Monday 29 March 2010

Juvederm? In Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire?

If you live in Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire, and are looking for the benefits afforded by Juvederm, then you've come to the right place!

Juvéderm® ULTRA is an advanced, cohesive, 3D hyaluronic acid matrix dermal filler with local anaesthetic, manufactured by Allergan; the makers of Botox. It was launched in the UK in February 2008.

No allergy test is needed and the hyaluronic acid is completely broken down within the skin over a period of months, eventually leaving no trace of the filler.

Juvéderm® ULTRA contains non-animal hyaluronic acid and lidocaine, a local anaesthetic that provides increased comfort both during and after treatment. There are three different formulations for Juvéderm® ULTRA available which include:

Juvéderm® ULTRA 2

A highly cross-linked formulation for the subtle correction of medium facial lines and skin depressions. Also enhances lip contour.

Juvéderm® ULTRA 3

As above, but more versatile in contouring and volumising medium to deep facial lines and skin depressions, such as nasolabial folds. Also enhances lip contour and volume.

Juvéderm® ULTRA 4

A highly cross-linked robust formulation for volumising and correction of deeper folds and wrinkles, including enhancing volume in the cheeks and chin. Not recommended for the areas under the eyes.

Juvéderm® has enhanced stability and resistance to degradation by heat and the body’s metabolism, with FDA approval in the USA to ‘correct moderate to severe wrinkles and folds for up to one year’.

Call 0800 0 325415 for further information or to book an appointment.

Tuesday 16 March 2010

9 Signs of Sun-Induced Skin Damage

The sun is a major factor in the health of your skin. Even natural daylight causes damage to your skin and you can damage your skin even through the clouds. Taking precautions to prevent sun damage doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the sunshine, but it’s important to recognise that signs of sun induced skin damage can range from freckles and moles to skin cancer.

Here are the signs of sun-induced skin damage:

1. Sun spots, freckles and brown spots - these are most commonly found on the upper body, appearing on the face, neck, chest, the forearms and the hands. These spots can be unsightly, but can fairly easily be removed with the correct cosmetic treatment. Some home treatments are available, but they are less than reliable and may cause more harm than good.

2. Uneven skin colour or dark spots – confidence sapping skin colouring might seem like damage that can’t be undone, but these days they can be treated with a safe non-invasive course of IPL.

3. Explosion of Freckles Okay, we’re not talking about a few freckles, but excessive clusters of highly visible embarrassing freckles that cover the skin and make you feel very self-conscious. IPL laser treatment would be exceptionally useful to fight this as it not only removes the brown spots but also stimulates collagen growth.

4. Age Spots - these are also known as Liver spots and are generally found on the backs of the hands. A qualified cosmetic physician would offer a number of ways that these can be reduced or removed, usually with IPL or fraction lasers .

5. Rosacea - This can be a very embarrassing condition that is comprised of prominent redness, veins in the face showing and often spots or pimples long after adolescence. An IPL/laser treatment will greatly reduce the veins and the flushing that is caused by exercise, hot food or heat.

6. Wrinkles – The sun can easily cause wrinkles or make existing wrinkles worse. There are many ways to approach the reduction of wrinkles, there are many skin creams available from pharmacists, but most are purely superficial and do little to help. A professional cosmetic physician can offer you a range of collagen boosting options from Botox and dermal fillers to resurfacing laser treatment and other complementary cosmeceutical skin care programmes.

7. Broken capillaries - often giving the face a ruddy complexion, associated with alcoholism, very embarrassing, particularly for women. Speak to your cosmetic specialist for ways to treat this problem, usually with ND:YAG laser or IPL .

8. Enlarged pore size - many people don’t think about how the sun can widen and enlarge the pores in your skin, giving a quite unsightly appearance to the skin, a little like an orange peel. Your cosmetic physician would almost certainly offer you an excellent range of treatments including laser skin resurfacing to bring a youthful look back to your skin.

9. Sagging skin - after the sun has damaged your skin, you may find that it causes your lifeless skin to sag. This is common in people as they hit their 30s but is more often found in people of middle age. With a non-surgical, non-invasive cosmetic treatment, you can improve the tautness of the skin and give it a rejuvenated appearance.

Want to fix the signs of sun induced skin damage?

Call Riverbanks Clinic on 01582 762877 or make an enquiry.

