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If you have a Nevus of Ota birthmark, then it’s possible you’ve considered laser treatment to remove it. These greenish, bluish birthmarks typically appear on the face and can be difficult to hide. If you have or are considering removing your Nevus of Ota birthmark, q-switched laser treatments are an excellent option.
Nevus of Ota birthmarks can appear green, grey or blue because the excess pigment is located deep within the second layer of skin. Laser light works to remove these birthmarks by penetrating deep into the skin to reach the target. The type of laser light used to target this pigmentation is called q-switched.
Although q-switched lasers work very well to clear these birthmarks, sometimes, we can only achieve partial clearance. Having realistic expectations for your treatment is key to a positive experience with laser treatments.
If you’ve decided that now is the time to remove your nevus of Ota birthmark, call Celibre Medical today for your FREE consultation to learn more about q-switched laser treatment options.
It’s often said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This is especially true when it comes to our health. However, this idea becomes even more critical when you have a family history of a condition.
While spider veins aren’t especially dangerous, they can have a severe impact on your quality of life, and they often tend to run “in the family”. Spider veins (and varicose veins) can be painful—both physically and psychologically. They can affect your activities and your self-esteem. But there are things that you can do to prevent spider veins. Before we discuss specific strategies, it’s important to review why spider veins happen in the first place.
Spider Vein Treatment Before and After Picture
Our leg veins are designed to take blood back up to the heart by using a series of valves that channel the blood in a one-way direction. When some of these valves fail, blood moves backward in the wrong direction. This causes the small surface veins to dilate with blood and makes them visible as blue, purple or reddish vessels or mats of fine vessels. Factors such as weight, pregnancy, blood pressure and overall general health can contribute to developing faulty valves, but most of the time the tendency to have faulty valves comes down to hereditary factors.
Now, how can we prevent them? First, spider veins tend to be worse and occur more often if you have a job that requires you to sit or stand for extended periods of time. While you might think there’s no way of changing your working conditions, there are things that you can do while you’re sitting or standing to help keep the blood flow moving in the right direction. Ankle pumps are as simple as flexing the foot up towards the shin and then back down towards the floor. This heel-toe action stimulates the calf muscles, helping to keep the blood in the leg veins moving in and up.
If you stand on the job, do some tip-toe raises every so often to stimulate the calf muscles. Remember your movements affect the proper movement of blood in the venous system. The more sedentary or still you are, the more likely those leaky valves will leak!
Next, consider wearing support hose. These are constrictive “socks” that can reinforce and enhance the work of the muscles in the lower legs. It’s important to note that these are so much more than just “tight” socks. They are specially designed with graded levels of support. They are considered medical devices by some insurance companies and will sometimes be covered by or paid in part by your insurance if prescribed by your practitioner. Never wear restrictive clothing in place of support hose. This can do more harm than good and trigger more types of problems. Also remember not to wear your support hose when sleeping unless you’re directed to do so by your practitioner.
Third, if you sleep with a pillow under your knees to help your lower back, consider turning it from horizontal to vertical. While sleeping, the edge of a firm pillow may place pressure on the larger vein in the back of the thigh and cause congestion in the lower leg veins. Turning the pillow the other way helps take the pressure off the middle part of the back of your thigh.
Next, ask your primary practitioner if there are any medications that you’re taking that may predispose you to developing spider veins. Some prescriptions like oral contraceptives can contribute to the formation of spider veins, so make sure to ask if this is a concern for you.
Last, but not least, exercise every day. This is so important to your overall health. Stimulating your muscles and heart with regular exercise will keep your body functioning at its very best. It also greatly improves the blood flow in the legs which helps dramatically lower your risk of developing varicose and spider veins.
If you’ve grown out of your freckles and wish there was a way to get rid of them, we have good news for you: there is! Class IV medical lasers can safely and effectively remove freckles for anyone with any skin type (color).
Freckles typically develop in response to sun exposure. This is because ultraviolet light (UV) stimulates the pigment cells in your skin to make more pigment, or melanin. A freckle is essentially a little, concentrated spot of melanin. Q-switched lasers are highly effective at targeting melanin. Because the freckle is a concentrated target, almost all the laser energy is focused right where we want it, and freckles usually disappear quickly—even after a single treatment!
Remember, you should protect your skin with sunscreen after you’ve had q-switched laser treatment for freckles, otherwise you’ll just get more! This means using a good quality, broad spectrum sunscreen on all sun exposed skin each and every day!
