If you have greater concern over lines and loss of elasticity, you may need an extra boost of collagen and skin resurfacing. The Active FX Laser is the latest in technology to deliver amazing results with downtime lasting about seven days. This treatment is a one-time cosmetic laser appointment that will target brown spots, lines and wrinkles, scars, and will help the skin build new collagen over time. The result is tighter skin, smoother and clear of past sun damage.

When unsightly capillaries or small spider veins have made you red in the face, the V-Beam laser can help. This treatment is fast and virtually painless with no anesthetics required. The areas being treated can be tender and red for a couple of days, and some mild bruising can occur. In some cases, spider veins on the legs can be treated with this laser as well.

Unwanted hair, shaving, and waxing can be a thing of the past in approximately six treatments with the use of Light Sheer. Dark and coarse hair is the best candidate for this laser treatment. We recommend the use of a numbing cream for comfort and you are always treated by a physician to ensure the best results and safest procedure.

It is very important that our patients are well informed prior to having any cosmetic treatment. A consultation is not only recommended but required when it comes to treating the skin with a laser. You as the patient should be completely educated, at ease, and excited about your beautiful new skin! Hear what this patient had to say about laser treatments at Torrey Pines Dermatology.

The Total FX laser treatment is a combination of Deep FX and Active FX™. When used together they are capable of offering the full range of fractional resurfacing. Deep FX offers a deeper micro-ablative treatment to target deeper wrinkles and scarring, while Active FX offers a large superficial spot treatment targeting sun damage as well as, tone and texture. With Total FX we are able to achieve maximum results in collagen production and skin resurfacing in one single treatment.

Active FX Laser Treatment

Active FX is a high energy fractional laser that interacts with the skin’s surface causing the upper layer to peel off and regenerate a layer of new, healthy skin. The laser beam uses a fractional pattern technique making the healing process much faster, enabling you to get back to normal activities sooner. This laser targets fine lines, sun damage and improves tone and texture.

Deep FX Laser Treatment

Deep FX uses fractional CO² laser microbeams to precisely target the deep dermal layers of the skin. The deep laser pulses lead to tissue regeneration and new collagen formation throughout the entire treatment area, ultimately resulting in long-term collagen remodeling. Deep FX targets deeper wrinkles and scarring and provides remarkable results with minimal downtime.

How Total FX Works

At our dermatology practice serving greater San Diego, we use the Active FX laser skin resurfacing system to stimulate collagen production in the inner layers of the skin, promoting smoothing and tightening throughout the affected area. The Active FX carbon dioxide laser also removes unhealthy patches of skin, causing production of fresh, new skin, and, because it is more powerful than the Fraxel® laser, the skin requires only a single treatment session of about 30 minutes to achieve optimal results.

What Total FX Treats

Patients can reduce the appearance of wrinkles, sun spots, uneven pigmentation, loose skin, and other symptoms of aging and sun damage when utilizing the Active FX laser skin resurfacing system. Patients will be able to recapture the youthful beauty of smooth, healthy, taut skin.

What to Expect from a Laser Treatment

Active FX patients can expect excellent, long-lasting results that begin to appear during the first week following treatment. The treatment process is brief and patients should expect three to five days of “down-time”, after which they should be able to return to normal daily activities. Most patients will endure minor side effects such as redness, swelling and peeling, typically lasting a week. Smooth, youthful skin and other benefits that result from Active FX laser skin resurfacing can last for several years after recovery.

Contact Our Office

At our La Jolla practice, near Del Mar, our dermatologist team, lead by Dr. Kristen Richards, offers the finest in medical-grade skin care in San Diego. Contact us to book an appointment at our La Jolla, CA office.

What is Active FX?

Laser skin renewal, also known as laser skin resurfacing, is an exciting cosmetic dermatology treatment that allows our patients to achieve smoother, younger skin without relying on chemicals or surgery. At Torrey Pines Dermatology in San Diego, we use the state-of-the-art Active FX fractional laser resurfacing system because it produces better results with fewer side effects and shorter recovery times than other laser platforms.

Active FX is a high energy fractional laser that interacts with the skin’s surface causing the upper layer to peel off and regenerate a layer of new, healthy skin. The laser beam uses a fractional pattern technique making the healing process much faster, enabling you to get back to normal activities sooner. This laser targets fine lines, sun damage and improves tone and texture.

What does Active FX treat?

Patients can reduce the appearance of wrinkles, sun spots, uneven pigmentation, loose skin, and other symptoms of aging and sun damage when utilizing the Active FX laser skin resurfacing system. Patients will be able to recapture the youthful beauty of smooth, healthy, taut skin.

Active FX is our most popular laser because it can treat a variety of conditions. It remodels deep tissue restoring brand new collagen to the skin, which leads to wrinkle reduction and skin tightening. It also does skin surface changes to remove sun damage.

How does it work?

At our dermatology practice serving La Jolla, we use the Active FX laser skin resurfacing system to stimulate collagen production in the inner layers of the skin, promoting smoothing and tightening throughout the affected area. The Active FX carbon dioxide laser also removes unhealthy patches of skin, causing production of fresh, new skin, and, because it is more powerful than the Fraxel laser, the skin requires only a single treatment session of about 30 minutes to achieve optimal results.

