What treatments does dérmica offer to remove dark spots?
Located in Edmonton, Alberta, Dérmica offers a variety of treatments to remove dark spots on the face. Base level intervention would start with products. Professional products target pigment removal at a superficial level. Our favourite product to remove hyperpigmentation is the Retinol Resurfacing Serum. It helps even out the skin tone. If generalized uneven skin tone is your concern, look out for products containing lactic acid.
Facial coupled with AHA boost
All of our facials have reserved time for pore extraction. The extraction process clears away oil and debris for better absorption of Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA). Our AHA boost contains those good brightening acids, for example glycolic and lactic acid. Boosts are mild peels.
Peels
Other treatments to remove dark spots on the face include chemical peels. Glycolic acid is used to remove sun spots, acne scars, and other dark spots on the face. It penetrates the deepest into the skin because it has the smallest molecules.
Picture your skin as a bunch of scales held together by glue. Glycolic acid can reach deep levels to dissolve the glue thereby separating the layers. Over the next few days following your treatment, loose layers will start to crunch up and dry up. You may start to see flaking in some areas. As a result, your body makes new cells thereby pushing pigment up to the surface. Follow up peels are required to push the pigmentation all the way out. All things considered they are a great choice for all skin types.
Photofacials
Lastly, photofacials are our maximum treatment to remove dark spots from the face. They are considered “maximum level” treatments because they target hyperpigmentation with laser precision.
IPL Phototherapy is able to isolate specific ranges of light. Each range of light within the spectrum penetrates to a different level in the skin.
More control
Our ACLARA photofacial targets melanin cells with no effect on the superficial tissues. This results in maximum effect with very little downtime.
Retinol does pretty much everything. Firstly, retinol helps accelerate the cell turnover rate. The cell turnover rate is how quickly your cells are coming up with a new one, bringing it up to the surface, and purging it. Young skin is constantly regenerating; retinol has that affect on skin in general.
Retinol is meant for temporary use. When you are using it, it forces your skin to exfoliate. This exfoliation process will give you textural repair, as well as remove scarring and hyperpigmentation and acne. In addition, due to its regenerating capacity, it is also used in anti-aging products.
Can you use retinol if you have sensitive skin?
The negative side effects outweigh the benefits of retinol for someone that has sensitive skin. Keep in mind there are different types of sensitive skin. Sensitive skin types include rosacea and can range to a dryer, more mature/sensitive skin.
Using retinol when you have sensitive skin may cause irritation. For instance, rosacea can look like an abundance of skin, which leads clients to exfoliate more often than they should.
However, the reality is that inflammation is causing the skin to get thick and the pores to get big. As a result, the type of exfoliation provided by retinol will make the problem worse. Instead, we recommend using salicylic acid. Salicylic acid will exfoliate the damaged skin and also take down inflammation. Additionally, salicylic acid helps to strengthen the fibres of the skin which greatly helps rosacea.
Rosacea pimples
Sometimes rosacea acne gets confused for regular acne, however, rosacea pimples will never burst. Salicylic acid is the only way to get rid of those pimples.
In conclusion, using retinol when you have sensitive skin is not the best option. Try using products with salicylic acid.
In a city like Edmonton in Alberta, the seasons change drastically and we get to experience many diverse climate conditions! Whether the seasons are changing or you’re moving to a different part of the world, your skin will react to its surroundings. This is why it is important to acclimate your skin to the climate conditions of your environment. Adding or exchanging certain products in your routine can help avoid breakouts during seasonal skin changes.
Environmental influences
We all have our skin type to work with, however, seasonal skin changes are due to environmental influences. For instance, the summer tends to be hotter with higher humidity levels resulting in much higher water loss. In addition, the longer days often mean we receive more sun exposure. As a result, your skin is more likely to become damaged and dehydrated. You will collect excess buildup from sweat, makeup, and dirt which can clog your pores.
We recommend using products that cleanse away that build up. Also, exfoliation becomes more important in the summer because it helps to remove the surface layers of the skin.
Can skin types change with the season?
Normal combination skin types that border on dry skin can experience full-on dryness in the wintertime. This is due to changes in the environment, for example, cold exposure. The cold can be harsh on the skin as well as cause wind rash. We recommend physically covering you skin with a scarf during the winter months. Just remember to keep the scarf clean!
In addition, in the winter you get double sun exposure coming directly from the sun, and the reflective exposure that bounces off the snow. For this reason if you find yourself on a mountain, or going skiing or doing anything outdoors, make sure you wear sunscreen! Plus you’re more likely to get a chapped sunburn/windburn so make sure to protect your skin.
On the other hand, normal combination skin types that border on oily skin can become full-on oily in the summertime and are more prone to breaking out due to heat exposure or high humidity. They should switch to a lighter, oil-free moisturizer in the summer.
