxidants, such as chlorogenic acid, condensed proanthocyanidins, quinic acid, and ferulic acid. Within the first two weeks skin is visibly improved and the skin is calmed as well. If you would like a anti-aging product that has teamed with growth hormones to promote skin regeneration and beneficial peptides that enhance building the components of your skin then consider getting your free radical protection from TNS Essential Serum®, it also has ingredients that immediately plump the skin and alpha arbutin to brighten the skin. The growth factor components do take longer treatment sequences to experience the full effectiveness. For clients who would like to try alternative anti-oxidants we also have products with green tea, blueberry and other botanical extracts that are very effective as well.

Fight Unwanted Hair with Hormone Balance

There are actually medical reasons that your hormones are off balance and begin to cause unsightly hair to grow where you never had it before. Women with irregular periods, the condition called polycystic ovaries, those with genetic traits that predispose them to these conditions and a variety of less common causes can be diagnosed by your gynecologist. About 50% of women with polycystic ovaries (PCOS) will have some degree of glucose metabolism problems, actually a pre-diabetic state. Controlling those hormones can help balance hormones for more benefit when treating unwanted hair. For those wanting to read about a variety of hormone issues go to GynoGab. If your gyneocologist wants you to have medical therapies we often do use the oral contraceptive, and picking the right one or adjusting the kind of hormone can be beneficial to some women. There are also a number of other medications such as spironalactone, eflornithine in a cream, flutamide and finsteride that have been used and may be covered by your insurance plans. Not all hair will be successfully removed by medical treatment. It takes bout 6-112 months for full effectiveness and may still require advanced treatments for long term successful hair reduction. We suggest that patients come in for a consultation, talking to someone knowledgeable about both skin and unwanted hair can be the first step towards success!

Starry Eyes or Sleep Deprived?

Are your undereye areas shiny and the whites of your eyes a bit pink or red? Did you get smoke exposed, or sun burned eyes or just too much glare from being in the front row of the concert last night? Bright eyes are one of the first things that signal overall health and wellness when you are making an impression, and you cannot have bright healthy eyes if you are sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation will make the undereye turn more hollow and bluish, and even dehydrate the tear ducts so they cannot give your eyes proper moisture. Lack of moisture makes us rub our eyes and the extra rubbing inevitably leads to increased bacteria exposure which can account for minor inflammations. Your skin can't glow, you can't concentrate your best, and now it seems you can't even loose weight if you let those triple threats of sleep loss, depression, and stress continue to pile up. And we tend to show it in our eyes first! So be good to your eyes, get proper sleep and nutrition, and proper sun protection for the sensitive eye area. My favorite eye protection is by Colorescience, come in to Hada Cosmetic Medicine and see how truly great it is!

Allergic To Your Makeup?

Allergic reactions come in various degrees and forms! Women who wear makeup regularly are more likely to develop allergies than the occassional user in part because the continued exposure to the allergens in the products. The traditional makeups soak into one's skin, and proper cleaning needs to be quite thorough to really get it off each night. The mineral make up users have a bit of a advantage as it's not so likely that the makeup will really soak in, the minerals stay above the skin and are thus less likely to trigger the factors that physiologically will comprise an allergic reaction. It is not uncommon to have an unwanted reaction after wearing makeup in terms of irritation. In part the fact that you may have used a brush with residual chemicals, or applied roughly, or were also in a social situation that caused flushing or sweating. Even if it is a make up that you have worn before, minor irritations are not uncommon with traditional makeup. True allergic reactions have to do with a histamine response, and in some cases may just be a more dramatic reaction than the 'minor irritation' type reaction. Certainally you shouldn't be getting hives, or physical itchiness, or bumps. It is important to figure out if the allergic reaction is due to what is in the make up or if it is something different. Hidden substances in your makeup products that may cause allergic reactions are metals, fragrances, talcs, dyes, powders that aren't talc, or preservatives are most likely to cause allergies which is why the purest mineral makeup lines avoid these contaminants.

