Body Toning - like Team GB (almost!)

Skin Deep – August 2012

Welcome to ‘Skin Deep’ – This month’s feature looks at our ‘Body Toning’.

Any questions, just ask Dr. Angie Winnington-Sharp – www.cheshireskinclinic.com angie@cheshireskinclinic.com or 01925 263660 & 07967 481594.  Next month – Sports & Muscular Injuries.

If you haven’t yet been on holiday this year, or you’re ‘stay-cationing’ in the UK and just waiting for the weather to pick up permanently before you brave your shortest shorts and teeniest bikini – now could be a very good time to maximise your body tone. Non-surgical treatments specialised to lift and tone your muscles non-invasively and eradicate cellulite and unsightly stretch marks can be the perfect solution.  It may be unrealistic to think that we’re going to look like Jess Ennis or Ben Ainslie and pass for members of team GB, but you can certainly lose inches off those parts of yourself that really won’t squeeze into your skinny jeans, even when lying on the bed and trying not to breathe. Realistically, a course of treatments are required but you can normally see an improvement after one, so even if it’s just to attend a wedding and feel ‘tip-top’ for the photos…the Olympics may be coming to an end, but your epic trim and toned appearance challenge starts here!

Summer Skin Solutions

Skin Deep – July 2012

Welcome to ‘Skin Deep’ – This month’s feature looks at our ‘Summer Skin Solutions’.

Any questions, just ask Dr. Angie Winnington-Sharp – www.cheshireskinclinic.com angie@cheshireskinclinic.com or 01925 263660 & 07967 481594.  Next month – Body Toning.

Well if there is anything predictable about the weather at the moment, it’s that it is unpredictable! This can cause all kinds of problems with our skin. Have you noticed a few dry, red patches recently or had the odd break-out that you haven’t had for years? The constantly changing conditions affect the hydration of the skin, the oil content, elasticity and worst of all, our previously youthful appearance can start to look older and less healthy in what appears to be 24 hours. So it’s time to take action, target the redness, get rid of the grease and bacteria, and stimulate your bodies’ natural collagen supplies using non-surgical pulsed light to give you a fresh glow. Then, the next time you are out in your new summer dress and stilettos, sipping something sparkly, or warming up with a large latte in your designer wellies in the mud, you’ll still manage to look great and really stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons, whatever the weather.

Successful Treatments for Acne & Acne Scarring

Acne (Vulgaris) is a chronic, but common, inflammatory condition of the pilosebaceous duct.  The over production of sebum clogs the follicles causing infection, the blockage traps oil in the follicle where the bacteria (Propiobacterium Acnes) will thrive on the anaerobic conditions.

Acne affects the areas of skin with the largest population of sebaceous follicles; which include the face, shoulders chest and back. 

Acne is the actually the most common skin disorder, and whilst it usually appears in adolescence, adults can get it too.  The four basic mechanisms contributing to acne are hormones, increased sebum production, changes inside hair follicles, and bacteria.  When the body's immune system tries to destroy the bacteria, inflammation results.

About 70% of infected people go into spontaneous remission after 4 to 5 years but about 30% continue into adult life.  However, acne scarring can occur throughout this time.

Acne can be treated using laser and pulsed light, which help to destroy the bacteria, reduce redness and scarring and initiate skin healing response.  This treatment is highly effective, even on individuals who have had limited/no response to oral antibiotics, topical creams, micro-dermabrasion, chemical peels and laser resurfacing.

Exposure to yellow light has been clinically proven to result in an improvement of active acne.  Light treatments directed against acne are comparable to the effects of oral antibiotics, but offer a faster solution and fewer long term side effects!  By targeting the chromophores (a light absorbing part of the bacteria), and sparing injury to the epidermis, light based treatments are more promising in terms of being capable of inducing longer term remissions as well as reducing the scarring caused by acne, even if the scars have been present for many years.

 It has been long proven that acne can improve in condition on exposure to sun light alone (partly due to the drying out of the skin), but we also know that short wavelengths of light (yellow – blue) have strong anti-bacterial properties, and longer wavelengths of light (orange – red) have noted anti-inflammatory properties.  A combination of these wavelengths can have an even better effect than a single wavelength of light alone.

Light based therapy has proven to be a safe and effective model for the treatment of mild to severely inflamed acne by providing oxygen into the skin, the application eliminates any bacteria – results = Great skin!

Cheshire Skin Clinic Editorial

Light - based Hair removal From the Cheshire Skin Clinic

Using VPL Technology

Imagine not having to shave again, or to schedule waxing before holidays and important nights out! Energist UltraPlus (VPL™) Variable Pulsed Light system has become the industry standard for effective, long-term hair removal. VPL technology uses short, safe controlled pulses of filtered light to remove unwanted hair quickly and effectively, by affecting the ability of the hair follicle to regenerate, leaving your skin feeling silky smooth. The flexibility of the UltraPlus VPL to safely treat darker skin types has made it a leader in its field. VPL also treats a range of other including wrinkles and fine lines, age & sun spots, thread veins, rosacea, as well as acne management. Ask your beauty therapist at The Cheshire Skin Clinic for more information about VPL treatments.

How does Energist UltraPlus VPL technology work?

VPL^TM  technology is a revolutionary new technique for hair removal and all aspects of skin rejuvenation. Using short pulses of light energy, which can be varied in number, length and frequency, for example- (2-15 pulses 3, 5, & 7 ms on time and 1-20ms off time, this allows the user to have access to a total of 840 different pulse options therefore making the Energist UltaPlus a very competitive versatile system, this complex technology has been made simple with its windows touch screen software which includes user friendly illustrations when using our systems.