If your eyes are “seeing” their age, it may be time to consider doing something to give yourself a more youthful, rested and refreshed appearance. Eye surgery? Not always. If you’re a good candidate, laser resurfacing can take years off your appearance with minimal downtime.
The answer is a procedure known as fractional laser resurfacing. Fractional resurfacing means that only a “fraction” of the skin is treated with the laser. Hundreds or thousands of precise perforations in the skin are produced during the procedure. Resurfacing a fraction of the skin allows it to heal more quickly than with traditional full field resurfacing. Fractional resurfacing also reduces the risk of scarring, color changes (hypo or hyperpigmentation) and infections.
The brilliance of fractional laser resurfacing is that compared to full field (100%) resurfacing, the results are similar and offer dramatic reduction in wrinkles, scarring, pigmentation and pore size over a series of treatments. This all happens due to the production of new collagen. After fractional resurfacing, your skin looks tighter, firmer and more radiant.
Recent advances in fractional technology have given us a few options to choose from when considering which laser to use for this procedure. Today’s devices can create thermal or heat energy, referred to as “coagulation”, which can reach the deepest layers of the dermis during fractional resurfacing.
Before fractional resurfacing, only those with lighter skin types could undergo these procedures. Now, thanks to new lasers, anyone can enjoy the benefits of fractional laser resurfacing—even African-Americans.
Sounds too good to be true? Look at the amazing before and after photos below. This patient saw an incredible transformation from fractional laser resurfacing around the eyes. At Celibre Medical, we use the latest technology that encompasses coagulation and customization of the fractional pattern (amount of treated skin) to give you the most significant improvements in the fewest number of treatments.
If you’d like to learn more, please call us to schedule your free consultation.
Q-switched lasers are very precise and effective in removing sun (liver, age) spots. The question as to how many laser treatments does it usually require to remove age spots is contingent on whether or not the patient is able and/or willing to have what is referred to as “social downtime.” This term refers to a change in one’s appearance that may hinder them from wanting to return to their usual activities like work or social occasions and can involve light bruising or a dramatic darkening and flaking off of the age spots. In addition to the question of social downtime, the patient’s skin type is extremely important when determining how aggressive laser treatments should be in treating sun or age spots.
For those patients who prefer more aggressive laser treatments (with quicker results), most sun or age spots may be either permanently resolved or dramatically faded in as little as 2-3 treatments. For those that are unable to have more aggressive treatments, sun or age spots will gradually resolve in approximately 6-8 treatments.
Age spot removal before and after pictures
The answer is that no one is sure. If you have keloids, then we do know that there’s a good probability that someone else in your family does too because there seems to be a genetic link involved. Maybe you had surgery, suffered an injury or some other sort of trauma that left you with a keloid scar? Interestingly, keloids can also form from little things like vaccinations, acne, piercings and even bug bites. Rarely, spontaneous keloids can appear on your skin for no reason at all!
Scar removal before and after photos
Remember, keloid scars are larger than the original wound, injury or other skin trauma that was there in the first place. If you simply have a firm, raised scar that’s still within the original borders of the injury, that’s not a keloid. And if you have a keloid, it’s important to think about your increased risk and discuss this with your doctor when planning surgeries or other procedures that could potentially make more. We do know that keloids are much more common in those with darker skin as opposed to lighter-skinned individuals.
There is no one, perfect treatment for keloid scars. Since each scar is a bit different, you will need a thorough evaluation to determine which one might work best for you. What worked for a friend or family member may not be your best bet! But know that there are effective treatments out there. The key is finding a practice and practitioner who specializes in the treatment of keloids.
Tired of seeing those little red and purple lines on your cheeks, nose or legs? There’s never been a better time to consider vascular laser treatment to get rid of your unwanted spider veins. Treatment with class IV medical lasers is effective for this problem and has no downtime. Your treatment sessions are quick, easy and your results are instantly noticeable.
Vascular lasers work by targeting hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying component of red blood cells. They use light energy that is specifically absorbed by hemoglobin and converted into heat energy. This heats up the blood and the vessel walls containing it. The laser energy collapses the blood vessel eliminating it’s appearance at the surface of the skin. Over time, your body breaks down the treated vessels and clears them away naturally. Because spider veins are small, dilated blood vessels on the surface of the skin, removing them is harmless to your circulatory system.
At Celibre Medical, we recommend vascular laser treatments for spider veins be spaced six weeks apart. Though you often see drastic improvement after just a single treatment, more than one treatment may be necessary to obtain best results. We have an array of vascular lasers that are safe to use on any skin type (color) and our laser practitioners are experts at providing safe and effective vein removal treatments.
