*Christmas Top 5 Treatments for Looking Great*

Skin Deep – December 2012

Welcome to ‘Skin Deep’ – This month’s feature looks at our ‘Christmas Top 5’.  

(Any questions, just ask Dr. Angie Winnington-Sharp – www.cheshireskinclinic.com angie@cheshireskinclinic.com or 01925 263660 & 07967 481594.  Next month – ‘New Year – New You’.

People often book into a beauty salon or skin clinic at this time of year as they feel that their skin needs a bit of (speedy) TLC and want to look their best for the imminent festive party season.  The most frequently asked question I get asked from new clients is ‘what are the most popular treatments you do, and which would suit me?’ Here is a quick run-down of the top 5 non-invasive (laser, pulsed light, radio-frequency, peels etc) treatments from this year:

*5* - Chemical peels; mild peels require no downtime and leave the skin looking fresh and rejuvenated.

*4* - Body Sculpting; great for reducing the appearance of cellulite, stretch marks and toning up for a ‘hot bod’.

*3* - Hair Removal; never out of the top five treatments, unwanted hairs on the face and body ‘zapped away’.

*2* - Non-Surgical Face Lifts; fast becoming a firm favourite (with men and women) to get rid of tired eyes, sagging jowls & ageing necks.

*1* - Skin Rejuvenation; a rounded treatment to target unwanted thread veins/pigment and to stimulate collagen.

'Tiz the season to be 'hair free'.....

Skin Deep – November 2012

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

Any questions, just ask Dr. Angie Winnington-Sharp – www.cheshireskinclinic.com angie@cheshireskinclinic.com or 01925 263660 & 07967 481594.  Next month – ‘Christmas Top 10’.

The temperature is definitely dropping so keeping warm is a priority at this time of year, but lets face it, growing excess hair isn’t really the ideal way to do it! Rather than go for the Neanderthal look, maybe it would be advisable to look fabulous in faux fur and get ready for a season of glitzy parties by having silky smooth skin and eradicating any ‘unwanted strays’ for good. This time of year is great for maximising the efficiency of laser hair removal as our natural tans have well and truly disappeared. So, before you rush out for a pre-party spray tan, get rid of any excess hair first with a laser removal course (using an optimal hair removal energy, meaning fewer treatments will be required in the long term). Then, when you’re fully groomed and pampered you can opt for a hint of a glow if that floats your boat, or just flaunt your skin’s natural tones for a more ‘en trend’ look.

Pigmentation and Age Spots - Vanish!

Skin Deep – October 2012

Welcome to ‘Skin Deep’ – This month’s feature looks at our ‘Pigmentation and Age Spots’.

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

Now that the sun seems to have deserted us (not that it made much of an appearance this year) it’s a great time to get rid of any blemishes, excess pigment, melasma and age spots. Depending on the individual this can be done with a chemical peel and/or light based treatment such as laser or intense pulsed light (IPL). Any discolouration from our natural skin tone can be unsightly and embarrassing, but we don’t need to put up with it.  Simple, non-invasive technology can quickly make them fade and eventually remove them completely.  If you are prone to changes in pigmentation the treatments do not prevent new areas forming, but they can be easily targeted before they become noticeable to others, thus putting your mind at ease.  Common areas for treatment include most areas that have been exposed to the sun i.e. face, arms, hands and torso.   The treatment normally takes around 5-10 minutes so it doesn’t involve any inconvenience to your daily schedule – why delay, enquire today.

Sports and Muscular Injuries

Skin Deep – September 2012

South Warrington News

Welcome to ‘Skin Deep’ – This month’s feature looks at our ‘Sports & Muscular Injuries’.

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

Many people suffer either with regular/recurring sporting injuries or one-off muscular strains from accidents or excess muscle fatigue over a short time.  Although the first port of call for many is physiotherapy, which can be very successful, this doesn’t suit everyone.  Some people find regular physio’ either too painful, too expensive or that the effects are short term.  An alternative, which can be used successfully in combination with other treatments or as a stand alone treatment, is to have a high intensity radio-frequency treatment. The main advantages of this being that there is no muscular manipulation required, so in many cases the individual feels no discomfort at all. The effects tend to be long lasting as the muscle is being healed without hands-on pressure, but by using a non-invasive hand-piece that acts from the surface of the treatment area and penetrates to the affected area.  The most common uses are for conditions such as tennis elbow, shoulder strain through playing cricket or rugby, leg injuries from football and whiplash, frozen shoulder, back pain and general stiffness.  Long-term discomfort can be debilitating, so why not book a consultation and start your road to recovery today. 

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!