What is the difference between Active FX and Fraxel laser?

Active FX covers about 80% of the skin’s surface, while Fraxel treats only about 20% of the skin’s surface at a time. The 80% coverage by Active FX seems to provide a good balance of desired results with amount of down-time.

Because Fraxel works with only 20% of the skin’s surface at a time, patients would need to go in for multiple treatments to get the same effects as 80% coverage. So, although 80% coverage sounds like a lot, it is actually creating more results in less time.

Active FX results also indicate that there is less pain associated with this procedure; most people can drive themselves home after having it. With Fraxel, pain is higher and patients may not be able to drive themselves home.

“I love Active FX because I can get the same result in one treatment than I could with five or six using Fraxel.” – Kristen Richards, M.D.

How long is downtime?

The treatment process is brief and patients should expect three to five days of “downtime”, after which they should be able to return to normal daily activities. Most patients will endure minor side effects such as redness, swelling and peeling, typically lasting a week.

How long until the patient will see results?

Active FX patients can expect excellent, long-lasting results that begin to appear during the first week following treatment. Smooth, youthful skin and other benefits that result from Active FX laser skin resurfacing can last for several years after recovery.

Kristen Richards, M.D. is a highly trained Board-Certified Dermatologist with over a decade of experience in Cosmetic Dermatology.

Contact us to book an appointment at our La Jolla, CA office.

People of all ages should make skin care an essential part of their daily routine, especially here in San Diego where we soak up the sun daily. Taking good care of your skin at an early age can help prevent the unwanted effects of aging later in life. But even taking preventative skin care measures when you’re young, however, doesn’t preclude you from the inevitable effects of aging. As you age, your skin may droop or thin due to the slowing remodeling of skin tightening proteins. Years of sun exposure can also lead to brown spots and pronounced blood vessels.

What is Fraxel? What does it treat?

There are many medical and cosmetic treatment options available for those looking to minimize the visible effects of sun damage and aging. Fraxel is a laser treatment for skin that produces significant results without injections or surgery. This skin rejuvenation procedure helps remove years from your appearance so you regain a more youthful look. Whether you wish to target sun damage, wrinkles, or other signs of age, laser treatments deliver remarkable results, often with fast recovery so you can quickly return to your daily life with renewed skin—and renewed confidence.

Similarities between Fraxel and Active FX

Active FX is a new laser skin treatment technology which offers improvements in skin texture, tone, and firmness in just one treatment. Active FX and Fraxel both employ “fractional” methods, meaning  a fraction of the skin’s surface is treated rather than the entire surface. This allows for faster healing, while reducing collateral skin damage, swelling, and redness.

Differences between Fraxel and Active FX

Fractional lasers differ from other ablative lasers in that they remove the tissue only in small areas, leaving the surrounding areas uninjured. Fractional lasers are typically used to address cosmetic skin problems such as pigmentation problems and scarring.

Active FX covers about 80% of the skin’s surface at a time (compared to the 20% of skin surface Fraxel treats), offering a good balance of desired results with length of down-time. Because Fraxel treats only 20% of the skin’s surface at a time, you will need to go in for multiple treatments to get the same effects as 80% coverage. So by treating 80% of the skin’s surface, Active FX actually creates more results in less time. Active FX usually results in less pain as well; most people can drive themselves home after having it. With Fraxel, pain is higher and patients may not be able to drive themselves home.

“I love Active FX because I can get the same result in one treatment than I could with five or six using Fraxel.” – Kristen Richards, M.D.

How long is downtime with Fraxel and Active? How long do results last with Fraxel and Active?

The range of Fraxel treatments vary in aggressiveness, downtime, and number of procedures needed and results. Fraxel Re:fine, can produce significant results for mild to moderately damaged skin over the course of 3 to 6 treatments.

The treatment process for Active FX is brief and patients should expect three to five days of “downtime”, after which they should be able to return to normal daily activities. Most patients will endure minor side effects such as redness, swelling and peeling, typically lasting a week.

Get Active FX Treatment in La Jolla

Dr. Kristen Richards of Torrey Pines Dermatology in San Diego utilizes the Active FX laser skin   resurfacing system to stimulate collagen production in the inner layers of the skin, promoting smoothing and tightening throughout the affected area. Because it is more powerful than the Fraxel laser, the skin requires only a single treatment session of about 45 minutes to achieve optimal results. Contact us to book an appointment at our La Jolla, CA office.

Active FX is a high energy fractional laser that interacts with the skin’s surface causing the upper layer to peel off and regenerate a layer of new, healthy skin. The laser beam uses a fractional pattern technique making the healing process much faster, enabling you to get back to normal activities sooner. This laser targets fine lines, sun damage and improves tone and texture.

Deep FX uses fractional CO2 laser microbeams to precisely target the deep dermal layers of the skin. The deep laser pulses lead to tissue regeneration and new collagen formation throughout the entire treatment area, ultimately resulting in long-term collagen remodeling. Deep FX targets deeper wrinkles and scarring and provides remarkable results with minimal downtime.

