When you hear the phrase; “It so hurts so good!”, what are the first things that come to mind. The fatigue in your muscles after a hard workout, the pressure of your masseuse giving a deep tissue massage. How about a facial? In medical aesthetics, we use advanced technology, products and tools to stimulate your skin’s natural response. Along with enhanced results, there does tend to be a higher instance of discomfort during the treatment, and here is why…..
From Mild to Wild
The principle behind every facial is that you have to create a controlled wound to initiate the skin’s natural ability to repair itself. Even with a simple microdermabrasion when you take off microns of the epidermis at a time, it is still considered a minor wound to stimulate your skin’s cellular turnover.
Don’t just settle with an ordinary microdermabrasion, it can be an exfoliating experience your face has been waiting for. A gel peel will dissolve away at the oils that hold your cells together on the surface to facilitate better exfoliation, and what better way to exfoliate than with the power of a hand held sand blaster. Or when performed before a chemical peel such a Jessner and Retinoic Acid, the peel can penetrate deeper and faster for a greater results. Although your going to feel the burn more it’s well worth it in the end.
The Tingle is How You Know it’s Working
It is a medical fact that heat naturally stimulates your collagen production. While there are so many devices and non-invasive procedures claiming to be able to lift and tighten the skin, the majority of them work on the surface, delivering the heat up to 2mm, and can only heat the tissue to 42ºC before the risk of burning the skin. Luther utilizes micro focused ultrasound waves to bypass the top layer of the skin and deliver energy as deep as 4.5mm, which is the depth surgeons work at for a traditional facelift. Since the top layer of the skin bypassed, Ulthera is able to product thermal coagulation points up to 72ºC (approximately 170º F), which is shown to be the optimal temperature for collagen denaturing.
With temperature this high being delivered at such a deep level, naturally there is some discomfort during the treatment, best described as a hot prickle that is moving along the face. With simple over the counter anti-inflammatories we are able to maintain our patients at a 4 out of 10 on a pain scale. Once again the pain fees and looks so good when a few months later there is a physical lift and tightening of the skin as this is the only FDA-Approved non-invasive treatment to tighten and lift the skin on the face, neck, brow and under the chin.
Learn more about our Ultherapy Treatments
A Little Prick Goes A Long Way
Dermal needling is just what it sounds like, a cartridge of about a dozen very fine, medical grade needles that basically “dry tattoo” your face up to 2mm. Although it sounds scarier that it is, the benefits of this treatment are astounding. To make patients comfortable a topical numbing agent is applied for 40 minutes to reduce discomfort. As the treatment is performed the depth that the needles penetrate are adjustable to treat a multitude of conditions. When the skin endures micro wounds at various depths, your body initiates and inflammation period, activating your organelles that literally filter out toxins from your cells, balance the keratinocytes in the epidermis, and release growth factors for collagen regeneration. At a deeper level, it will also break up scar tissue so new, healthy collagen can be formed.
At T. Douglas Gurley, MD, LLC, do not speialize in fluffing, we specializing in treatments that offer superior results in less visits. Like I always say, “I dont feel as though I have had a good facial if my face isn’t hurting a little afterwards.”
Learn More about our SkinPen Microneedling Treatments
Topher A. Carli, LME CLP
Medical Aesthetician / Cosmetic LAser Practitioner
Meet our in house Medical Aesthetician