The double punch for beauty
by EVE MARX
They say beauty’s only skin deep and what counts is what’s
within, but if your complexion is marred with dark spots, fine lines, or
rosacea or rough skin, you’re probably feeling less than beautiful, and that
hurts your self esteem. Fortunately, you can remedy these unattractive but not
life threatening medical health problems with the help of a skillful and
licensed medical aesthetician. Two unique services offered by a local med spa
and a beauty bar done in tandem have produced excellent results combating the
signs of too much sun and simple aging. I call them the Double Punch.
Kristen Evans is the new skin specialist at kdstudio in
Katonah, a beauty bar. While the store specializes in hypoallergenic,
non-animal tested and fragrance free skin potions and condiments, they also
offer a variety of facials and natural tanning options. Among the newest
offerings of facials is a procedure called dermaplaning, a somewhat
controversial but increasingly popular with celebrities specialty Ms. Evans is
licensed to implement. Dermaplaning is essence is shaving your face. It’s done
with a surgical blade (yes, you read that right: it’s a scalpel) by a trained
professional. Dermaplaning helps eliminate wrinkles, scarring, reduces hyperpigmentation, and it does remove every speck of hair
on your face. That blond peach fuzz that no laser hair removal will make a dent
in? Dermaplaning will get rid of it, and for a long time.
I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I tried the process.
I had been getting facials for years, and not just soothing, smoothing ones
that leave you relaxed and glowing. I was prepared for some ouchiness since I’m
one of those people who don’t think a facial is complete until my blackheads
are extracted. During the dermaplaning, the blades glided smoothly over my
face. Dermaplaning or blading as it is sometimes called, removes the outermost
layers of dead skin, leaving what’s underneath immediately more smooth and
supple. Appearance and tenderness afterwards varies from individual to
individual. Some people leave the treatment and immediately apply their
favorite cosmetics. My own skin was rather red and tender, even though for
years I’ve been told my skin is thick.
During the dermaplanning process, the aesthetician gently
scrapes what is most commonly a No. 10 scalpel along the surface of the skin,
using short, brisk strokes. The sensation is not unpleasant. Afterwards Ms.
Evans showed me a pile of scraped off, wafer-thin papery bits. Because the
procedure is considered non-ablative, there is no cutting of the flesh. I was
advised afterwards to not engage in my usual exfoliating rituals (I am a fan of
scrubs of all descriptions) because the new skin was so delicate.
It was Ms. Evans suggestion to follow up the dermaplaning
fairly swiftly with a photofacial, another skin rejuvenating procedure I told
her I’ve been doing on and off for two years. Photofacials are a proven,
effective method of reducing the signs of aging and sun damage on the face,
neck and hands. It is a pulsed light procedure to rejuvenate the skin by stimulating the production of the
body’s own collagen and elastin. The procedure eliminates broken capillaries,
minimizes fine lines, shrinks enlarged pores, and is one of the few proven
methods to treat facial spider veins. While the tool used is always a pulsed
light laser, age of the equipment does make a difference. Bellava MedAesthetics
& Spa in Bedford Hills uses the Artisan system from Palomar, the leading
generation of cosmetic lasers.
Ms. Evans suggestion to have a photofacial within a few days
of the dermaplaning was a good one, because the photofacial, she said, would be
doubly effective. With less layers of dead epidermis to penetrate, the laser
could go deeper and be more curative. Anne Gentner Hughes is the photofacial
expert at Bellava. She concurred with Ms. Evans. I scheduled an appointment for
the photofacial four days after the dermaplaning.
While I’ve been having photofacials for quite some time,
they never hurt like they did following dermaplaning. My skin was much more
sensitive and every pulsed light pinprick really pricked, especially where the
most dark sunspots I was trying to get rid off occurred on the left side of my
jaw and my upper lip. Afterwards, Ms. Hughes handed me an iced roller to run up
and down my sore chin and cheeks.
Ms. Hughes and Bellava were adamant about after care. I
received directions both written and verbal. A mild sunburn like sensation was
to be expected that could last anywhere from 2 hours to 3 days. I could expect
some mild swelling. Black lesions (the lasered sun spots) might even appear
worse than usual for a few days. I was advised not to scratch at them, or pick.
Some scabbing was not to be unexpected. I was to avoid using any hair removal process
for several days, to avoid direct sunlight, and use at least a #30 SPF.
Unaware and unprepared how ugly I’d look for a few days
(more like a week), at first I was dismayed by the Double Punch treatment. The
black spots got even blacker and refused to be covered by make up. Then on Day
6 the spots began flaking off, and with a slight abrading with a washcloth,
were erased. The redness disappeared, as did the slight swelling and touch of
soreness. The fun and gratifying part was when people began telling me how
great I looked, and asked what I did to make my facial skin look at least 10
years younger than it is.
It’s been six weeks since I had the Double Punch treatment
and I’m extremely pleased. If blades scare you, Bellava recommends substituting
dermablading for one of the VI or chemical peels offered there. The VI peel is
blend of powerful ingredients including vitamin C and salicylic acid. It
tackles a wide range of skin issues from uneven tone, to acne, to age spots.
The spa also offers two different chemical peels; the Obagi Blue Peel, which
contains trichloroacetic acid; and the D’Vine Wine Jessner Peel which contains
lactic acid resorcinol, salicylic acid, raspberry and wine extract. But if
you’re not afraid of the blade, submit to the scalpel treatment offered by the
highly trained Kristen Evans at kdstudio. Like I said, I fell asleep on the
table. It was that relaxing.
