Jasmine Laser Facial:
Most people will identity that the biggest cosmetic problems they face are pigmentation, skin tone, wrinkles, texture and pore size as well as hydration. Laser, chemical peels, topical creams, esthetic facial treatments are all sought after by men and women to correct and improve their skin conditions.
Jasmine Laser facial combines traditional ultrasonic multivitamin infusion with our new vascular laser device. Unlike IPL or early laser technology, Jasmine laser facial uses specific laser lights targeting the redness, pigments and collagen of the skin. The vitamin infusion adds to the hydration of the skin and smoothening out of the wrinkles. The result is fresher, brighter and vibrant looking skin. The treatment is gentle, comfortable and involves no downtime at all. You will see the result almost the moment you leave the clinic. Unlike IPL, we have not seen any persistent redness and irritation on the skin, even on the most sensitive skin.
Jasmine laser facial works for all skin types. However, in our experience, it is by far the best rejuvenation treatment for Asian skin in term of safety and efficacy.
Reviva Classic 3-step skin rejuvenation:
This is an “entry level” procedure, yet the result is visible after a few sessions. The procedure improves the barrier function of the skin by enhancing the skin ability to trap water in the dermis. The main ingredient in the procedure, bovine collagen is infused into the skin by proprietary technology. Our powerful medical grade LED light source is effective in improving skin laxity as well as skin tone. It is a good maintenance procedure after chemical peels, lPL and light facial treatment.
We have also have success in using this technology to treat skin pigments, including melasma. The result is in fact very satisfactory.
Growth factor and platelet rich plasma PRP (stem cell stimulation):
Both of these treatments were introduced in our clinic a year ago. These complementary treatments are invaluable in our skin rejuvenation as well as acne scar treatment. Unlike applying acid or chemical on the skin, there is minimal to no chance of unpleasant side effects using growth factors and autologous blood products. Another advantage is this products can safely be used in all skin types.
As opposed to claims of using PRP for filler purpose, I have not found the result is as cost-effective as other filler substances. However, there have been noticeable skin texture improvement after PRP and acne scars also improves after treatment.
Laser acne treatment:
Most acne patients do well with topical and oral medications for their acne. However, there are 5-10% of the patients who suffer from persistent acne and have not responded well or adequately with this approach. We have tried the blue and red light. Although it can be effective in some patients, most people find it difficult to come to have treatment in the clinic 2 to 3 times a week for four weeks. We have used Ppx/Isolaz, IPL/VPL pulsed light, photodynamic therapy, carbon laser peel as well as the Aramis laser for acne treatment.
Recently we have been using laser in combination with low dose Accutane for some very tough acne cases. This approach is safer than IPL-Accutane combination in our experience. It has been a long-held belief that no laser treatment can safely be done on Accutane patient. However, recent studies have refuted this notion. In carefully selected patients and with the right devices, Accutane can greatly enhance laser result. However, we still do not believe ablative procedure should be performed on any patient still on Accutane. Any laser procedure on Accutane patient should only be performed by an experienced physician with years of laser experience. It is definitely not a procedure for novice.
Laser tattoo removal:
Tattoo removal remains a great part our laser practice. There have been a great number of high power lasers come on the market for tattoo removal. The challenge in most cases are not the typical black and dark blue tattoo but rather the multi-color ones. The mixed wavelengths emitted by the Q-Yag 5 laser as well as the q-switched Alexandrite lasers are invaluable in removing these very tough colours. For removal, amateur tattoo takes 2-5 treatments. Professional tattoo might take up to 8-10 treatments.
All high power tattoo removal lasers produce almost the same efficacy in removing black tattoo. Most people, including some laser technicians, have a misconception about laser power. They thought the energy density of a laser (J/cm2) is identical to the power (watts) of the laser beam. When it comes to fragmenting tattoo pigment you need to know about the power, and not so much the energy density. A 3ns (nanosecond) laser pulse cranks up twice the power than a 6ns pulse and almost 7 times than a 20ns pulse, at the same energy density. So you can imagine when someone tells you their machine can give out 1.0 J/cm2 with a 6-10ns pulse, it has just about the same power as a laser with 0.45J/cm2 with a 3ns pulse. There are even machines in the market that have a 20ns pulse. Any machine that uses a laser beam less than 3mm spot to interact with the target is definitely under power. A 20ns laser can only generate a 1-2mm laser spot.
