About Face:
The Blog of Arthur N. Falk, MD
Monday, June 8, 2009
Laser Skin Tightening
There is a lot of curiosity about laser based skin tightening treatments. Every manufacturer can come up with a couple of good photos, but across the board, both clinicians and patients have be dissatisfied with the inconsistencies. The goal of all of these treatments is to create uniform deep dermal and subdermal heating by selecting the appropriate wavelength (midinfrared spectrum) without injury to the epidermis.
It is difficult to do this consistently with laser and light based therapies. First, the skin has to be cooled and then, the heating element is activated. Titan by Cutera was the first of these devices. This was followed by Palomar IR and deep IR, which now sit on a shelf in my office gathering dust.
I have abandoned light based treatments in favor of radiofrequency skin tightening using a relatively simple device, called Radiage. Radiofrequency energy is naturally concentrated in the deep dermis and superficial subcutaneous layer. It is a relatively straight forward technique to heat the skin in this way which does not require elaborate cooling devices, and most people find comfortable if not pleasant.
I work small areas of the skin at a time, moving on when I see visible endpoints of immediate toning and mild transient redness. While some of the changes are immediate, there delayed effects are even more significant as a result of new collagen stimulation. There are many other more expensive devices on the market such as Thermage, although, in my opinon, they are not any more effective to justify the cost.
It is difficult to do this consistently with laser and light based therapies. First, the skin has to be cooled and then, the heating element is activated. Titan by Cutera was the first of these devices. This was followed by Palomar IR and deep IR, which now sit on a shelf in my office gathering dust.
I have abandoned light based treatments in favor of radiofrequency skin tightening using a relatively simple device, called Radiage. Radiofrequency energy is naturally concentrated in the deep dermis and superficial subcutaneous layer. It is a relatively straight forward technique to heat the skin in this way which does not require elaborate cooling devices, and most people find comfortable if not pleasant.
I work small areas of the skin at a time, moving on when I see visible endpoints of immediate toning and mild transient redness. While some of the changes are immediate, there delayed effects are even more significant as a result of new collagen stimulation. There are many other more expensive devices on the market such as Thermage, although, in my opinon, they are not any more effective to justify the cost.
Labels: laser skin tightening albany saratoga springs kingston, schenedtady, troy NY
posted by
Dr. Arthur Falk
at
6:23 PM
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