The Total FX laser treatment is a combination of Deep FX and Active FX. When used together they are capable of offering the full range of fractional resurfacing: Deep FX offers a deeper micro-ablative treatment to target deeper wrinkles and scarring, while Active FX offers a large superficial spot treatment targeting sun damage as well as, tone and texture. With Total FX we are able to achieve maximum results in collagen production and skin resurfacing in one single treatment.

Click on photos below to enlarge

IPL (PhotoFacial)

An IPL®, or intense pulsed light, Photofacial is a milder alternative to other skin renewal options, such as the Fraxel® system. Utilizing intense pulses of light, the IPL® photofacial treats areas of red, blotchy skin, can help patients achieve a smoother, more attractive complexion. IPL® Photofacials can even treat wrinkles and fine lines caused by sun damage or aging.

Click here to view video about IPL® Photofacials.

Click on photos below to enlarge

Laser Hair Removal

We perform laser hair removal treatments to reduce the appearance of excessive or unwanted hair on most areas of the face and body. Laser hair removal offers our patients the chance to achieve dramatically reduced hair growth that lasts, often eliminating the need for shaving, waxing, and other temporary hair removal techniques.

Laser hair removal is a relatively quick and non-invasive procedure. For the best results, it is important to shave the area being treated a few days before the visit. Your skin care expert at our La Jolla clinic near Del Mar will apply an anesthetic cream before beginning the laser hair removal treatment to ensure that there is no discomfort.

During the laser hair removal procedure, your skin care professional will use a handheld device to focus laser energy on hair follicles in the area being treated. A series of these treatments is often required to remove the hair as thoroughly as possible, because hair grows in cycles.

Click here to view video about laser hair removal.

Click on photos below to enlarge

]]> http://www.torreypinesderm.com/blog/dermatology/cosmetic-procedures-totalfx-ipl-laser-hair-removal/feed/ 0 http://www.torreypinesderm.com/blog/dermatology/cosmetic-dermatology-options-in-san-diego/ http://www.torreypinesderm.com/blog/dermatology/cosmetic-dermatology-options-in-san-diego/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 20:00:20 +0000 Tyler http://www.torreypinesderm.com/blog/?p=1661  

Cosmetic dermatology offers powerful, non-surgical skin care treatment. Injectables and fillers, laser skin renewal, and laser hair removal all provide pain-free solutions for skin imperfections. Here are some cosmetic dermatology services we offer at Torrey Pines Dermatology to help manage your skin.

Dermal fillers and other injectable products, including BOTOX® Cosmetic and Restylane®, offer cosmetic dermatology patients a convenient solution to wrinkles, fine lines, scars, sun spots, and a host of other skin imperfections.

Laser skin renewal, also known as laser skin resurfacing, is an exciting cosmetic dermatology treatment that allows our patients to achieve smoother, younger skin without relying on chemicals or surgery. During laser skin renewal, light energy is used to remove damaged and weathered skin. New, healthy skin cells subsequently grow and which generates collagen, resulting in vibrant, glowing skin. The cosmetic dermatology professionals at Torrey Pines Dermatology in the San Diego area use the ActiveFX™ laser system because it offers excellent results with fewer complications than competing laser systems. The ActiveFX™ system employs “fractionated” resurfacing, similar to the Fraxel® system, treating only small portions of the skin at a time, leaving areas that do not need treatment unaffected. We also offer skin renewal treatments using the IPL® photofacial, Vbeam™ laser, and laser tattoo removal.

Our cosmetic dermatology professionals perform laser hair removal treatments to reduce the appearance of excessive or unwanted hair on most areas of the face and body. Laser hair removal offers our patients the chance to achieve dramatically reduced hair growth that lasts, often eliminating the need for shaving, waxing, and other temporary hair removal techniques. For most, laser hair removal is not painful. Some describe the sensation as stinging or tingling. It is generally accepted as being far less painful than electrolysis or waxing.

Our team of board-certified dermatology experts is committed to providing exceptional care with maximum comfort. For example, the Zimmer cooling system was specifically designed for superficial cosmetic, laser and medical procedures. Unlike other methods of cooling such as cryogen spray and use of ice packs during your treatment, the Zimmer cools the skin without interfering with your procedure and is controlled by the patient for total pain management.

Learn more about our cosmetic dermatology services for residents in the San Diego area.

.

We are excited to announce that we have upgraded our Laser Skin Rejuvenation procedure! We are now offering DEEP FX to our patients. The Deep FX laser allows us to treat deeper wrinkles and scarring with minimal downtime. This new laser technology is the perfect addition to our original Active FX laser procedure. By combining the Deep FX with the Active FX we are able to achieve maximum results in collagen production and skin resurfacing in one single treatment.

We are now able to customize every treatment based on each patients needs. We use our Deep FX on deeper wrinkles and scars, while adding our Active FX to treat sun damage and improve the skin’s tome and texture.       Active FX + Deep FX= Total FX

We offer consultations for all of our Cosmetic procedures. Please contact us with any questions or to schedule an appointment to meet with Dr. Kristen Richards.