By Dr. Mark Kohout, Cosmetic Surgery Specialist
www.drmarkkohout.com.au
There are a number of treatments that can make your skin look younger and healthier. From at-home exfoliants and concealers to microdermabrasion and complete resurfacing, Cosmetic Surgery Specialist Dr. Mark Kohout explains how to combat dull skin and banish wrinkles.
1. Concealer
The ‘airbrushed’ look can start with something as simple as good skin care. Look for an oil-free concealer such as Rationale Neutraliser Concealer SPF 25. This evens out any pigmentation irregularities without the need for active intervention.
2. Exfoliation
Other ways to improve skin tone and texture at home include facial cleansers and exfoliants, which remove dead, dry looking skin cells. Exfoliation results in smoother, more luscious skin, but be aware that its effects only last several days at the most. Cost: between $9 and $80.
3. Microdermabrasion
One step up from home exfoliants is microdermabrasion, a procedure usually performed by a qualified therapist. This involves the removal of the stratum corneum, or outer layer of skin, by the use of fine, abrasive crystals. These are generally more effective than home treatments, and cost around $80 -$150. However, these treatments again have benefits for a week or two.
4. Photorejuvenation
If your skin has seen a bit of sun and you have a few freckles or dry, skin pigmentation, consider having Photorejuvenation. This Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treatment involves light pulses to your skin that target the pigmentation in your skin. The energy in the light pulses breaks down the pigmentation and your body’s natural mechanisms then disperse the pigment. After about a week, when the pigmented skin has shed, the new, even-toned skin is revealed. Cost: $270-$750 for a course of 4 treatments.
5. Skin Peels
For people who are more concerned about fine lines and uneven skin tone, I usually recommend a skin peel.
Peels come in many different forms and strengths, from very gentle refresher peels that have no downtime and result in a fresher, glowing look, all the way to medical peels for which I recommend a week’s holiday while the outer skin, with all its wrinkles, pigmentation and imperfections, sheds, revealing smoother, plumper skin free of fine lines and blemishes. These very effective peels are usually performed by a doctor or a nurse in our surgery, but the good news is that there is no anaesthetic involved.
6. Fractional Resurfacing
None of the treatments I talked about so far will treat skin scarring or deeper pigmentation, whether it is from acne or injury, or pigmentation from pregnancy or other forms of deeper pigmentation. In these instances, a deeper treatment is needed and this is where fractional resurfacing is the best way to go. This involves activating super-fine energy beams in a grid patterns to treat a fraction of the skin surface. These beams penetrate deep into the skin to treat not only the surface skin cells, but also the deeper dermis, where the origin of deep wrinkles and deep pigmentation is.
Again, this treatment requires a course of 3-6 treatments to have its best effect, but the great thing about these treatments is that they can be adjusted to have either a gentle or more therapeutic effect, depending on how much downtime is acceptable to you. A gentle treatment will only result in slight glowing pinkness with essentially no down time, whereas a fuller treatment will produce a more dramatic wrinkle and pigment reduction while you take a up to a week’s rest off work. A course of 4 will have a rejuvenation effect similar to the old fashioned laser resurfacing, which needed up to 3 weeks off.
Whatever the concerns about facial skin, blemishes and ageing you may have, today’s technology usually has the answer for improved, fresher look.
For more detailed information on any of the above mentioned treatments, please consult Dr. Kohout’s website: www.drmarkkohout.com.au