Saturday 13 March 2010

9 Signs of Sun-Induced Skin Damage

The sun is a major factor in the health of your skin. Even natural daylight causes damage to your skin and you can damage your skin even through the clouds. Taking precautions to prevent sun damage doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the sunshine, but it’s important to recognise that signs of sun induced skin damage can range from freckles and moles to skin cancer.

Here are the signs of sun-induced skin damage:

Sun spots, freckles and brown spots - these are most commonly found on the upper body, appearing on the face, neck, chest, the forearms and the hands. These spots can be unsightly, but can fairly easily be removed with the correct cosmetic treatment. Some home treatments are available, but they are less than reliable.

Uneven skin colour or dark spots – confidence sapping skin colouring might seem like damage that can’t be undone, but these days they can be treated in a safe, non-invasive course of IPL.

Explosion of Freckles – Okay, we’re not talking about a few freckles, but excessive clusters of highly visible embarrassing freckles that cover the skin and make you feel very self-conscious. Laser treatment would be exceptionally useful to fight this as it not only removes the brown spots but also stimulates collagen growth.

Age Spots - these are also known as Liver spots and are generally found on the backs of the hands. A qualified cosmetic physician would offer a number of ways that these can be reduced or removed, usually with IPL or Fractional Lasers.

Rosacea - This can be a very embarrassing condition that is comprised of prominent redness, veins in the face showing and often spots or pimples long after adolescence. An IPL or Laser treatment will greatly reduce the veins and the flushing that is caused by exercise, hot food or heat.

Wrinkles – The sun can easily cause wrinkles or make existing wrinkles worse. There are many ways to approach the reduction of wrinkles, there are many skin creams available from pharmacists, but most are purely superficial and do little to help. A professional cosmetic physician can offer you a range of collagen boosting options from Botox and dermal fillers to resurfacing laser treatment and other suitable treatments such as complementary cosmeceutical skin care programmes .

Broken capillaries - often giving the face a ruddy complexion, associated with alcoholism, very embarrassing, particularly for women. Speak to your cosmetic specialist for ways to treat this problem- usually with ND:YAG Laser or IPL.

Enlarged pore size - many people don’t think about how the sun can widen and enlarge the pores in your skin, giving a quite unsightly appearance to the skin, a little like an orange peel. Your cosmetic physician would almost certainly offer you an excellent range of treatments including laser skin resurfacing to bring a youthful look back to your skin.

Sagging skin - after the sun has damaged your skin, you may find that it causes your lifeless skin to sag. This is common in people as they hit their 30s but is more often found in people of middle age. With a non-surgical, non-invasive cosmetic treatment, you can improve the tautness of the skin and give it a rejuvenated appearance.

Want to know more? Contact Doctor Ravi Jain now!

Dr Jain recommends the following creams to help combat the effects of sun damage:


Thursday 11 March 2010

4 ways to get rid of Thread Veins

Thread veins are the tiny veins that you may see appearing on your cheeks, nose or legs. They are totally harmless to you but you may feel that they are unsightly. They are usually red but some larger veins may look blue in colour.

Many things can cause thread veins. They are a natural sign of aging but can be exacerbated by over exposure to sunlight, Rosacea, pregnancy or hormone treatment. Most people will find that they are most prominent in a certain area of their body and look at ways in which they can reduce or remove them completely.

The great thing is that there are a number of ways in which you can look to remove thread veins.

Vitamin K

For a long time now beauticians have been promoting the use of Vitamin K in topical form to treat thread veins and bruised areas. Vitamin K helps to clot blood and applied directly on to the skin can work really effectively. Vitamin K cream is often used after laser surgery as it has been shown to reduce bruising. With thread veins it assists in clotting the blood and shutting down the angry red vein that you can see. If the thread veins have been there a long time or are fairly prominent then this may not be the ideal solution.

Laser Treatment

In Laser Treatment the heat from the laser is absorbed into the vein, which causes it to stick together and seal off the blood. The disadvantages to this treatment are that only small areas can be treated at a time and there is a risk of crusting or even scarring to the skin. On the other hand, the laser is very effective when IPL fails or the vessels are bigger than 1mm across.


Sclerotherapy

This treatment is fairly common and very effective. The thread vein is injected with a solution that will cause it to collapse or stick together, sealing it off and preventing blood from flowing into it, therefore reducing the colour. It can take a number of visits and a good few months to see results using this treatment. This is often used for larger unsightly thread veins or ones that haven’t responded well to other treatments.