Cherry or spider hemangiomas are also referred to as “blood freckles.” They are benign vascular lesions (blood vessels) that usually begin to appear on the trunk (torso) of the body and then spread to the extremities. Although not usually a cause for health concern, they usually represent a cosmetic concern to patients.
Spider hemangiomas are effectively treated with several types of medical lasers, and cherry hemangiomas are usually resolved with 1 to 2 laser treatments. Some of the larger blood vessels may only shrink in size after 1 or 2 laser treatments and will require additional treatments to completely resolve them. In any event, most patients are pleased to see dramatic improvement with each and every treatment. There is no downtime involved for treatment of cherry hemangiomas and treatments are spaced four to six weeks apart.
How many acne laser treatments are required is a difficult question to answer because there are many factors involved. Much of the answer depends on the type of acne, severity of the acne, degree of the acne scarring, skin type, and whether or not the patient is able and willing to have downtime. For example, if a patient has moderate inflammatory acne papules without scarring – the treatment plan may consist of 6 acne laser treatments. On the other hand, if the patient comes in with papules lots of whiteheads and cystic acne combined with red, brown or textured acne scarring, the recommended treatment plan may consist of 6 to 9 treatments spaced between 2 and 4 weeks apart.
We believe that a good acne practitioner will tailor the treatment plan to the patient’s acne condition, goals, skin type, lifestyle, and budget. From there, setting realistic expectations for our acne patients and involving them in the treatment plan is a good starting point. Acne treatment plans should be individualized and open to modification as needed.
Since 2004, we’ve met many patients from Long Beach, CA, and from surrounding areas, who come to us to discuss laser tattoo removal because they’ve been swindled with other tattoo removal gimmicks. There are two in particular that we hear all the time, so we thought we’d set the record straight on these for you here.
First, let us say that as tattoos have become more popular, more and more removal gimmicks have come out targeting those who just don’t want their tattoo anymore. And trust us, we get it. When you’re over a tattoo, you want it gone and you don’t want to spend a lot to get rid of it. If this sounds familiar, then this page is for you. Understanding what’s effective and what isn’t in terms of tattoo removal will ultimately save you two of your most precious resources: your time and money.
The first of these two gimmicks is called “Wrecking Balm”. It is a two-step, mail order system that claims to be a safe and effective alternative to laser tattoo removal. It is based on hydroquinone, a “bleaching” agent for the skin combined with a microdermabrasion-like mechanism. You need to understand that hydroquinone is a medication that slows down the production of melanin, the skin’s natural pigment, which gives it color. Hydroquinone cannot “remove” tattoo ink. It has no ability to “break-up” ink particles and cannot even penetrate the skin to the level where the tattoo ink is. The same is true for the “microdermabrasion”. While this may exfoliate the top few cell layers, there is no capability of this product reaching the deeper epidermis and dermis where tattoo ink is deposited. In short, “Wrecking Balm” is at best misrepresenting it’s capability to remove tattoos, and at worst, flat-out fraudulent claiming it can permanently remove tattoos.
Another treatment that you may have heard of is TCA peeling for tattoo removal. TCA stands for trichloroacetic acid, a powerful chemical skin-peeling agent. While TCA peeling can be very useful for numerous skin conditions, unwanted tattoos are not one of them. Because TCA exfoliates only the outermost layers of skin, it is simply incapable of reaching the levels of the epidermis and dermis where the tattoo ink is.
Also, aggressive TCA peels can produce unwanted side effects such as darkening or lightening of the skin (hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation) and scarring if not used properly or by inexperienced hands.
Again, we understand that you want your tattoo gone and you don’t want to spend a fortune. But by taking your time, educating yourself and doing your homework, we think you’ll find that laser tattoo removal is the safest, most cost effective option to get rid of your tattoo once and for all. We urge you to learn more about this option and don’t get caught up in the hype of hydroquinone and/or TCA-based tattoo “removal” gimmicks—because they really are just that!
Depressed acne scars affect the smoothness or texture of the skin. These scars can also be referred to as “atrophic acne scars” or “boxcar acne scars” due to their shape. They may have sharp cliff-like edges or have a scooped out appearance. These acne scars can be difficult scars to treat due to their size and fibrous nature.
We have found that non-ablative laser treatments (those that have no downtime and are non-invasive) are not the best choice for these types of acne scars. Instead, we believe that laser resurfacing is a good option for depressed acne scars.
There are many newer technologies for laser resurfacing and the best treatment option is determined based on the the degree of your scarring and your skin type. In some situations where scarring is profound, punch excision may be a better option.
