Having a Laser Skin Procedure? Important Information You Need to Know

As technology evolves and more skin care advancements are made, some people are seeking professional treatments such as laser skin procedures in an effort to improve skin concerns such as lightening brown spots and broken capillaries. While we don’t offer this treatment at my skin care spas in Dallas, I certainly know they can be beneficial, so I refer our clients to various doctors in our area when I feel their skin would benefit from such a procedure.

Recently I was having a conversation with a friend of my mother’s, a woman in her early 60′s, and she was telling me that she had gone through a series of laser procedures to help lighten her brown spots and had been very happy with the results.

So immediately going into esthetician mode I said, “Great! Are you using a skin lightener?” She replied, “A what? No, I don’t think so.”

I can’t tell you how many times that I have had this conversation with people. They go in for a laser “fix” only to not be given proper instructions on how to maintain the results they have achieved. Why does this happen? Unlike estheticians, many dermatologists don’t spend as much of their time on daily skin care, but rather they can be more focused on treating skin diseases, prescribing medicine and giving aggressive treatments, such as mole removal and laser skin procedures. So I’m not surprised when I hear this, it’s simply the way it is. I see it like a personal trainer versus a nutritionist. They both have expertise in getting a person healthy and well, but just different areas of expertise – and there is a need for both… Read more

How Do I Get Rid of Broken Capillaries?

What are broken capillaries?

Well for starters, the term “broken” is actually inaccurate. Broken capillaries are caused when you get a bruise from injury to the skin.

The little red blood vessels that are found in different areas of the face (most commonly the nose, cheeks and chin) are actually permanently dilated capillaries. These are common in lighter, fairer skin types of western European descent (Irish, Scottish). If you have visible capillaries around the corners of the nose (little red, squiggle marks) and nowhere else, these may not be the same – these can be caused simply from blowing your nose from colds and allergies that put pressure on the capillaries.

Where do they come from?

Capillary walls are very elastic, and through repeated dilating from hot showers, spicy foods, microdermabrasion, intense exercise, alcohol, or merely just genetics, they no longer have the ability to contract, remaining visibly enlarged… Read more

Are You Exfoliating Around Your Eyes? If Not, You Should Be

The reason for fine lines and wrinkles as we age is the weakening of collagen and elastin fibers in the skin, mainly caused from long-term sun exposure, but also facial movements that create actual folds and creases in the skin. I often use this example to my clients when I’m offering solutions for reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles.

If you were to take a piece of wood and hit it with a hammer, you would make an indentation in the wood. To smooth out the dent, a little sandpaper would make the dent less noticeable. The same rules apply with the skin. Wrinkles and lines are considered indentations in the skin, so by “sanding” down the skin with super exfoliators, the lines and wrinkles will appear less deep, and therefore, less noticeable. It’s truly that simple! Once the skin is exfoliated, you should then focus on giving the skin intensive hydration to fill the cells with moisture and collagen-protecting ingredients so the lines appear plumped up.

How do you safely exfoliate around the eyes?

For those of you who follow my skin care routine, you more than likely are using one of our glycolic acid serums on the face before moisturizing at night. People often avoid around the eye area thinking that it will cause irritation. While of course you want to be careful around the eye area, you want to make sure that you’re only applying the serum in the outer eye area where lines and wrinkles (crow’s feet) are visible. Eye cream (Firming Eye Therapy or Synergy) should always be applied over the glycolic serum to seal it into the skin and provide extra moisture… Read more

Can I Use My Serum as a Moisturizer?

One of the very best ways to achieve results with your skin is to incorporate the use of a skin serum into your routine. Especially for those over 40 who are starting to notice changes in the skin (and usually not ones for the better), using a skin serum (like Intensive Firming Serum or Skin Drink) can help to sophisticate your routine beyond the basic cleanser, toner, moisturizer regimen.

(Read: What is a Serum and Do I Really Need One?)

I often hear people say “I use my serum as a moisturizer because it’s so nice and lightweight on the skin.” I’m here to tell you that even though serums may have a lotion-like feel, they won’t be as effective for your skin when used alone.

When using a serum, it’s important to use a moisturizer over the serum to seal it into the skin. While most serums are meant to hydrate the skin, their main goal is to deliver active ingredients deeper within the skin and they don’t provide a protective shield between your skin and the environment like moisturizers will do.

Bottom line: Always seal a serum into the skin with a good moisturizer. Use a sunscreen moisturizer during the day (try Daily Protection SPF 30) and a non-SPF moisturizer at night (see our moisturizers) formulated for your skin type. (Choose your skin type.)… Read more

What Are These Bumps on My Skin?

Especially for those over 40, little bumps can start to appear on the skin, leaving people wondering what they are. People think they are developing clogged pores and so they attempt to extract them with no luck. Then they start treating their skin with harsh products thinking that it’s a form of acne and they are left with dry, irritated skin with the bumps still present.

So what are these bumps?

One of the pleasures (sarcasm) of aging is that benign (non-cancerous) growths occur on the face, neck and body. They begin as small, rough bumps and over time, they thicken and get larger. There are many names for these; seborrheic keratoses, actinic keratoses, skin tags, sebaceous hyperplasia, and they all can appear a bit different (some brown, some flesh color) but generally speaking, they are bumps, excess skin, enlarged oil glands and growths that protrude from the skin and become impossible to hide with makeup.

If the bumps are red and painful, then it’s probably cystic acne. Read: Tips for Treating Cystic Acne

There is no cream or ointment that will make these go away. Treatment options include cryosurgery (a freezing technique using liquid nitrogen) electrosurgery (burning off with an electric current) and curretage (a scraping technique). All of of these procedures are offered at a dermatologist’s office and electrosurgery is offered at Renée Rouleau Skin Care Spas… Read more

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