How to Get Rid of Stretch Marks

If you're among the women that suffer from stretch marks, you know that the marks can be annoying and tough to overcome.

While a healthy amount of diet and exercise is a surefire way to make you feel great for the big day, sketch marks are natural and there are many factors at play that make stretch marks tough to get rid of.

Stretch marks are indented streaks that often appear on the stomach, hips, butt, breasts, and thighs. They vary in thickness and color, and they are usually pink or reddish-purple to start, fading to silvery-white overtime. The marks are caused by stretching of the skin due to rapid weight gain, pregnancy, fluctuating hormone levels, and sometimes, pure genetics.

While losing weight when stretch marks first arise can help diminish their appearance, consistent aerobic exercise and strength training to replace body fat with muscle won't make them vanish.

Think of stretch marks like scars in the middle layer of your skin. Sounds impossible to get at, right? Not so — if you have a good provider.

Micro-needling could be the answer if you want to get rid of your stretch marks. The procedure "is often used to smooth out acne scars and fine wrinkles on the face, but can also treat stretch marks on the body. It requires less recovery time compared to popular laser treatments. Fraxel or vbeam lasers can combat redness caused by stretch marks, but the results often fall short of expectations and treatments on the body may take longer to heal.

The Micro-needling device is outfitted with super fine needles that penetrate down into the skin's deepest layer (the dermis) to essentially "traumatize" the skin and, as a result, kick-start the production of collagen and elastin through the body's natural healing process.

After numbing the area with topical cream, we begin working the wand over the individual stretch marks. It is usually painless, but can sometimes feel like it is pinching the skin from the inside out.

The skin can become fairly red immediately following the treatment, but the color is expected to fade gradually over the next few days. The skin might also slightly become a bit itchy.

Each spot where the micro needle head treats the skin will probably remain visible for about two weeks, therefore it’s  recommended to plan your treatments at least that far in advance of any event (or any vacation that involves being in a bikini), and also advises three to five treatments total. So if you decide to go for it in preparation for any big day, plan to start at least six months out.

Free consultation booking: 289-695-2500

www.Lilianalaser.ca

Micro-needling VS. Ablative lasers (e.a., Fraxel)

Micro-Needling treatments and Ablative lasers resurfacing can treat similar conditions in the skin, they are not exactly the same procedure. These two technologies show similar results – except that they present very different side effects, costs and downtime.

Both technologies work on the principle of creating micro injury to the skin to trigger the body’s natural wound-healing response.

The difference lies in which kind of injury that is triggered and how this is done. 

Ablative laser treatment: the injury produced is a result of the laser charring the epidermis, causing light-thermal injury. This light-thermal injury results in ablation and coagulation of proteins, which leads to necrosis of the cells (cell death). The process of necrosis is disruptive to the body and leads to increased inflammation. Additionally, in darker skin types, melanocytes which are the cells that produce a pigment called melanin, can be damaged or over excited, releasing too much or too little pigment and causing white or dark patchy discolouration to appear on the skin. For that reason, darker skin types cannot be effectively and safely treated with laser resurfacing.

Micro-needling injury isn’t thermal. It uses microscopic needles to pierce the skin creating micro channels. This procedure works by gently activating the body’s natural skin renewal process, encouraging it to release growth factors from fibroblasts, keratinocytes and monocytes. Because heat is not used, melanocytes are left dormant and thus, this treatment is appropriate for all skin types – and side-effects such as discolouration of the skin often occurring in clients treated with fractional laser treatments, is not of concern with micro-needling.

While both Micro-needling treatments and Ablative Laser resurfacing treatments will result in some redness, this is more prominent with a fractional laser. Micro-needling recovery is about 1 day of possible redness and/or swelling, while laser downtime is on average 4 to 7 days with swelling and redness that may take longer to dissipate as the injury was caused by heat (thermal-injury).

The most well known drawback to fractional laser treatment is that it cannot be performed in certain skin tones, primarily Mediterranean, Hispanic, Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern and African ethnicities, because of the increased risk of burn and concerns with pigmentation.

Other concerns specific to fractional laser resurfacing treatments include:

·       Persistent redness (thermal injury takes longer to heal)

·       Increased pain and discomfort

·       Viral and bacterial infections (including facial herpes)- heat from laser stimulates the virus that causes herpes to become active

·       Post-inflammatory hyper/hypo-pigmentation (darkening and lightening of the skin)

Micro- needling treatments can be performed on all skin tones, as it does not rely on the skin’s interaction with turning light into heat. In addition, post-inflammatory hyper/hypo pigmentation is very rare with proper use of a physical sunblock, following an appropriate post-care treatment guide and using the correct products to decrease healing time to achieve best results.

Overall,  Micro- needling is safer, more effective, less expensive, and less risky treatment to achieve skin rejuvenation. It does not damage the skin but rather leads to thicker, healthier skin. It can effectively treat indented acne scars and surgical scars, improve the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and stretch marks and even diminish redness caused from rosacea. It can dramatically improve the overall health of the skin by increasing collagen and triggering a natural healing response from the skin rather than thinning the epidermis by the use of a laser device that uses heat. There is no doubt Micro-needling is a far more advanced treatment that show visible results much faster with significantly less cost and downtime.