This is a technique wherein the physician excises (cuts out) the damaged scar area and sutures it closed to form a clean, discrete scar.
Evaluating these are options for improvement is a good first step in treating depressed acne scars.
When it comes down to it, we know that you have many choices when it comes to laser practices. And we also know that it’s the knowledge, skill and expertise of the laser practitioners and the breadth of technology that sets one practice apart from another. That’s why we’ve invested an enormous amount of time, energy and financial resources in finding the very best devices and placed them in the most capable hands to provide you with an array of treatment options that not only give you superior results, but that fit your lifestyle and budget too.
Patients like you want to know what we consider to be the top three lasers for resurfacing. Here’s our list and why we like these devices:
The erbium MicroLaser Peel: Although this device isn’t as powerful as the CO2 laser, it still can generate some impressive results. We use this device because in our hands, a series of three of these treatments can yield similar results to a single fractionated treatment. The benefits also include more predictable and tolerable downtimes (i.e. fewer complications) which we’ve found our patients need given their busy lifestyles.
Erbium Laser Resurfacing Before and After Photos
Road rash is a slang or laymen’s term for a condition better known in the medical field as a traumatic tattoo. If you’ve ever had an accident—bike, car or motorcycle—or know someone who has, then you may be familiar with it. If a patient’s skin becomes scraped and filled with gravel, sand, pavement or asphalt during a traumatic accident, a “staining” effect can occur. The healed skin or “scar” that’s left behind usually has a blackish or bluish discoloration.
Many people aren’t aware that tattoo removal lasers are great tools for the treatment of road rash and should be used early in the recovery phase. These devices are safe to use on every skin type (color), so anyone who has suffered a road rash injury may have treatment. Laser treatments usually need to be done in a series, but the results and improvement we’ve seen with them is dramatic.
Older road rash injuries can be treated too, but may not respond as well to the laser. If you or someone you know has a road rash scar, there is help. We would love to opportunity to evaluate your injury and tell you more about the success we’ve had treating this difficult condition.
Scar Removal Before and After Pictures
Have you ever seen a keloid (bumpy, raised) scar and wondered why someone healed that way? Maybe you have one or more keloids and feel embarrassed or upset by the way they look. Keloid scars are easily recognizable, and the truth is, no one really knows exactly why they occur.
Keloid scars are very dense, raised and firm. The scar tissue of a keloid is very fibrous. Keloid scars differ from other types of raised, firm scars because they extend beyond the boundaries of the initial injury. They come in various shapes, colors and sizes. Commonly, they’re pink, red or brown. People with darker skin colors (especially Asians and African Americans) tend to develop keloids more frequently, but they can happen to anyone. They can form after a traumatic injury, a surgery, a piercing, and sometimes spontaneously.
If you have a keloid and have been wondering how you can make it look better, we have had success with steroid injections. If you’ve got a keloid scar and want to talk about having it removed, give us a call today.
Are you an adult suffering with acne? In addition to having small pimples, is your skin red, flaky, and irritated? If so, then you may have a condition known as acne rosacea.
Acne rosacea is a combination of two conditions: Rosacea, which causes facial irritation and redness due to excessive blood flow, and acne which causes the formation of red and yellow pimples. It’s common for the combination to occur in the nose, central forehead and cheeks.
Acne rosacea typically affects lighter-skinned men and women who usually complain of having a long history of “sensitive” skin. We’d bet that many of the treatments that you’ve been prescribed have aggravated and irritated your skin. This story is common in those like you who are fighting acne rosacea.
To answer the title question of this page, there is no single theory that explains your condition. Several different ones exist and many researchers suspect that it is a combination of genetic, environmental and even emotional factors that contribute to acne rosacea.
Remember that acne and Rosacea are two, distinct and separate conditions. In the case of acne rosacea, they coexist! When you have acne rosacea, the two tend to “feed off” of one another as the increased vascularity that causes your red skin also drives the formation of more of the pimple-like acne blemishes. As you might guess, both conditions need to be addressed separately. You may see little to no improvement unless both are treated simultaneously.
At Celibre Medical, we’ve used a combination of both the Aramis and pulsed dye lasers to help our acne rosacea patients. We’ve also seen patients improve after treatment with photodynamic therapy. Of course, we can help you pick out the proper skin care products to help control your acne rosacea and keep your skin looking smooth and clear. These products are geared to be extra gentle and calming for your skin.
We understand that no one likes acne, especially a busy adult. Call today to find out how we can help you get the clear skin you want with proven treatments!
