Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! All of us at SpaMedica are wishing you only the best wishes for 2015. See you again in the new year.

New Year, New You: Look Even Better With These Skin Treatments

Everyone always says it every year, but 2014 has really gone by so fast. In a matter of hours, we’ll be ringing in a new year. Have you accomplished some of your resolutions? That’s great if you did, and it’s still fine if you didn’t. New Year resolutions are always about improving yourself or your circumstances. It’s a good time to try to set goals to live and look better than the year before.

Why not start with making beauty resolutions to have even better skin for 2015? Whether that means getting rid of wrinkles, hair or tattoos you don’t want, we have a list of treatments you should try out. Below are non-surgical treatments that can firm and clear up your skin so you look awesome all year round.

Botox

Source: SpaMedica. Before and after photo of a patient who had Botox

When Botox first emerged a few decades ago, many people were skeptical of the treatment. “Is it safe?” “Won’t it just make my face look frozen?” Patients and the media frequently asked these questions. There’s no doubt that some people are still reserved about Botox, but the attitude towards it is much more relaxed today with so much information available now. And plus, it’s the most popular non-surgical treatment year after year.

Botox, a purified protein named botulinum toxin A, relaxes muscle areas by blocking nerves impulses which trigger contractions. This helps to soften wrinkles on your face. Results usually last up to 6 months.

It’s like maintenance—a few injections of Botox here and there will keep unwanted wrinkles and lines away. It’s pretty common for people in their 20s to get Botox to prevent wrinkles from showing up in the first place. These treatments have been called “pre-juvenation”.

Laser Hair Removal

Source: SpaMedica. Before and after photo of a patient who had laser hair removal

Who doesn’t like smooth skin? It’s a hassle to constantly shave and wax every couple of days and weeks. Maybe you’re frustrated with always busting out the razors to scrape away hair during the summer. Laser hair removal is a way to quit that routine for good. 

With faster and better lasers, men can get the hair on their backs removed within 20 minutes. Hair on a woman’s whole body could be removed within that same amount of time. To permanently remove 80% of the hair, patients should expect to have 4-5 laser hair removal sessions. Different lasers and wavelengths are used depending on your skin and hair type.

Skin Tightening For Your Body and Face

With age and genetics comes droopy skin. Maybe you’ve noticed that your neck or cheeks don’t look as firm and tight as they did before. SpaMedica is equipped with several non-surgical treatments that combat loose skin. These treatments can treat your face or different areas on your body.

Source: SpaMedica. Before and after photo of a patient who had non-surgical liposuction

Body

Exilis is one of the available non-surgical fat reduction and skin tightening treatments to firm up your body. It’s a device that uses radiofrequency to contour your body and reduce fat without surgical intervention. Drop in the clinic once a week for 4-6 weeks and after that, you’ll see improvement in your figure and skin. These treatments are great alternative options for people who don’t want to deal with recovery time or surgery like liposuction and tummy tucks.

Face

If a facelift is out of the question for you, then be happy that the Pan G Lift is an amazing non-surgical alternative to firm up your skin. It’s a series of treatments that uses radiofrequency energy, ultrasound and more to lift your face and neck without any need for cuts. 

The Pan G Lift lifts up droopy brows, cheeks, jowls and neck—it also targets other skin concerns such as wrinkles and spider veins. Each treatment lasts for one hour. Right after your appointment, you can go back to work or normal activities. It’s that simple.  

Laser Tattoo Removal

Source: SpaMedica. Before and after photo of a patient who had laser tattoo removal.

So what if wrinkles or droopiness isn’t even your concern? Maybe getting rid of a tattoo is on your mind. Starting off the New Year by erasing an embarrassing or poorly designed tattoo is a pretty good way to renew yourself in 2015. Long gone is the idea that tattoos are forever; that’s far from the case now with the booming laser tattoo removal industry. 

The PicoSure laser is the latest laser in the industry that’s annihilating tattoos better and faster than before. With the PicoSure, the amount of treatments you’ll need is cut dramatically compared to other lasers. After 4 treatments, you can see 90% of your tattoo cleared. Compare that number to older lasers that require up to 16 treatments for tattoo clearance.

Start The Year With Enhanced Skin

If enhancing your skin and appearance is on your mind as beauty resolutions for the New Year, we hope we’ve provided some good options and insight for you to look into. Leave a comment or book an appointment online if you have any questions!

Happy New Year and best wishes for all you lovely people.