Book free consultation: 289-695-2500

www.Lilianalaser.ca

טיפול יעיל בסימני מתיחה על העור

סימני מתיחה על העור מופיעים אצל נשים רבות ( וגם גברים). סימני מתיחה הם תוצאה של קרע או שבירה בסיבי הקולגן והאלסטין, כאשר העור נמתח מהר יותר ממה שהוא יכול להתמודד. 

סיבי הקולגן והאלסטין מרכיבים את שכבת התמיכה של העור, והם אחראים לגמישותו. שבירתם או קריעתם יוצרים תופעה של מעין "צלקת" הפוכה המופיעה בצד הפנימי של העור אך נראית היטב מעליו. .

סימני המתיחה נגרמים בד"כ לאחר הריונות, דיאטות ואף בשל גדילה של הגוף בגיל ההתבגרות וככל שמקדימים לטפל בהם כן יגדל הסיכוי לקבל תוצאה טובה יותר בהעלמתם.

פרוצדורת המייקרונידלינג מאפשרת לטפל בסימני המתיחה, לשפר את המצב בצורה משמעותית ולעיתים אף להעלימם לחלוטין. בפרוצדורה זו נעשה "שיוף" מכאני של העור באמצעות מחטים דקות במיוחד כאשר החדירה מאפשרת פגיעה מינימאלית בשכבת העור החיצונית הנראית לעין – האפידרמיס - ומקסימום אפקט בשכבות הפנימיות. מטרת הפציעה של התאים הפנימיים היא להאיץ יצירת סיבי קולגן ואלסטין חדשים, שיתפסו את מקומם של הסיבים שנפגעו ויצרו את סימני המתיחה. המכשיר פועל היטב גם על מיצוק העור, דבר המשפר עוד יותר את מראה הסימנים.

לפרטים נוספים ופגישת ייעוץ חינם: 289-695-2500

www.Lilianalaser.ca

The benefits of Micro-needling

Micro-needling (also known as collagen induction therapy) involves using fine needles to create hundreds of tiny, invisible puncture wounds in the top layer of skin. This minimally invasive treatment is very effective. The micro-injuries created stimulates the body’s natural wound healing processes, resulting in cell turnover and increased collagen and elastin production, therefore reversing as well as preventing signs of aging.

One of the main benefits of micro-needling is its ability to stimulate the growth of collagen and elastin, which is the key to new, youthful-looking skin. Because of its ability to trigger the generation of new skin cells, dermatologists have found that a few sessions will noticeably reduce fine lines, crow’s feet, and deep wrinkles on the forehead. It’s able to use the body’s own natural healing mechanisms, so the results are very natural.

In a study on the effects of micro-needling published in the Journal of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery, nearly 100 percent of acne-scarred participants reported a marked improvement in the visibility of their scars. For severe acne scars, a longer needles are used for maximum results. Professional grade micro-needling devices can be as long as 3 mm, which will treat deep acne scars that occur beneath the surface of the skin. How effective is micro-needling compared to fractional laser treatments for reducing acne scars? Research in the journal Dermatologic Surgery in 2016 found both treatments to be comparable and effective but gave credit to micro-needling for being better tolerated, with fewer side effects and less downtime and it is not limited for use on a very certain skin types as the laser is.

Collagen is arguably the best way to improve the look of skin, and this goes beyond reducing wrinkles. Stimulating collagen growth with micro-needling can also reverse sun damage and discoloration, including the hyper-pigmentation that comes with melasma. A study in Brazilian Annals of Dermatology showed micro-needling to be a promising treatment for the blotchy, brownish facial pigmentation that comes with this chronic condition as well as extra pigmentation from sun-damaged skin.

In addition to its ability to smooth and correct damaged skin, micro-needling can also tighten loose skin in older men and women. (Remember: The older you are, the less collagen you’re naturally producing.) A study in the International Journal of Dermatology found that micro-needling is a new way to achieve skin rejuvenation, tightening, and scar remodeling and that it offers a “simple and effective treatment for photo-aged skin with minimal side effects and downtime".

It’s a bit counterintuitive, but micro-needling doesn’t actually enlarge pores as you might think piercing your skin hundreds of times would. Rather, one benefit of the procedure is that it helps pores appear much smaller. Micro-needling stimulates collagen in and around the pores, which causes them to plump and appear shrunken, if not closed.

Did you know that only 4 to 8 percent of that expensive serum you’re using on your face actually penetrates your skin? Another micro-needling benefit is that it improves product absorption. A study in the European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences found that the treatment can help topical medications penetrate skin more efficiently, allowing you to reap greater benefits of any product. This is because of that micro-needling creates thousands of invisible holes in the skin that are ready to absorb products in a way clogged pores can’t. The tiny punctures actually act like little channels, allowing topical products to penetrate better and work more effectively.

Another micro-needling benefit is that this treatment isn’t exclusive to the face. It can be done on any area of skin that needs to be repaired—including areas that display stretch marks or acne scars, like the legs, chest, back, and butt. Four to six sessions could make a difference in these areas.

Approved by Health Canada ( Note: not all systems approved)

Call to book your free consultation: 289-695-2500

www.Lilianalaser.ca