It’s our first blog post! Yay!!! We thought it would be a great idea to be able to speak more casually about some of the treatments and products we offer in order to give you more of a behind-the-scenes view. So, here goes! Today I’d like to talk about the Laser Facial because it’s one of our favorite treatments. To be honest, when I first heard about it, I thought it was just a treatment the laser sales guys pitched in order to make you think your laser could do more than it can. But, I was wrong. After a long while of owning our Nd:Yag laser (which we use for laser hair removal) and finally doing a little research into how this treatment might work, I decided that I should try it out on myself a few times. And, lo and behold, I actually did notice a difference!
Here’s a little bit of the science behind the Laser Facial: The long pulsed Nd:Yag laser doesn’t target melanin as efficiently as some other lasers like the alexandrite or diode and this property allows it to pass through the epidermis (melanin lives in the basal layer of the epidermis) into the dermis where collagen lives. The heat from the laser beam inflicts a wound which in turn stimulates collagen to grow. And collagen is what gives our skin it’s structure and it declines as we age. So, more collagen = more structure & strength, less wrinkles and younger looking skin!
After performing tons of these treatments over the past few years, we’ve learned a few things. First, it takes several sessions before you’ll really start to notice improvements. You may see some improvements a day or two following the treatment (which makes it nice to do a couple of days before a big event) but this is really due to minor swelling that plumps up your skin temporarily. We find it takes around 5 sessions before improvements start to become noticeable. Also, we’ve learned that once you stop the treatments, your skin starts its aging process again 🙁 It’s kind-of like exercising. You need to be consistent with it in order to maintain your results.
There are so many things we love about the laser facial. You’ll notice improvements in skin laxity, fine lines and wrinkles and overall skin texture. You’ll notice that your skin has more “life,” more glow. Improvements are subtle and gradual but because this is a non-ablative laser treatment, there is absolutely no down-time. We love that this treatment is super inexpensive! The combination of an inexpensive treatment with no downtime means that you can do this treatment every month and that means that you’re constantly making your collagen grow and constantly improving your skin!
I can personally compare this with the top-of the-line fractionated CO2 laser resurfacing treatment and the Erbium fractionated laser treatment. Both of these are super expensive, much more painful and have some serious downtime (especially the CO2 – I have pictures to prove it!) And, to be honest, the results were really not significantly better! Because these fractionated laser treatments are so expensive and have significant downtime, you really can’t do them very often. In comparison, the laser facial makes it easy to consistently improve your skin, month after month!
Okay, this post got to be much longer than I had hoped! But, I wanted to mention that we offer a Laser Facial Membership, performed in our Northern VA McLean office where you get a laser facial every month for a full year. And because you sign up for a full year, you get a discounted rate. AND because it’s the New Year and we like to run discounts on our memberships at the beginning of the year, the Laser Facial Membership is even more discounted through the end of January! If you’d like more info, here’s the link. If you’re interested in combating skin aging and improving the appearance of your skin without a big investment or crazy recovery process, this is the treatment for you! We love it and HIGHLY recommend it J
*PRO-TIP: We LOVE adding Is Clinical’s Super Serum to your laser facial regimen since Super Serum includes the growth-factor copper tripeptide. Copper tripeptide tells your fibroblasts (skin cells that produce collagen) to lay down healthy collagen. So, combining these together is an easy way to enhance your results even more!
Wondering if this treatment will work for you? Call or text us! (703)356-3636