Breast Augmentation: 5 Common Myths Debunked

Breast augmentation is one of big decisions a woman can make. It leaves you asking a lot of questions, if you don’t know where to start. It’s often super confusing learning about the procedure when there’s so much information and myths out there on this subject. Considering this, we decided to tackle and explain some of the most common breast augmentation myths below.

Breast implants explode on airplanes

This is an urban myth, but a very common one. It’s a question that people often ask their plastic surgeons. Since breast implants are very durable, they will not explode on airplanes.  Altitude and pressure will not affect your breast implants. Go on that plane and fly off to whatever destination you desire—your breasts will be just fine!

Breast implants have an expiry date

Breast implants last a long time; some women never have to have them replaced or taken out. People often say that breast implants should be changed every 10-15 years. Doctors say that unless breast implants need to be changed or removed due to ruptures or personal choices, implants don’t have to be taken out at a specified time. Especially now with improved durable implants on the market, there’s no need to replace your breast implants unless you absolutely have to.

Your breasts will look just how you wanted them to after surgery

Right after surgery, your breasts wont look the way they ultimately will in the long run. They need time to settle in. Usually in the first two to three weeks, breast implants look swollen or sit a little too high on your chest. It takes two to three weeks for the breast implants to drip down into the pocket and look more natural. After six weeks, your breasts will look more natural and match the expectations you might have had prior to surgery. Depending on your plastic surgeon, they might recommend you to do massages or wear a breast wrap to allow your breast implants to settle lower in the pocket.

Scars are obvious

Like with any procedure, breast augmentation will leave you with scars. How big and visible those scars are depends on your plastic surgeon and the technique used. Scars are normally no more than a few centimeters long. The incision options that are available in breast augmentation include:

1.         Under the breast fold
2.     Areolar approach
3.     Armpit
4.     Belly button

If you don’t want any visible scars on your breast, incisions made to the armpit and belly button are the best options. And just as a fun fact, Toronto plastic surgeon Dr. Mulholland was one of the leaders who developed the endoscopic armpit incision approach in breast augmentation.  

Stretch marks will develop on breasts

Getting stretch marks on breasts after breast augmentation isn’t common. Plastic surgeons do see few patients who develop stretch marks on their breasts, but it’s not something that happens in every single patient.

It can happen though, especially if a woman chooses very large implants or has a history of stretch marks. When your dermis is torn and your skin stretches rapidly, stretch marks develop. Here’s a scenario: if the skin of a young woman’s breasts is very tight but she gets very large implants, this could increase the chances of stretch mark development. This is because her skin is rapidly expanding when the implants are put in place. Your plastic surgeon will explain and discuss what implants are ideal for your body type.

There’s more information about breast augmentation available here. Get in touch with us if you any have questions by leaving a comment or booking a consultation online.

Stretch Marks: 4 Things People Get Wrong About It

Source: Stretch mark photo from BCOG.com

Oh sweet, sweet stretch marks. They’re large and coloured in bold shades of red, purple or white. They hang around on tummies, thighs and hips permanently. They’re reliable little scars because they’ll always be there on your body even when you don’t want them to.

Stretch marks are basically the best self-esteem destroyers, especially when beach season rolls in and everyone’s half naked. Tons of people have them and I could say without real statistical evidence that they all despise them. I’m sad to say that stretch marks cannot be rid of permanently. But there are ways to reduce the look of it. Before seeing how you can treat stretch marks, learn more about stretch marks before you try to conquer this annoying problem.

Stretch Marks Are Usually White or Silver

When stretch marks are just starting to appear on your body, they can look red or purple. Purple or red stretch marks occur when your skin is expanding and when there are micro tears in the skin’s collagen and elastin. With more blood vessels in your injured skin, that’s why stretch marks appear red or purple. These colours could last for months or years after the stretch marks first showed up (Awesome. Not.)

If you have older or mature stretch marks, they look white or silver. This happens after blood vessels fade and when there’s no longer an inflammatory response. More mature stretch marks have less collagen and elastin compared to non-affected skin.

Getting a Good Tan Removes Stretch Marks

Tanning won’t remove your stretch marks. White and silver stretch marks don’t tan the same way as unaffected skin. The first layer of your skin turns darker, but your stretch marks will stay the same. The colour doesn’t change, so white stretch marks stand out even more against tanned skin.

Plus, if you are basking in the sun, make sure you’re wearing SPF sunscreen. Too much sun exposure can damage your skin’s collagen and that’s’ the last thing you want if stretch marks are your concern.  

