Chemical Peeling - Old technique, new advances, economical and still good results.

Recently, I have been asked what would be my favourite method of maintaining skin health and youth. To their surprise, laser was perhaps last on my list. Living in a super hot tropical country with high humidity, perhaps doing laser on your face is maybe a bad idea. Especially if you are not particular enough to consistently wear sunblock (even in the house) and keep yourself protected from direct rays. Unfortunately, so many clinics, medispas and beauty salons are promoting laser as if its just a simple facial, that they forget the complications that entails when not advised properly.

Perhaps, this is why I decided to come back to work and start reeducating the public about medical aesthetic treatments and procedures. The science of beauty is real, not just some money making scheme.

Well, anyway, enough rambling. Back to the facts. Let's talk about chemical peels. This is perhaps the oldest method of beautification brining us back to the Egyptian reign where Queen Cleopatra was well known for her milk yogurt baths to exfoliate her skin and leave it smooth and flawless. Nowadays, we have more specified chemicals to give us the controlled exfoliation that we need to achieve the result we want.

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So why all this exfoliation business? Our skin consists of multiple layers of epidermis with the outer most layer being the one most exposed to the environment called the keratin layer or the stratum corneum which is mainly made out of keratocytes which are completely devoid of nucleus. This is also referred to as the outer skin or the dead skin layer. Most of the superficial peels and microdermabrasion take off this layer of the skin, thus revealing a much more fresher newer skin. However, some medium strength peels tend to peel deeper into the stratum lucidum and some into the stratum spinasum. No matter the strength of the peel, the doctor doing the procedure must be aware of the level of peel he or she is doing for the patient and how to monitor for side effects. Many times over the years, my suppliers come to me with a picture of a patient burned from chemical peels done by other doctors and asking how to resolve the problem.

So why do burns occur? The most common reason is bad technique during the procedure where either the application was too thick, the time was too long or neutralization was not done when it was warranted. The problem with chemical peel burns, sometimes it takes up to 2 weeks to heal and you may leave the patient with an unsightly scar. Whatever it is, if you have trained yourself well, you will be able to handle peelings easy since it is perhaps the simplest thing, that a lot of people take for granted.

Why do I love chemical peels? Because it is one of the simplest things you can do for the patient to remove all excess dead skin and make the patient's skin look brighter and cleaner. The procedure usually takes anywhere between 1 to 30 minutes depending on the type of peel and how it is applied and how many layers. A study published in medscape in the year 2006, caught my attention on regular chemical peelings and how it affects the skin. They wanted to see whether regular skin peeling would cause patient's skin to be thinner but on contrary, there is a few millimeters improved thickness instead. This was due to the increase skin turnover due to the feedback that the stratum corneum is thinner, thus increases cells production. However, bear in mind, the procedure has to be done correctly at the right intervals in order to have this effect. Over peeling, or complications due to peels can also cause worsening of skin texture which is what we see with certain local cosmetic products which are too aggressive and uncontrolled. 

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So recently, my clinic has been trying out new types of peels since our older ones are being phased out and I am forever in the quest of looking for super no-downtime treatments for my patients. Among all, we found some that we like. One of the newer chemical peeling treatment that we would be bringing in is called the Elsa Peel. It consists of 3 layers of peelings followed by a clay mask. The good thing about this peel is that there is no downtime after the procedure, and yet it gives you a good clean peel and helps lighten up pigmentation. So far I did once on my face and the results was satisfying. I have been peeling my face for years, and even with 1 treatment I noticed at least 2 tones lighter skin compared to before. During the peel I had an acne pop and even afterwards, the post-inflammatory pigmentation was much lighter compared to the rest. 

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The Elsa peel is suitable for most skin types. The recommended is to do a peel once every 7-14 days up to 4 times to achieve a much better skin tone with reduced pigmentation. Subsequently, you can maintain by doing it once every 1-2 months. Coupled with serum vitamin C or any other dermal replenishment creams, it would be superb for people with skin that is prone to pigmentation or for those who want a more even and brighter skin tone.

The usual price for this treatment is RM 450 / session and takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. Since we are launching this new product, we are giving a special introductory offer of RM 350 / session. Take up a package and get more discounts but this you have to ask my nurse.

