Anti-ageing treatments

One of the most common requests is to address skin ageing.  There are many approaches available to do this and your consultation will assess your skin in detail and indicate which steps you can take to make you skin look younger.  The steps required can be quite simple, such as using certain creams, or be more involved, using chemical peels, lasers and surgery where required.

 

Laser Rejuvenation

Lasers can be used to reverse or reduce many of the features that give an "aged look" to the face, neck, arms, chest and other body areas.  Using the latest available technologies, we can target the changes of time to provide a more youthful appearance. 

Why undertake a rejuvenation treatment?

The most important reason for having treatment is to do it for yourself.  Nevertheless, your outward appearance does send a signal to family, friends and colleagues about you as a person - your vitality, energy and attitude.  For example, lines on the high forehead can give a "worried" look and lines on the glabella (between the eyebrows) can give an "angry" look, even though you may not feel worried or angry!

Assessment of ageing and your needs

Your needs are individual and your treatment programme will be tailored to suit you specifically.  There is no formula or one-size-fits all approach.  In your assessment, we will look at your skin, muscle, fat and bone structure as all of these areas contribute to your overall look.  Following this, we shall explain what is a realistic outcome what kind of recovery you may need.   You can then chose how to proceed. 

Combination treatments

The advantage of coming to a comprehensive laser practice is that you can benefit from combining different lasers to give you an improved look. Examples of combinations include: 

  • Treating thread veins and brown age spots
  • Resurfacing the skin and treating facial redness
  • Combination of filler, laser and toxin treatments

CO2 laser resurfacing

The carbon dioxide (CO2) laser is a highly effective means of rejuvenating the skin.  This laser provides the "gold standard" in terms of results when resurfacing the skin, and is the standard by which other laser treatments are judged.

How does it work?

A CO2 laser is a beam of laser light which is aimed at the skin.  Within the skin, the heat of the laser evaporates water, which is a major component of living human tissue.  This literally vaporises the skin.  In a controlled fashion, in expert hands, this can yield impressive results.

The latest application of this technology is "fractionated ablative" resurfacing which is used to:

  • remove old skin
  • allow new skin to reform
  • promote collagen formation
  • tightening beneath the skin surface

What are the benefits?

This laser can be used to achieve the following benefits:

  • Improvement in skin texture
  • Reduction in wrinkles
  • Reduction of scars, stretch marks (eg acne)
  • Tightening of the skin
  • Improvement in skin tone (colour)

A CO2 laser resurfacing is a surgical treatment, and will require a formal consultation with your dermatologist.  This will explore your dermatological and medical background and an examination of your skin will be performed.  A detailed discussion of your treatment aims and realistic outcomes will follow.

Chemical Peels

Chemical peels are a highly effective way to treat certain skin conditions and also to improve ageing skin.  The procedures are best performed by a genuine expert - top level advice and expertise is provided by Dr Bashir, who is highly experienced in chemical peeling. 

 What is a chemical peel?

A chemical peel is an attempt to remove the outer layers of skin with an acid, in a controlled manner.  The aim to is to allow new skin to form, replacing the old skin which has been peeled off. 

Chemical peels are classified in terms of the depth of peel:

  • Superficial
  • Medium 
  • Deep

A variety of acids can be used to achieve the peeling effect, such as glycolic acid, lactic acid, tricholoroacetic acid and salicylic acid.  There are many brand names on the market can be confusing - one should not be distracted by the brand name, but focus on the ingredients in the product. 

Is chemical peeling safe?

Chemical peeling is safe in the correct hands: the correct peel must be used on the correct type of skin, in the correct manner.  A test peel is performed in almost all circumstances, before you can be considered for a full treatment. 

What conditions can be treated by peeling?

We have expertise in treating a variety of different skin conditions with chemical peels.  Each patient and condition needs to be treated on it's own merit.  The treatment options will be discussed with you and you will have treatment tailored to suit your needs

Commonly treated conditions include:

  • Acne and acne scars 
  • Ageing
  • Melasma
  • Pigmented blemishes
  • Scars
  • Solar keratoses
  • Seborrhoeic keratoses
  • Xanthelasma

Which acids are suitable for chemical peels?

There are several acids which have been widely used for aesthetic and medical purposes.  In some commercial clinics these may be given brand names, but as specialist dermatologists, we refer to these by their chemical, pharmacological names: 

  • Trichcloroacetic acid (TCA)
  • glycolic acid
  • salicylic acid
  • other alpha-hydroxy acids and beta-hydroxy acids

Why should I see a specialist for a chemical peel?

Chemical peels require an advanced degree of experience and skill to achieve effective results whilst minimizing the risks to the patient.  It is important to realise that high quality results are achieved by peeling deeper into the skin. However, the deeper the peel, the greater the risk of complications.  Only a specialist dermatologist with particular expertise in peeling can provide the control required to execute the peel well and have the skill to look after the patient in the days and weeks after a peel. 

Fillers

Fillers are an excellent method by which to reduce the appearance of ageing.  As we age, the skin's supporting structures, such as the dermis and fat layers tend to change.  The appearances of ageing are often related to a loss of volume in certain areas - such as thinner lips, hollow cheeks and thinner skin around the eyes. Fillers are a way to treat this loss of volume by injecting a filler directly to replace the lost volume. 

Types of fillers

There are many fillers on European market at the brand names and types seem to change very frequently.  For this reason, it's best to stick to tried and tested brands of filler which have been in use for some time.  We understand these products and their safety profile much better and their results are more predictable. Essentially, fillers can be divided into two groups, temporary or permanent.

  • Hyaluronic acid

This is one of the most common temporary fillers.  It is used to fill many areas such as lips, eyelids, cheeks, backs of hands and fine lines and wrinkles on the face.  It's main advantage is that is very safe, rarely causes allergic reactions and the effects are reversible in time.  

The Restylane range is one of the most well known brands of hyaluronic acid filler, which we use extensively in our practice. 

  • Collagen

Collagen is one of the most common permanent fillers.  It is used to replace volume, particularly in superficial areas such as the folds around the nose and mouth, and into the lips.  It is a permanent filler, which means it gives long lasting results.  However, patients can become allergic to collagen fillers which can be difficult to remove once they have been injected.

Retinoids

Retinoid creams have been proven to reverse some of the changes seen in skin ageing.  The most effective retinoids are prescription only products.  These can be applied as a cream at night, which will gradually remove wrinkles and improve the colour and texture of your skin.  Retinoid creams are good for pre-treatment before laser and peeling, and also for those who prefer a more gradual approach to anti-ageing. 

Injectable toxins

Injectable toxins are a highly successful method to treat dynamic wrinkles - wrinkles caused by muscle movement.  These areas are typically the forehead, brows, and crows feet.  We have particular expertise in injecting toxins to these areas, and also to the lower face, where we can treat the drooping edges of the mouth and wrinkles around the lips.