Weight Loss Gets Rid of Stretch Marks

Stretch marks are considered scars so they’ll still be there when you drop pounds. Stretch marks usually occur due to a few things that cause the skin to stretch: pregnancy, weight gain and weight loss.

Thin People Are Immune to Stretch Marks

It doesn’t matter how big or small you are—people of all sizes can have stretch marks. When people go through puberty, a stage where hormones are rapidly changing, stretch marks can form. Even if a thin person has an impossibly fast metabolism and never gains weight, hormonal imbalances causes stretch marks.

Body builders who are notoriously fit and built can also sport some stretch marks. These marks are usually seen on the upper chest or shoulder areas.

Source: SpaMedica

Reduce Your Stretch Marks With These Treatments

Physcians use fractional lasers and radiofrequency devices such as Enerjet. During this treatment, the Enerjet applicator is applied on the skin where the stretch marks are. The Enerjet propels solubilized soft tissue fillers like Restylane and Juvederm across the skin.

This product is evenly distributed within and under the stretch mark to make them smooth and tight. There aren’t any needles used and there’s no pain. It’s a 30-45 minute treatment depending on how much needs to be treated.  

Different methods and devices are used to reduce the looks of stretch marks. A series of treatments need to be performed for the best results. These programs usually take 3-6 months to finish since each treatment is separated by a few weeks. Expect to see 30-75% improvement in your red, purple or white stretch marks.

Curious for more information? Read more on stretch mark reduction treatments.

The Reason Why You Shouldn’t Get Plastic Surgery

What do you do to fix a failing relationship? You know when you start fighting more often—even about the littlest things—and when you’re just not happy with your partner anymore, there’s something wrong. So do you start wearing sexy lingerie? Take a vacation? Break the usual routines and go out for actual dates that don’t involve watching TV and eating on the couch?

Why You Shouldn’t Get Plastic Surgery

Some people would go as far as getting plastic surgery to improve their looks to make their partners happier. Yes, getting plastic surgery is incredibly common now but it’s still a decision that should be carefully considered. Getting a rhinoplasty or breast augmentation to look more attractive to please your partner shouldn’t be the main reason of surgery.

Plastic surgeons do see people who come and request for procedures because their partner said they should get some work done. In these situations, plastic surgeons aren’t just doctors; they’re like therapists who listen to this person’s situation and thoughts. Surgeons usually say patients should be doing procedures for themselves and not for others. If a surgeon feels the client is seeking surgery for reasons like repairing a relationship or winning back an ex-lover, they can refuse to perform procedures on them.

Women Seek Surgery on Their Own

Of course, not everyone gets a little cosmetic work done to please their partners. Dr. Mulholland, a plastic surgeon from Toronto, has had many female patients in their 40s and 50s come in for treatments for themselves. “These women aren’t looking to be on the cover of magazines or to support a failing marriage. They want to look and feel their best, and they do so with the help of these relatively safe procedures and dieting. They have to go into it with realistic expectations and full disclosure of information,” he says.

A Quarter of Men Want Their Partners to Get Surgery

Lots of women will get some work done out of their own choices and desires to improve their looks. But what happens when your partner thinks that you should get plastic surgery? In this survey, 24% of British men admitted they wanted their partners to have cosmetic surgery to improve their looks.

The top 5 treatments men said they wanted their partner to have included:

• Liposuction
• Breast augmentation
• Dental surgery
• Rhinoplasty
• Botox

24% of surveyed British men said they wanted their partners to get plastic surgery to improve their looks. Rhinoplasty was the 4th most popular choice.

Only 10% of these men said they would actually tell their partners. You would think the main reason men wouldn’t admit their opinions are to avoid hurting their partners’ feelings, but that’s not the case. The main reason 76% of the men wouldn’t say anything is because “they don’t think their looks could be improved” even after surgery.

Do It for Yourself

We think these results are quite revealing. It wouldn’t be true to say a romantic partner’s opinions of your looks don’t matter at all. But someone else’s desires to change your appearance for their own needs shouldn’t be your main reason to seek surgery. Changing something on your body or face should stem from your personal choices to feel more confident and happy overall. Afterall, there’s risk, recovery time and it can be expensive if you haven’t budgeted for plastic surgery.

We’d hate to sound cynical, but here it is. You don’t want to breakup with your partner but still live with a nose or super large implants that you didn’t want in the first place. You are the one who will live with and see yourself everyday—make sure it’s your decision and not somebody’s else’s.