If someone tells you about the laser has the highest power, it is most likely they are telling you the energy density instead.
Acne scar treatment:
The treatment of acne scars continues to evolve with time and technology. Over the years, we have been incorporating different strategies in improving the appearance of acne scars. We have tried subdermal excision (subcision), punched excision, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, TCA cross, non-ablative laser (1064nm and 1540nm), microneedling techniques etc. We have enough experience to predict which type of acne scars will respond better to which treatment methods. Some minimal invasive technology, such as microdermabrasion and non-ablative laser, can only produce subtle and inconsistent result to acne scars. Despite the shortcomings of these minimal invasive procedures, they are often used in combination with other treatment modalities to enhance treatment outcome.
The newest treatment option in our clinic includes the use epidermal growth factor(EGF) as well as platelet rich plasma. These agents can be delivered in the skin by injection, ultrasonic e-stim, or by collagen induction therapy.
The use of fractional non-ablative lasers is also very helpful. The newest fractional laser differs from the some earlier fractional devices by producing better beam profile and a designer multiple-axis scanning laser beam. This eliminates skin overheating and minimizes the pain during treatment. Because of the new beam profile and scanner design, we can now deliver a higher energy but uniform laser beam safely to the skin with no side effect and minimum pain. This translates to less risk of post-laser swelling,redness, pigmentary changes as well as downtime. (based on personal experience and experience of other users)
Melasma treatment:
Melasma probably is one of the final frontiers of laser treatment. Melasma is an organic disease and the treatment is more than a couple of laser treatment sessions.
The treatment of melasma must first involve the use of sunscreen and probably a bleaching creams. We have not found any over-the-counter whitening cream produces any consistent and significant improvement im melasma. Only prescription strength “bleaching” creams are used in our clinic for lightening melasma.
IPL has been promoted for treatment of melasma for a while. Although I have used IPL in the past for this purpose, I do not think IPL is optimal for treating melasma, especially in darker skin types. There tends to be more side effects when using IPL to treat melasma.
Q-switched lasers, if used properly, can be quite effective in treating melasma lesions on the face. Again, a high power device is needed to deliver the light deep into the papillary dermis of the skin. A lower power laser will aggravate the pigments on the skin.
Unlike sunspots and freckles, patients must understand that multiple treatments are needed for the treatment of melasma. In cases when melasma remains resistant to q-switched lasers, combination lasers are used to help to clear the lesions.
Fractional laser can be used to lighten up melasma. However, this is not the first choice in my clinic because the other laser devices can do the job more consistently and with less risk of side effect..
Like tattoo, it is quite often not possible to eradicate melasma completely. However, the good news is most people will respond very favorably to treatment. Side effects are very rare.
Hair Removal:
Laser hair removal is one of the most common cosmetic procedures done world-wide. There are multiple lasers in the market and they can do an adequate job in removing hair. Lasers differ by their different wavelengths and skin cooling mechanism. Generally speaking, longer wavelength is safer for removing hair in darker skin individuals. Shorter wavelength lasers are more effective n treating finer hair but are not a good choice for tanned skin and ethnic skin types. IPL or intense pulsed light is good alternative for darker hair in light skinned people. New pulsed light system can also be used in darker skinned type although it is my belief that laser remains the treatment of choice in these individuals.
Despite earlier enthusiasm regarding certain RF/laser devices, there is no effective laser treatment for treating blond and white hair.
It has been our experience that finer hair is more effective be removed with combination laser and light treatment. Special protocols have been developed in our clinic for finer hair removal.
Leg vein treatment
We have more or less switched over to using sclerosing foam to close or treat larger varicose leg veins. Foam allows us to use less solution volume yet achieve better closure with fewer needle punctures. There is more experience with foam sclerotherapy world-wide. The increase in its use in phlebology and the paucity of report of major side effectts attest its safety and efficacy. Recently, FDA has approved the use of polidocanol for leg vein treatment. It is hopeful that Health Canada will follow suit soon.
Sclerotherapy is much faster than laser vein treatment and certainly much less painful. Veins larger than 2-3mm is best treated with sclerotherapy. In our experience, sclerotherapy is by far a more effective treatment for surface leg veins than any laser. However, laser or EVLT remains a very good alternative to surgery for closing the deeper veins in the legs.
The use of transillumination and polarizing light also allows us to treat the underlying vens more effectively. Laser remains a back-up treatment methods only for treatment of finer thread veins.
