Beauty Articleshttp://creatingbeauty.com/articles/Copyright Beauty ArticlessNewsCustomized Skin Care Recent Advancements in Customized Skin Care Santa Clarita Magazine April 19, 2006 Skin analysis tools recently introduced to the marketplace are allowing dermatologists to develop customized programs to help you improve the condition of your skin, maximize the effectiveness of your diet and help prevent diseases. Programs such as the Étude Skin Counseling software work with other devices to conduct a thorough analysis of your skin type and condition in order to compare it against people in your same age group to see how well your skin is ageing. The analysis is performed by taking extreme close up pictures of your skin with a special microscope, and then using a scanner to measure the moisture level, sebum (oil) level, and elasticity of your skin. After the analysis, your data is compared against a national database of information to help your skin care specialist recommend products and procedures that are right for you. The information can then be stored in a computer for future comparisons. To enhance the skin analysis performed above, a dermatologist can also utilize the Bio-Photonic Scanner - the world’s first measuring tool that gives an immediate reading of carotenoid antioxidant activity. This scanner measures the anti-oxidant level on the inside of your body. This comes from a healthy lifestyle of eating fresh fruits and vegetables. When your body has high levels of carotenoids it has a greater ability to help prevent and/or fight cancer, heart disease, and lung disease. Not only are carotenoids in high levels good for your body, but they are also good for your skin. They work on the inside helping the deeper layers of your skin. You still need to use a topical (cream or serum) anti-oxidant to help the upper layers of your skin fight against free radicals, but working on both the inside and outside is the best thing for your health & beauty. So make sure that your dermatologist or cosmetic care professional are familiar with these new tools and is properly trained in their use. To find out more about these skin analysis programs and your carotenoid level, call Advanced Dermatology & Cosmetic Care at (661) 254-3686 or visit our website at www.CreatingBeauty.com. Sat, 23 Sep 2006 21:47:28 +0000http://creatingbeauty.com/articles/skin-care/advancements-in-customized-skin-care/http://creatingbeauty.com/articles/skin-care/advancements-in-customized-skin-care/Preventing Skin Cancer Tips Six Tips for Preventing Skin Cancer The Argonot Magazine - February 15, 2006 As a dermatologist with over 20 years of experience working with sun damaged skin, I have heard many “wives tales” about how to prevent the skin cancer known as Melanoma. With sunny spring and hot summer days just around the corner, it is important for the people of Marina Del Rey to properly prepare for increased exposure to the sun. How can you enjoy an active outdoor lifestyle and still minimize your risks of developing skin cancer? Here are six tips: Tip #1: Avoid sunburns. This is even more important for people who have a history of sunburns from their adolescence; when precautions were not take as seriously as they are today. Tip #2: Don’t “sunbathe” between the hours of 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Even if it reaches 100 degrees at 9:00 a.m. or 5:00 p.m., there is very little cancer causing rays occurring at these times. Tip #3: Wear lots of sunscreen and re-apply every two hours. This is critical as it has been shown in studies that re-applying every two and one-half hours results in five times more sunburns! Tip #4: Wear protective clothing and wide-brimmed hats with at least 3 ½” brims all around. This dramatically reduces sun exposure. Remember, there are harmful U.V. rays during cloudy “June Gloom” days, as well! Tip #5: Avoid sun exposure near beaches, lakes and large, open playing fields. There are no vertical structures to absorb the sun’s rays. Tip #6: It’s never too late to start preventing Melanoma! If you already have it, if it is only at the surface of the skin, it can be 100% curable. Have a dermatologist examine you. Melanoma is the “silent killer”. Its rates have doubled in just the last few years! The highest risk is with light-complected blondes and redheads and people who live in sunny environments. This is what makes preparing now for the upcoming summer days in Marina Del Rey all the more important! Bernard I. Raskin, MD is a Board Certified Dermatologist, UCLA faculty member and contributing author for Textbooks on Skin Surgery, Laser Surgery, and soon-to-be-published Liposuction Textbook. Sat, 23 Sep 2006 21:25:45 +0000http://creatingbeauty.com/articles/skin-care/six-tips-for-preventing-skin-cancer/http://creatingbeauty.com/articles/skin-care/six-tips-for-preventing-skin-cancer/RESTYLANE RESTYLANE offers a complete solution for treating facial lines, wrinkles, lips, and aging of the skin. RESTYLANE can also be used in facial sculpting by enhancing natural facial contours and features. Known as dermal filler, RESTYLANE is manufactured by Q-Med, a growing Swedish biotechnology and medical device company. There are three treatment choices when using RESTYLANE - each tailored and designed for different purposes and effects, from reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles to enhancing facial contours and sculpting lips. RESTYLANE - for treatment of wrinkles and lip enhancement. RESTYLANE Touch - for correction of thin lines, age lines,  across the forehead and around the eyes and mouth RESTYLANE Perlane - for correcting deep folds such as wrinkles, creating fuller lips and shaping facial contours, such as cheeks and chin. The RESTYLANE treatment uses injections. The RESTYLANE gel injected is based on a biotechnologically produced version of hyaluronic acid, a tissue friendly substance that occurs naturally in the body. RESTYLANE instantly fills out the skin to reduce the effects of wrinkles and lines. The injected RESTYLANE gel is not collagen and it is not botulinum toxin, Botox.© RESTYLANE contains a substance known as Non-Animal Stabilized Hyaluronic Acid (NASHA). The Hyaluronic acid used in RESTYLANE exists naturally in our bodies and its most important function is to carry and bind water. Q-Med, manufacturer of RESTYLNE,  has developed a way of stabilizing hyaluronic acid to achieve an effect that lasts from six to twelve months in smoothing lines and around six months when used to augment lips. The effects of non-stabilised hyaluronic acid products should last only a few days or weeks at most. The effects of RESTYLANE are able to last much longer. Nutrients, oxygen and hormones are able to pass freely between the RESTYLANE gel particles and the tissue, leaving the skin natural and healthy looking. As the RESTYLANE gel breaks down, water takes its place and when totally absorbed the gel disappears unnoticed from the body. RESTYLANE biodegrades naturally and safely. Non-Animal: The hyaluronic acid in NASHA is produced through a biotechnology process under laboratory conditions. The hyaluronic acid in NASHA is not extracted from animals, unlike some other versions of hyaluronic acid. Safety: More than 1 500 000 treatments have been carried out successfully since the launch of RESTYLANE in 1996. Adverse reactions with RESTYLANE, RESTYLANE Touch and RESTYLANE Perlane are very rare. Temporary local reactions to RESTYLANE, related to hypersensitivity occur in less than 1 in 2000 treatments. Medical use of hyaluronic acid based products is also well documented in areas such as eye surgery and orthopedics. Effective and long lasting: RESTYLANE offers instantaneous results that are long lasting but not permanent. Generally, after lip treatments with RESTYLANE, follow up is usually required after about six months. Facial contours and wrinkles normally need following up six to twelve months after the initial treatment of RESTYLANE. Treatment procedure: During treatment, RESTYLANE is injected into the skin in tiny amounts with a very fine needle. When injected into the skin, RESTYLANE produces volume that smoothes the wrinkle or fold, shapes the facial contour or enhances the lips in a natural way. The result is immediate. The method of injecting RESTYLANE is fast and safe and leaves no scars or other traces on the face. For wrinkle treatments, pain relief is not required by all patients; however it can be easily arranged at your request. Prior to your procedure, a topical anesthetic cream can be applied to the area to be treated. You can also choose to have a local anesthetic injection before receiving the RESTYLANE treatment. For more information visit the RESTYLANE website at http://www.restylane.com Sat, 23 Sep 2006 21:05:49 +0000http://creatingbeauty.com/articles/skin-care/restylane-treatment-backgrounder-of-restylane/http://creatingbeauty.com/articles/skin-care/restylane-treatment-backgrounder-of-restylane/WrinklesWhere Do Wrinkles Come From? One day you looked in the mirror and studied those lines that furrowed your brow, and you wondered: Where did those wrinkles come from? Is it just aging? Too much sun? Too much stress? In general, how skin ages and wrinkles is a complex process. It isn't just about cellular changes, collagen depletion, hormone loss, damage caused by free radicals, and so on; wrinkles are a combination of many factors. The Anatomy of the