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In the Quest of Ageing Gracefully: Do Treatments Really Help?
“I’ve had so many compliments, I can’t tell you how worth it it is"
Skin Health Journey
Meet Anna
Anna is a fashion stylist, mummy of 3, and founder of the covetable E.L.V Denim. So far, her skin has been good to her. “I have always been very lucky with the condition of my skin – no breakouts or acne issues growing up,” she told us. “I have sensitive skin and there have been certain things to be aware of but generally I have been blessed with great skin.” Despite having a relatively good relationship with her skin, Anna came to us in search of a fresher, plumper, more resilient complexion; “I’m hitting my mid-forties and I’m concerned about my skin not ‘staying up’,” she said. “I want to make sure that I invest in it to ensure that it ages gracefully.”
“My goal during this treatment is to have ‘buoyant’ skin, which looks glowy, healthy and doesn’t look like it’s on a downward spiral!”
Anna's Treatment Plan
Therapist notes: Skin analysis showed combination skin, slight dehydration, pigmentation in the form of sun damage, increased sebum production on T-zone, comedones. Expression lines due to ageing, deepest one on glabellar area.
Home treatment skincare consisted of different brands, main ingredients being retinol, vitamin C, hyaluronic acid
Plan to address: Improve skin quality, reduce expression lines and wrinkles, reduce sun damage, tighten skin.
Renew You iPixel laser objectives - to stimulate significant collagen and elastin production, resurface the skin to improved texture/ tone
Forever You ClearLift / NIR objectives - to remodel the skin, improving skin density and elasticity for a lifted appearance
Micro-needling objectives - to stimulate circulation and deliver actives into the skin to improve skin health/promote skin renewal
Anna's course was a combination of 2 Forever You treatments with needling add-on at £460 per session PLUS 4 Renew You Full Face treatments at £500 per session over a six month period. The total cost was £2460 purchased on our skin health programmes (buy 5 treatments, receive the 6th free)
The Forever You Treatment
Phase 1
First up, ClearLift laser to boost collagen and reduce fine lines and enlarged pores. Penetrates deep into the dermis to encourage the growth of new collagen and the tightening of the skin.
clearlift
ClearLift laser (Q-Switched Nd:YAG laser) is a non-ablative treatment that creates a controlled dermal response of wound healing, which results in the growth of new collagen as well as tightening of the tissue. Laser light is transformed into acoustic sound waves and it works by creating thousands of microscopic perforations and heating beneath the top layer in the dermis whilst the skin around each of these perforations remains intact. This allows the skin to heal from the edge of these micro-injuries very rapidly, encouraging the production of collagen and breaking down excess pigmentation.
Phase 2
Near Infra-Red technology to instantly lift and tighten the skin. It provides you with a red-carpet glow, helps to boost collagen and improves the skin’s texture and tone.
Near InfraRed
Near InfraRed is an invisible wavelength of light that is used to treat a variety of conditions in light led treatments such as LED or laser. It has powerful anti-inflammatory properties making it fantastic for wound healing. It accelerates cell repair and the release of growth factors and is clinically proven to treat hyperpigmentation by reducing melanin production. When harnessed correctly, it is also able to achieve dermal heating, resulting in the contraction of skin fibres and collagen stimulation for an overall skin tightening effect.
Phase 3
Micro-needling for feeding the skin essential vitamins and deep hydration. We are not heavy-handed here meaning that despite there being some discomfort during the treatment, any redness will fade within 12-24 hours.
needling
The idea behind needling is to create tiny little micro punctures to the skin to allow wonderful aminos and vitamins into the surface (micro) OR create controlled trauma to stimulate collagen and regeneration (medical).
There are many different needling devices that may be used: derma rollers, electric dermapens and derma-stamps. The treatment name and effect can vary depending on the length of needles used. At Pfeffer Sal, we use an advanced medical device called Skin Pen that provides a high-frequency microneedling. It is the only FDA certified devise and can claim zero contamination. Medical skin-needling is an established clinical procedure used as a key treatment for acne scars, open pores, sun damage, facial and décolletage lines and wrinkles. More superficial needling promotes more supple hydrated skin and contributes to a milder skin rejuvenation effect with minimum downtime.
