Beauty deeper than skin deep

 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.