The Fastest Increasing Cancer

Melanoma in increasing with new cases found more rapidly than any other cancer. The rates have actually doubled in the years between 1973 and 1993, and now in these next two decades we can expect the trend to continue. For women, most are found during the youthful so called 'reproductive years' which correspond with sun exposure. the factors leading to malignant melanomas include our immune system and genetic factors as well as ultraviolet radiation exposure. Early diagnosis is important as the only curative treatment is excision. If the excision is in a sensitive or critical area then the amount of tissue removed is best if can be minimized. Eraly diagnosis helps to be able to treat the melanoma before it enlarges. We recommend noting any lesions of your skin that are new, that are changing, or that are bothersome and getting them checked regularly.

Not in the Pink? Think of Zinc!

  If your skin doesn't have that healthy pink glow, could it be that you are lacking zinc? Zinc is potent micronutrient that we need for general as well as gyno health. Health effects on the fetus of being deficient in zinc has been known for over 50 years and some famous studies of dwarfism in Iran had been traced to zinc deficiencies. It is a trace mineral, also called trace elements, widely available in meat and plant sources. Because the zinc is harder for us to chemically extract from vegetarian food sources so there is lower bioavailability in plant sources. In otherwords, having lower bioavaibility means, its there in your food, but you just can't extract it. Vegetarians and vegans are urged to get approximately 50% more zinc than those who do eat meat. In fact your zinc blood levels will vary depending upon how much meat you do eat. Fish sources have zinc too, and oysters are among the best way to get zinc into your diet.

Zinc is necessary for the function of dozens of our body's metabolic enzyme systems; it is important for our immune system, the repair of DNA and for wound healing. Over 70 enzyme systems need zinc for proper function. It is linked to skin disease, poor sense of smell, inability to taste as well, infertility, and poor resistance to infection. It may be a cause of hair growth cycle disturbances. For those getting cosmetic treatments getting the right amount of zinc in your diet will help you heal more quickly and help enhance the way your products are working for your skin’s protection. Sun screens and cosmetics with zinc can help your skin be less irritated and less dry or flaky. If you have had diarrhea your skin can be listless for a variety of reasons: low fluid levels, too little magnesium and potassium in your system due to the loss during diarrhea, but low zinc can be responsible for the symptoms of being pale as well.

Remember there are hidden ways doing things you think of as beneficial for your health, that actually can be detrimental. Since zinc is absorbed in the small intestine too much fiber can oddly bind up your zinc and you can suddenly have a zinc deficiency you did not have before. For instance too much zinc can be both toxic and compromise the amount of copper, another trace mineral, in your body. Too much iron can also affect how we absorb zinc from our intestinal track.  Discussing these issues with your gyno, boils down to a basic diet analysis. There is no approved blood level tests for zinc, and hair analysis is inconsistent, so you just have to rely on the content of our diet to get enough zinc in!

Dark Circles Under the Eyes

Dark circles might just be temporary from a poor night sleep, but those with the deepest dark circles know it's not a quick fix in them. But there's no reason to dispair! First fix would be to get a cover-up mineral make up that has anti-oxidant treatment power as well as making you look and feel good. One recommended at Hada Cosmetic Medicine is Colorescience, and you can check their Facebook Store if you can't run right in downtown and get color matched. The next fix is sun screen. If you have your coverup on, it's sun screen as well, but double protection, and ideally every 2 hour application! The next fix is a quick trip to your physician. Several nutritional deficiencies can lead to dark skin pigmentation, and if your undereye area is one of your problem areas it will show this the worst! For instance, poor Vitamin D levels will manifest as dark pigmentation, and this can be simply corrected with the approprate supplements and medical monitoring. Lighteners do work, some are more chemically based, others just have botanical lighteners such as the Revale, or Skin Sceuticals pigment correctors which are safer and we recommend as your first line! Intense Pulsed light as well as laser treatment can treat pigmentation of various depths. To minimize the accentuation of the pigmentation appropriate use of fillers and botox can help, but in and of themselves won't likely make a dramatic effect on the pigment. The point is, a lot can be done, an there's no reason not to evaluate the options!

What is this Rash?

There are no two snowflakes alike, and sometimes we think there are no two rashes alike! Getting a diagnosis may be as simple as having your doc take a peek, it might take a biopsy if it keeps going. Rashes that last under a few days, they don't need a diagnosis, rashes that accompany fevers need checking right away. It's possibly worth a phone call, it's too soon to just Skype in a photo, the resolution is not that good. But before lasers, peels and deep treatments, do get a diagnosis if the rash is on your face.