Wrinkle The eyebrow wrinkles, or lines that appear between your brows, are actually result from muscle movement and the passage of time. You may have heard the expression "wearing your emotions on your sleeve," but in reality you wear them on your face, and unfortunately they can lead to wrinkles. If you're angry or annoyed, for example, you knit your brows together. Underneath your skin, your facial muscles contract, cause a pleating of the overlying skin which can turn into a wrinkle over time. After years of wrinkling and wrinkling, those eyebrow lines start to linger longer and can become more pronounced. For women, whose faces tend to be more animated than men's, and whose skin is typically more delicate, these winkle lines may appear exaggerated and more permanent. Before you know it the wrinkle is there. Although the wrinkle will be shallow at first it will most likely evolve into a deeper wrinkled wrinkle. Fortunately, there is a way to temporarily reduce moderate to severe wrinkles. Treatment with BOTOX® Cosmetic can visibly smooth wrinkles and soften moderate to severe facial wrinkles. An improvement can be seen within days and may last up to 4 months, although results may vary. In clinical trials, nearly 90% of men and women surveyed rated the improvement in the appearance of frown lines between their brows as moderate to better 1 month after treatment. For more information please visit http://www.botoxcosmetic.com/ Sat, 23 Sep 2006 21:05:37 +0000http://creatingbeauty.com/articles/skin-care/where-do-wrinkles-come-from/http://creatingbeauty.com/articles/skin-care/where-do-wrinkles-come-from/Acne Scarring June 6, 2005 When considering treatment for acne scars, one should not assume that all acne scar treatments and providers are created equal. There are several types of acne scars and each one should be treated differently in order to maximize the results. A proper analysis of the acne scars is needed in order to select the best treatment. When selecting where to go, make sure the office offers a comprehensive selection of procedures to treat acne scars in order to meet your needs the best. Different acne scar procedures have different durations, costs, side effects and levels of effectiveness. By choosing an office that has a wide variety of options, you can choose an acne scar treatment that is the best for you, rather than having to settle with only treatments they can do.  For instance, Vitalize Peels and Microdermabrasions are the most cost effective and easiest to perform treatments used for acne scars. They can help with color and light texture, but usually require multiple treatments to really make the acne scarring disappear.. Smoothbeam is a laser treatment to help build collagen, which will help to elevate the base of an acne scar. This laser does not help color and also requires multiple treatments to be effective on the acne scars. An Erbium laser does light resurfacing and helps with discoloration caused by acne scars. This procedure has a few days of crusting/peeling. There is a stronger laser called the C02 laser that resurfaces the skin to help with texture, stimulates collagen to push up the base of the acne scar from the inside and helps with pigmentation and some skin tightening. It does have some healing, about seven-to-ten days, and is the most expensive procedure; but, it generally has the best results on acne scars. For rolling scars, subcision can be used where a needle is placed under the acne scar to help loosen it and raise it up. Bruising and swelling is typical and may need to be done a few times. The results of acne scar treatments often comes down to skills of the dermatologist. Though there are manufacturer recommended settings for some of the equipment used, adjustments should be made by the provider for specific types of scarring. The knowledge to make such adjustments often comes from years of experience in working with different kinds of scars and different kinds of skin. Also, the dermatologist should set reasonable expectations for the reduction of scarring. Some types of scarring may never completely disappear, but can be minimized through proper treatment. Finally, make sure to ask who will be doing your scar procedure and whether or not a physician will be immediately available if problems occur as there is risk with any type of procedure performed. For a complimentary cosmetic consultation for more information about properly treating acne scars, call Advanced Dermatology & Cosmetic Care at 661.254.3686. Sat, 23 Sep 2006 21:05:19 +0000http://creatingbeauty.com/articles/skin-care/acne-scarring-acne-scar-treatment/http://creatingbeauty.com/articles/skin-care/acne-scarring-acne-scar-treatment/