For more info, or to book appointments, please email us at drmmclinic@gmail.com or drop us a message at 0129660852. Or you can like us on FB and pm us from there. 

Arm Pit Whitening.......

Scott McGregor

Arm Pits have always been an object of obsession for a lot of women, and men too. I think the funniest trivia about arm pits is that a woman can smell out their soul mates by sniffing the partner's armpit. How true is this trivia, I have yet to discover. But the explanation given was that all humans produce different smells of feromones and that the armpit is one of the most concentrated feromone scented areas. Hence, if the smell appeals to the woman, then likely for the two to get together and stay together. At least it is more civil than Ally McBeal's butt sniffing.

Coming to the subject of armpits, many women prefer to have hairless armpits and thus you see the bloom of all the creams, waxing, IPL and Laser treatments to reduce hair in the armpits. Still another problem remains that is dark arm pits despite not having any hair. Especially when you are Asian with Skin Type 4 (like a dark chinese, a Malay or a light Indian) and a high risk of getting pigmentation or dark spots with any form of irritation to your skin (otherwise known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation), you will notice that your armpits darken easily. The worst part is because this skintype is prone to discolouration and it is fair enough to see.

So Why do we get dark arm-pits to begin with?

Cause No 1: Arm pit hair shaving.

When we shave off our armpit hair, we leave residual hair inside the skin, and thus will give a dark discolouration of the skin above. A better way is to either wax or go for IPL or Laser hair removal to even get rid of the subsurfaced hair.

Cause No 2: Build up of dead skin especially inside the folds. 

This is a situation where a soft loofah is actually useful. Other ways to help tackle this are scrubs, washes containing lactic acids, etc. You can also walk into your dermatologist/aesthetic physician's office and get a peel done. The armpits are just like other parts of your skin, does require some rejuvenating treatment to make it look better.

Cause No 3: The use of chemicals that react to the skin such as perfumes and deodorants.

I personally find the roll ons to be quite a culprit so I've actually switched to sprays which seem to have less darkening effect. However, stopping the use of the substance doesn't seem to make the armpit lighter, so treatment is still warranted. 

Cause No 4: Acanthosis Nigricans.

I remembered when I was a student, this was one of the clinical signs that I really look for in a patient. So what is Acanthosis Nigricans. According to Pub Med Online Acanthosis nigricans is a skin disorder in which there is darker, thick, velvety skin in body folds and creases. and thus, it also involves the armpits. It is commonly seen obesity-related diabetes and people of African descent. However, it can also occur in normal healthy people and there are some who genetically inherits them. It occurs slowly over time, and treatment is mainly by controlling the underlying disease or asking the person to loose weight. A Q-switch Laser maybe able to help reduce the appearance of it.

Cause No 5: Hyperpigmentation.

This occurs when the melanin production in the skin increases. For armpit areas, constant rubbing of the skin can lead to slight inflammation leading to hyperpigmentation. This is pretty common in people with loose skin over the arms, or people who sweat a lot and prone to PIH (usually skin type 4-5). You will also notice this in pregnant ladies due to high progesterone hormones thus leading to higher incidence of melasma and increase pigmentation in folded areas. Treatment will help whiten the armpits, but other measures like wearing clothes that are not too tight to reduce friction, using aluminium oxide for perspiration control and avoiding things that irritant the skin to reduce inflammation is warranted in the long run.

So how can I improve how my armpits look?

Once your armpits are darkened and cannot be lightened by rubbing in the shower, it means that you need to come in for treatment to help reduce the problem. A single treatment will lighten the arm pit but repeated treatment is required to achieve best results. Check out Faceworks Clinic April Promotions for Arm Pit Whitening treatments : http://faceworksclinic.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-promotions-not-to-be-missed.html for our treatemnt against dark arm pits.

Once treated, you need to maintain the armpits by using moisturizers and proper deodorants taht does not darken your arm pits again. I normally use my face lightening creams in my arm pits too for maintenance.

For more information or to book appointment do call us at 03-21440080 or email to info@faceworksclinic.com - Please leave your name and phone number and we will call to answer your enquiry or to confirm the appointment.