Treating seasonal damage
In the fall, skin starts to dry up a little. Summer damage should be lifted with skin treatments such as photofacials or chemical peels. Ideally, these treatments should take place at the end of summer or the beginning of fall.
The goal of the treatments is to remove the cap of dead summer skin and rejuvenate your skin. This will help the ingredients in your products actually make it to the cells that need the extra hydration and nutrients.
What happens if you don’t shave before your IPL Hair Removal treatment?
The reason we ask that the hair is shaved flush to the skin is because the target is melanin. If there is hair that is long enough to cast a shadow on the skin or fold over on to the skin, that area will get the get unnecessary heat at the surface of the skin which may cause burns.
Also, your results are not going to be as good as they would be if that hair wasn’t taking up that extra energy. In other words, all the energy would go straight to the source we are targeting, which is the bulb. That hair strand is already dead so we don’t need that interfering. We need the live bulb.
Can you shave after IPL laser hair removal?
Most definitely. You can shave after IPL laser hair removal as often as you’d like or not shave at all. However, you cannot do any form of hair removal that involves pulling the bulb out of the skin, for example, waxing. In addition, you should not use corrosive hair removal creams that can potentially absorb into the skin and have an effect on the bulb.
Can you use IPL on stubble?
If there is a shadow being cast on the surface of the skin by that hair growth you should not. By shadow, we mean that it causes a greyish appearance and its apparent that hair is present.
What about men that want to get rid of their beard?
IPL Hair Removal is an excellent choice to get rid of an unwanted beard. However, clients need to make sure they are clean shaven before their appointment.
What happens if you stop using IPL before you get to your results?
If you stop IPL laser treatments prematurely, there will be a short period of time before you start seeing some growth come back. Most areas that clients have treated are influenced by hormones that drive growth. Therefore, it is inevitable that the hair will come back because hormones change.
In conclusion, stopping treatments prematurely will decrease hair growth but won’t get you maximum results. Furthermore, stopping IPL prematurely will not result in more hair than you started out with.
What happens if you stop IPL after reaching your goal?
Once you finish your full treatment course and we get to your goal, you will see an extended period where you wont have any hair growth at all. Very seldom do clients experience earlier regrowth, and if they do, when they do it is significantly less hair, typically thinner, and takes a lot longer to grow to the point of needing to shave more than once every few months. It takes about 3-5 years on average before you need a touch up.
Can IPL make hair growth worse?
No, typically in most cases it does not have that effect. On the rare occassion that this occurs, this is considered an adverse reaction symbolic of something abnormal going on in the body.
Your skin will go through some processes depending on how severe the sunburn is. Sunburn relief treatment consists of soothing and protecting. Sunburn recovery treatment will depend on the flaking process.
Sunburn Phase 1
First, you will experience a burning sensation, stinging and possibly blistering. This will be followed by some scabbing or flaking of the skin. During this initial period where the skin really sensitive, we recommend using a barrier balm over top of a soothing gel that contains grape seed oil or aloe vera.
Aloe Vera improves skin hydration and delivers strong anti-inflammatory benefits.
Aloe vera is very good for calming the skin and keeping the area hydrated. It helps the healing process along by acting as a protective shield against environmental pollutants. This in turn helps retain moisture which helps repair damage to epidermal cells.
Try using the Glo’s barrier balm. It will lock in hydration and prevent any extra water loss while protecting from the elements. In addition, it contains vitamin E which helps the skin heal faster.
Sunburn Phase 2
After the initial period you will see the flaking process. While this means having new fresh skin, the process will either leave you with hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation.
Hyperpigmentation is the result of the sun bringing out excess melanin in the skin. This can appear as sunspots, freckles, or blotches on the skin.
Hypo-pigmentation happens when damaged skin and the surrounding skin has been tanned by the sun but the fresh cells don’t have that tan which leaves blank spaces or “hypo-pigmentation”.
To resolve the after effect for hyperpigmentation we recommend photofacials, for hypo-pigmentation we recommend chemical peels.
Can you get rid of sunburn overnight?
In short, the answer is no. However, you can soothe sunburn and prevent form getting worse. As soon as you notice, you need to pull that heat out of your skin. Draw the heat out by using ice packs or anything else that cools the skin. After that, you have to hydrate immediately. Soothing gels that are water based are excellent for protection. However, even if you act promptly, chances are you’ll still have damage because once the skin has been damaged you cant reverse it, only heal it.
Is Vaseline good for sunburn?
Vaseline is a good sunburn treatment in the sense that it will keep moisture in the skin but it does not allow trans-epidermal movement. So, while you’re not losing moisture, you’re also not getting extra moisture in. This won’t hurt but it wont help to heal. The faster you heal the less chances of extra damage.
