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August 2, 2011
I have heard of something called photo facial.
Filed under: Facial Rejuvenation,Intense Pulse Light (IPL),Photofacial,Skincare — Dr. Andrew Campbell @ 9:45 am

Question: I have heard of something called photo facial. What is this and what does it do?

Answer: A photo facial is an intense pulse light treatment that can be performed in a variety of ways.  Most places perform a single pass of intense pulse light treatment and this light energy targets pigment and vascularity on the face, but can also be used on the body as well.  It injures the pigmented and vascular structures and then the body slowly resorbs these structures and it essentially clears these abnormalities from the skin in a way that creates no downtime.  Frequently, several episodes or treatments are necessary to create the desired effect.  At Quintessa Medical Spa we perform a photo facial in a little bit of a different way in that we treat the face with several passes of this intense pulse light all at one time, creating a much more significant effect, which will greatly improve the result and decrease the number of episodes or treatments that are necessary. 

June 9, 2010
Can a chemical peel remove a henna tattoo?
Filed under: Laser Resurfacing,Photofacial — Dr. Andrew Campbell @ 4:32 pm

Question:  I got a henna tattoo on vacation after too many Mojitos.  I know that it should fade eventually but it is in a rather visible area, and I want to get rid of it before my boss sees it.  Can a chemical peel remove agents that temporarily stain the skin? 

Answer:  Yes, chemical peels can oftentimes remove agents that temporarily stain the skin and, ultimately, I would recommend an evaluation at Quintessa Medical Spa so that we can examine this area closely and decide what treatment options are best.  One option that you may not have considered would be to simply use camouflage makeup over the area.  We have some wonderful makeup that can be applied over port wine stains, tattoos, or post laser retinas that looks quite natural and is long lasting. 

If that is not an option, then a superficial peel over parts of the body or even a deeper peel over parts of the face may be the solution that you are looking for.  Very superficial peels come with virtually no downtime, whereas deeper peels can give you several days or even up to a week of significant downtime, so it really depends on your schedule and work hours.

May 16, 2010
I recently underwent intense pulsed light Photofacial. I typically am a regular swimmer for exercise and wondered how soon after the Photofacial I can go back in the pool?
Filed under: Photofacial — Dr. Andrew Campbell @ 4:25 pm

You really should be able to go back in the pool immediately after a Photofacial as it really has not injured the overlying epidermis and, thus, you should not be any more sensitive to the chlorinated water than you would have been prior to the Photofacial.  You will have some slight redness and some darkening of the pigmentation after the Photofacial, so the skin can actually look worse in the first few weeks after the treatment.  It will then rather quickly look better and then allow the provider to increase the amount of energy that can be used in your next Photofacial so that even more of the vascularity and pigmentation that you do not like can be treated successfully.  But you should be able to continue your routine swimming exercise throughout this treatment regimen.

April 5, 2010
Is having a photofacial after facial laser hair removal too much?
Filed under: Laser Hair Removal,Laser Treatments,Photofacial — Tags: , , , — Dr. Andrew Campbell @ 10:19 pm

Depending on the type of laser hair removal performed, the photofacial indeed could be too much for the facial skin to tolerate. Most of the laser hair removal systems on the market today treat the hair follicle by its absorption of light by the pigment of the hair follicle itself. This treatment can obviously not selectively treat just the hair pigmentation, but it also treats the skin pigmentation as a side consequence. Assuming that your hair removal treatment is a treatment that is dependent on the melanin or pigmentation, then I would try to time the photofacials so that they are performed after your laser hair removal treatments are complete. In fact, you may find that the pigmentary problems that you have had with your facial skin are actually improved if not completely cured by the laser hair removal treatments. If however, your laser hair removal is performed with a YAG laser, then you will get no improvement in the pigmentary issues of the facial skin and it would be completely safe to have a photofacial performed in conjunction with your YAG laser hair removal. This would seem to be a rather strange combination for most individuals and at Quintessa Medical Spa, we would typically therefore just treat your facial hair with our devices that will not only reduce the hair, but also improve the pigmentation of your skin at the same time.

March 18, 2010
Can Asian people have intense pulsed light or a photofacial?
Filed under: Intense Pulse Light (IPL),Photofacial — Tags: , , , , — Dr. Andrew Campbell @ 10:37 pm

Yes, Asian patients can indeed have intense pulsed light treatments. Obviously the device is set with a different filter and different energy settings to take into account the significant increased pigmentation that is in Asian skin. We further tend to take significant precautions with Asian skin to prevent postinflammatory hyperpigmentation as it is extremely common in this skin type. These precautions include very consistent use of a sunblock as well as consistent use of a hydroquinone product and frequently the additional use of a Retin-A type product as well. We want to be very careful that these products do not cause any irritation to the skin as the irritation can also contribute to postinflammatory hyperpigmentation; however, when this is performed properly in conjunction with the intense pulsed light, we can successfully treat very difficult skin conditions such as melasma even in Asian patients. They are counseled that even very brief amounts of sun exposure can cause the abnormal pigmentation to recur.

February 13, 2010
Can IPL or a photofacial burn the hair off your face during treatment?
Filed under: Intense Pulse Light (IPL),Laser Hair Removal,Photofacial — Tags: , — Dr. Andrew Campbell @ 1:48 pm

Though we are not usually using settings with enough power to actually burn the hair off the face when performing photofacials, it is theoretically possible to do so due to the fact that the intense pulsed light is absorbed by the melanin, which is within the hair shafts. This is not usually within the fine hairs of the face as these typically do not have any significant amount of melanin within them, but if someone has darker or coarser hair, the photofacial can certainly injure this hair. The settings on the intense pulsed light machine are different and the filters are also different when we are doing a photofacial versus an intense pulsed light hair removal treatment, so to answer your question, classically intense pulsed light will not burn the hair off of somebody’s face during a photofacial treatment.