Leg Vein Treatments: How to Treat Your Varicose Veins Easily

Source: SpaMedica. This patient received laser leg vein treatments at SpaMedica

Leg veins, also known as varicose veins, are bulging veins on a person’s calves and legs. These leg veins can be blue, red or the same colour as your flesh. Spider veins look smaller and are closer to the skin’s surface. Leg veins are one of the most common cosmetic concerns, especially for women over age 50. This doesn’t mean younger people don’t see this problem on their legs, though. More and more people in their 20s and 30s are starting to see leg veins form. Luckily, a few leg vein treatments treatments are available to reduce or remove these pesky veins.

Why do people get leg veins?

Lots of reasons contribute to the development of leg veins. Pregnancy is one of the main causes of leg veins. Since there’s more blood in the body when a woman is pregnant, this causes veins to increase in size. Sometimes leg veins improve a few months after delivery.

Other factors include:

• Weight gain
• Weight loss
• Hereditary factors. If you have leg veins, usually another person in your family has them too.
• Hormonal influences. Such changes occur during puberty, pregnancy and menopause.
• Lack of movement and exercise
• Long periods of standing. People who work in professions like teaching are more prone to getting leg veins due to the increased pressure in the legs from standing a lot.

Are there ways to prevent leg veins from developing?

There are some tips and habits you can do to cut your chances of developing leg veins. If this issue is hereditary, it’s unfortunately out of your hands. You can do some things to prevent new veins from forming, though.

• Go out for walks during your breaks if you have a job that requires you to sit down for hours. Some movement helps take pressure off your legs.
• Reduce sodium intake. Salt is known to cause water retention, which increase pressure on veins.
• Wear sunscreen. Sun exposure increase chances of spider veins developing.

How can you treat leg veins?

Leg veins and spider veins aren’t life-threatening, but they can be uncomfortable. These veins can cause achiness or cramping. Even if they don’t cause any pain or sensation, maybe you’re fed up with the looks of it. Over 95% of SpaMedica clients see improvements in their leg veins after laser leg vein treatments. As for spider veins, clients see over 75% of improvement in the appearance of these smaller veins.

Laser leg vein treatments

Laser leg vein treatments and laser spider vein treatments involve lasers with multiple wavelengths, intense pulsed light and radiofrequency energy. These techniques are either used in combination or individually. Most clients need 3-6 laser treatments every 3-4 weeks. A session lasts 15-30 minutes, depending on how many leg veins you have. For very lucky people, they require only one laser leg vein treatment.

Source: SpaMedica. This patient received sclerotherapy treatments at SpaMedica

Sclerotherapy

This is another common way to treat leg and spider veins. It’s a needle-based technique that reduces the looks of leg veins. Sclerotherapy injections contain chemical sclerosing agents that cause the veins to collapse. This forces the blood to travel through other veins. Eventually, the leg vein fades. You might have to wear gradient compression stockings to reduce swelling.

You don’t have to deal with the discomfort or appearance of leg veins forever. There are lots of ways to reduce your chances of developing or removing them. Keep active, eat well or look into laser or sclerotherapy treatments if you need to.

Laser Tattoo Removal: Expectations vs. Reality

Source: Google Images

Everybody makes mistakes in their lives. Some of them are small while some are more long-lasting. Thankfully, tattoos don’t have to be one of those permanent mistakes anymore. With laser tattoo removal in Toronto, poorly designed (or misspelled) tattoos can be erased faster and better now.

According to statistics, 49 million Americans have at least one tattoo. Of those people, 20% of them regret getting a tattoo. Dr. Mulholland, a Toronto cosmetic surgeon, says that women make up the majority of laser tattoo removal patients. Why is this, you might ask? Sometimes their tattoos simply don’t reflect them as a person anymore or they had the name of an ex-lover inked on their bodies.

People tend to think tattoo removal is difficult or too painful, but the PicoSure laser makes the process faster. That’s because technology and techniques for tattoo removal have come a long way since the 90s. Here are the most common expectations and the reality of laser tattoo removal.

I’ll have to come in for a lot of treatments

Older lasers are not as fast the PicoSure, so they require patients to come in for several treatments to see clearance. The PicoSure pulse duration is a billionth of a second and is super short. The laser has a pulsed shockwave effect on tattoo pigments with little thermal effect. This acoustic shockwave is excellent at removing tattoos—in as little as 4 treatments, people can see 90% of their tattoo gone. You won’t have to come in for 16 treatments to clear your tattoo with the PicoSure laser.