Phase 4
LED light therapy to heal, reduce inflammation and rejuvenate the skin. Having experienced a double cleanse and a lactic acid peel, the treatment concludes with this and your skin should feel lifted straight away.
LED
LED phototherapy technology uses clinically proven wavelengths of light to effectively treat and improve multiple skin conditions and overall skin health.
LED has the ability to revitalise skin cells, stimulate collagen production and improve the energy function of your mitochondria (the powerhouse of skin cells).
What did Anna think?
“Considering it’s quite a strong treatment, I feel rather Zen! My skin feels quite new – there are new beginnings happening and I wouldn’t want to damage that so I’m going to take a taxi home rather than public transport, and I won’t be putting any makeup on or letting my clothes touch my skin as I think that would be detrimental to the treatment.”
The Renew You treatment
After two sessions of Forever You, Anna then began her course of Renew You – Pfeffer Sal’s advanced resurfacing treatment for scarred, lined or rough skin that, we admit, isn’t for the faint hearted. It uses heat as its primary power meaning that there is some downtime involved (7-14 days to be exact) but also some seriously impressive results by the end of the course. You can expect some redness, peeling and tenderness for a few days afterwards – hey, great skin takes work, but the results of this treatment make it totally worth it.
The Treatment
After a cleanse and the application of anaesthetic cream, our powerful (and oh-so-brilliant at resurfacing, reducing lines, fading scars and smoothing skin) IPixel laser is worked around the skin. It stimulates the growth of new tissue, helps the skin to heal quickly and boosts collagen. Hello new, healthy, smooth skin.
IPIXEL
iPixel 2940nm Erbium laser is a fractional ablative treatment for skin resurfacing, face scarring, enlarged pores, rough skin texture, hyperpigmentation, fine lines and wrinkles. This treatment promotes an even skin tone and texture. The Pixel laser creates tiny channels which trigger the body’s natural healing process, stimulating the growth of new tissue. The procedure treats small zones of the skin, leaving the surrounding tissue untouched and intact. These large unaffected areas act as a reservoir for more effective and rapid healing and collagen production. The results: new, healthier, smoother tissue in place of old skin imperfections.
Anna's Verdict
“I was pretty terrified beforehand because I thought it was going to be the most painful thing in the world but it’s not. You just feel a lot of heat afterwards. My skin feels very tight but that’s normal and I’m looking forward to seeing how it feels in a few days. It’s quite relaxing at the beginning and then it’s very quick. My top tip: bring a wide neck t-shirt to wear because you don’t want any fibres touching your skin afterwards.”
3 days later...
After her second round of Renew You, Anna wrote a skin journey...
Saturday
A little less tight, less red, but very dry, swollen. Used a lot of Occlusiderm cream
Sunday
A lot less tight, swollen and flaky having put lots of cream on. Still red patches around the areas which had the 3rd pass
Monday
Not tight or swollen, just red marks (on the 3rd pass area). Smooth skin on sections, dry around the edges
Tuesday
Less red, no swelling, just a few residue marks
Anna's home routine
End of Treatment Review
Therapist notes: Great results - conditions which took years to manifest have been reduced and regenerated over a course of 6 months
Noted overall changes:
-Nasolabial fold lines have been reduced significantly giving a softer outlook overall
-Stimulation of collagen disposition resulting in a more lifted appearance
-Pore size reduced due to increased collagen levels
-Texture and tone improved with targeted home care routine and advanced in-clinic treatments
-Overall softer, plumper and hydrated look and feel to the skin
-Texture and tone improved with targeted home care routine and advanced in-clinic treatments
-Overall softer, plumper and hydrated look and feel to the skin
Phase II: Address laxity in the jawline and neck area and further address evening out of skin tone, improving pigmentation, via a course of Forever You and AFT, 6 sessions 2 weeks apart