The VPL^TM systems emit light across a range of wavelengths, allowing a greater range of more gentle treatments to be performed on virtually all hair and skin types.

The safe and effective VPL^TM technology helps to remove and improve the effects that age, hormonal activity, and over- exposure to the sun can have on the skin using short, safe controlled pulses of filtered light to help improve texture and tone, VPL^TM leaves skin clearer and smoother.

Treating a wide range of conditions from unwanted hair, to active acne, thread veins, fine lines and wrinkles, age and sun spots and rosacea, VPL^TM technology is the way forward for beauty salons and clinics.

Generally IPL technology can be used anywhere on the body, but caution must be taken when treating near mucus membrane areas such as; the mouth (lips) eye sockets, and genital areas.

The Science

•          The Energist VPL delivers a series of very rapid, short pulses of light energy to the skin

•          Aim - to effectively heat the hair follicle/vessel whilst keeping the surrounding skin cool

•          Result - the hair follicle is disabled through the absorption of particular wavelengths of light 

•          The client only feels a momentary mild heating sensation

Hair Removal for Summer (Men & Women)

Skin Deep – April 2012

Welcome to ‘Skin Deep’ – This month’s feature looks at our ‘Hair Removal for Summer’.

Any questions, just ask Dr. Angie Winnington-Sharp – www.cheshireskinclinic.com angie@cheshireskinclinic.com or 01925 263660 & 07967 481594.  Next month – Combating Ageing.

Although the weather is still ‘changeable’ at best during spring, it is definitely the ideal time of year to start laser hair removal. We’re no longer in the deepest, darkest winter months, our wardrobes are changing and summer is (hopefully) not too far away. Alternatively, if you are planning a summer break somewhere exotic, now is the time to begin your course of hair removal. This is because any tan that you gain whilst away will delay further laser treatments on your return as the pigment in the tan is different to your normal skin tone, and can be detrimental to your normal treatment settings.

Providing you find a clinic that has the appropriate type of laser-based device a wide variety of hair colours and skin types can be treated, along with sufferers of PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) or people with other hormonal imbalances. Hair removal is also becoming increasingly popular amongst male clients and sports enthusiasts as well as the more established female client base.

So, use this period of variable weather to your advantage, the sun has temporarily deserted us, so a few weeks of cooler weather are an ideal prompt to start work on a fabulous bikini line, unwanted facial hair, underarms, legs, backs, shoulders and brows to name just a few. Whether you are looking for a great hair-free appearance or maximising your aerodynamics for speed and performance, laser hair removal could be the answer for you and your inner confidence!

Feature Article - Acne Treatments

Skin Deep – March 2012

Welcome to ‘Skin Deep’ – This month’s feature looks at our ‘New Look Feature Article - Acne’.

Any questions, just ask Dr. Angie Winnington-Sharp – www.cheshireskinclinic.com angie@cheshireskinclinic.com or 01925 263660 & 07967 481594.  Next month– Hair Removal for Summer.

Acne can be a distressing and long-term condition for many people and taking strong prescription drugs to counter it is not suitable for all, plus if the medication is stopped, the condition can reappear as before, or be even worse. Acne can affect any age group and long term effects on the physical appearance of the skin i.e. scarring and redness, as well as affecting an individuals confidence and behaviour. This combination can be detrimental to just leading a ‘normal life’. Many will use excess make-up, clothing and products to cover the condition and may also feel limited in social activities such as swimming, sun bathing or in the way they dress.

There are a number of non-invasive methods of treatment that can prove to be extremely effective for managing, reducing and removing acne and any associated scars. The most effective of these include pulsed light treatment of various wavelengths, chemical peels (of varying strengths), dermal rollers and home-use salicylic acid products. Any of these can be used in isolation or combination depending on the individual’s acne i.e. the extent of it, the area of the body it covers and the age and tolerance levels of the client.

To get the best possible treatment it is advisable to book a consultation with a specialist skin clinic, discuss your goals from the treatment and what you would like to achieve and then ask what treatment path best suits you. Acne is not something that needs to rule your life, it is possible to look and feel better.

Seasonal Feature Article - Rosacea

Skin Deep – February 2012

Welcome to ‘Skin Deep’ – This month’s feature looks at our ‘New Look Feature Article - Rosacea’.

Any questions, just ask Dr. Angie Winnington-Sharp – www.cheshireskinclinic.com angie@cheshireskinclinic.com or 01925 263660 & 07967 481594.  Next month’s feature - Acne.

Many people suffer with a condition called rosacea which presents itself typically in people during their 30s and 40s and tends to be more noticeable during the colder months of the year. It is marked by redness (erythema) of the face, flushing of the skin, and sometimes the presence of hard pimples and small visible spider-like veins called telangiectasias. In later stages of the disease, the face may swell and the nose may take on a bulb-like appearance called rhinophyma. The severity of the condition can be reduced by the application of a range of medical applications but is frequently successfully treated and ‘managed’ by a course of pulsed light treatments which reduce the redness and also assist in making the skin feel less itchy and much smoother.

The treatment itself is non-invasive and takes around 2-5 minutes to treat the face. Applications for home-use that assist in prolonging the effects of the light treatment are advised post-treatment in addition to regular hydration, such as regular fluid intake. The latter is particularly useful when changing environments such as coming indoors into a room with central heating on directly after being exposed to cooler conditions.

For many sufferers the use of steroids or excessive cover-up make-up is not desirable, so this treatment provides an excellent route to tackling the condition and giving the individual a confidence boost that is both affordable and lifestyle friendly.