It’s expensive

Removing tattoos is usually more expensive than getting one, that’s for sure. But since the PicoSure laser removes tattoos much faster than older lasers, you’ll only need half the number of treatments to clear your tattoo. Older, less successful lasers required patients to come in for 8-16 treatments. This makes the whole process more expensive. Depending on how big your tattoo is, PicoSure treatments range from $250-$750 per treatment.

Source: SpaMedica YouTube Channel

It can’t get rid of certain colours

It’s known that certain tattoo ink colours are difficult to remove, such as red ink. When appropriate lasers aren’t used for that pigment, the tattoo becomes resistant and doesn’t clear. SpaMedica has a comprehensive laser tattoo removal program that uses multiple lasers to achieve at least 90% clearance of the tattoo. So if you have a very colourful tattoo, the PicoSure, Revlite and other lasers will be combined during your treatments.

It’s painful

Tattoo removal obviously isn’t the most comfortable feeling in the world, but the PicoSure laser makes the process much more tolerable compared to older lasers. Also, most Toronto laser tattoo removal patients have anesthetic cream applied and an air chilling system directed on the skin. Many SpaMedica patients say the treatments are less painful than getting the tattoo itself.  

Laser tattoo removal in Toronto is not as lengthy, expensive or painful as you might think. Getting rid of those embarrassing or just plain bad tattoos is now a common and easier process. Book your appointment now to start clearing your tattoo.

Clear Your Skin With These Helpful Acne Treatments and Tips

Source: SpaMedica

Acne is a common problem for people of all ages. This pesky skin problem affects teenagers and adults. For some, acne is merely a stage that occurs in teenage years and becomes a thing of the past once they reach adulthood. But for other people, they experience breakouts in their 20s, 30s and beyond. “I see some people who didn’t have acne as teenagers but they get it as adults,” says Dr. Mulholland, a Toronto cosmetic surgeon. Since it’s a superficial problem, having acne affects people’s self-esteem and confidence in social settings. Below, we recommend some tips and acne treatments in Toronto for you to get clearer, smoother skin.  

Get rid of oil-based skincare products

Dr. Mulholland recommends swapping out your oil-based skincare products for water-based products. Products that contain mineral oil, a common ingredient in cosmetics, can aggravate the skin and acne. “If a product says the contents are 51% water and 49% water, I wouldn’t say that product is water-based,” says Dr. Mulholland. If possible, buy products that don’t contain mineral oil (this could also be listed as petrolatum or paraffinum).

Change your diet

Today, more dermatologists and doctors now believe acne breakouts are associated with the food we eat. Some of the common foods that are thought to trigger acne are sugar, bread, coffee and diary. Try to limit or cut the consumption of these things to see if it affects your acne. In many cases, people have cut dairy out of their diets altogether and saw that their acne improved. Make sure to fit in lots of fruits, vegetables and water to keep your skin healthy and hydrated.

Change your products as the season changes

Using the same skincare products all year-round isn’t sufficient for your skin’s needs in different seasons. “Your skin can become irritated and rebel after constantly using the same cleansers and moisturizers,” says Dr. Mulholland. This is because your skin’s needs changes with different weather. Since winter tends to dry skin out, a cleansing gel like Cetaphil is a good idea instead of a cleansing bar. Using cleansing bars and soaps for your skin are more ideal in warmer weather.

Get acne treatments

SpaMedica offers different acne treatments in Toronto to clear up the skin. One of the methods is SonoPeel microdermabrasion. This technique uses gentle ultrasound to micro-abrade the skin’s surface. This helps to reduce the top layer of the skin’s thickness and reduces blackheads and white heads.

Depending on your skin type, other treatments such as chemical peels, crystal peels or silk peel diamond microdermabrasion may be recommended. These acne treatments brighten and even out your skin. They also reduce the risks of future acne breakouts. Blue light therapy may also be performed during your microdermabrasion. It contains special chemicals to attack the bacteria in your sebaceous glands.

Source: SpaMedica

Get acne scar reduction treatments

If acne scars is your main skin concern, SpaMedica also offers acne scar reduction treatments in Toronto. A mix of techniques and technologies are used to clear scar ridden skin. Treatments involve skin tightening devices and fractional lasers. These treatments are meant to clear the colours of acne scars, tighten your skin and produce new collagen. After a series of treatments, patients can see 30-70% improvement in the looks of their acne scars.

We hope these tips help with clearing up your skin. Get in touch with us or book an appointment today to see how we can help you improve your acne and acne scars.