Intense Pulsed Light (IPL)

IPL treatments are highly effective – even in short courses. They effectively remove the damage of overly exposed skin and eradicate thread veins and scarring. The award winning Harmony IPL Laser treatment that we use is considered to be the best and most advanced treatment available for reducing thread veins, imperfections and skin damage.

With IPL a hand held until emits pulses of high intensity light that destroys any thread veins and prevents blood from flowing through.

It is relatively painless, much safer then laser treatment and gains very quick results.

If you are unhappy about the thread veins on any part of your body then we would advise you to come and speak to us. We would highly recommend the Harmony IPL treatment because of its low risk and excellent successes. If you would like to learn more about IPL or how it can help you then please get in touch.

Wednesday 3 March 2010

Don’t Forget to Protect Your Skin This Summer

Whether you’re heading for somewhere exotic, or planning to stay at home and make the most of the British summer, it’s important that you remember to protect your skin from the sun. It’s not just the strength of the midday sun that damages your skin, any sun or daylight can have a detrimental effect on your skin.

Try to stay out of the sun between 11am and 3pm when the sun’s rays are the strongest. If you wish to be in this sun during this time, then you should try to wear light clothing that will protect your skin. Wear wrap-around sun glasses to ensure that your eyes are not damaged by the UVA sunlight.

If you’re unable to protect yourself with clothing, then using a good quality high factor sunscreen will help to protect your skin. But don’t think that you are completely safe, just because you are wearing sunscreen, it needs reapplying regularly. You also need to use a sunscreen that is at least SPF Factor 30 . Check the use-by date, if it’s out of date, it may not offer the same protection. Don’t forget to rub the cream into every area the sun’s rays could possible touch you, don’t forget your ears and exposed areas of your head. You should always apply the cream 30 minutes before going into the sun, this gives the skin adequate time to absorb the cream. If you are swimming or sweating a lot, you’ll want to reapply the sunscreen every hour or so.

If you are planning to be in the sun over the entire summer, you should check your skin over for signs of sun damage regularly. Always look at yourself using a full length mirror and examine any existing birthmarks, moles and skin blemishes to check if their size, texture or colour has changed. If any of these have become uncomfortable or sore, it could be a sign of sun damage and you may need to check with your physician. Don’t forget that skin cancer is most treatable with an early diagnosis.

Everyone should do their utmost to protect their skin from damage. However, people with a higher risk of skin cancer should pay the most attention. This includes people who have fair skin and whose skin burns rather easily. If you already have a lot of freckles and moles, it’s a sign that you are sun-reactive and should take extra care. If you have a history of being easily burned by the sun, or you have had experience of severe sunburn, you should take care, your skin has already been damaged and may be more easily damaged in future. If you have red or fair hair, you should also take precautionary care in the sun. If you have light-coloured eyes, you should also take care to wear sunglasses that meet sun protection guidelines, rather than simply look fashionable.

But sun damage doesn’t only increase the risk of skin cancer, it also produces many unsightly skin problems that will reduce your self confidence and cause your skin to be permanently marked.

Dr Jain recommends the following creams to help combat the effects of sun damage:


Monday 1 March 2010

Mums - get rid of stretchmarks

There's nothing like the feeling of nuzzling up to your baby - soft skin, sweet smell, and those little gurgly sounds that only a newborn can make. It's the best thing about having a baby, don't you think?

But where there's a best, there's a worst- thin hair, hormonal changes bringing spots, and the dreaded stretchmarks!

Some women are really lucky - they get through pregnancy and birth and their skin just pings back into shape. The majority, however, will be left with stretchmarks, and they can be confidence destroying.

But you can get rid of them - with Dermaroller Microneedling from Riverbanks Clinic!

Dermaroller Microneedling

Dermaroller treatments use micro-medical skin-needling to roll away the imperfections and stimulate your own collagen to regenerate and repair your skin naturally.

Compared with other similar treatments you'll experience only slight redness on the first day and then your skin is back to normal, so there's no need to take time out for recovery; downtime is at a minimum. Ideally, the treatment is over three thirty minute sessions, but your initial consultation will establish exactly what your particular skin condition requires.

See some fantastic stretchmark before and after pictures below:



So if you're a mum and want to get rid of your stretchmarks, all you need to do is to make an appointment with Dr Jain and you'll be on the way to a smoother, brighter and clearer skin.

Call 01582 762 877 or Request an Appointment