• Lessening wrinkles in areas that sink, like the eyes, lower forehead, and around the mouth
• Improving the contours of the face by plumping the nose, cheeks, and lips
• Returning volume to the face after weight loss or illness
• Smoothing the hands and hiding veins

Different materials and brands can help achieve these goals in different ways.
Types of Fillers
Fillers come in several types: collagen, collagen stimulator, hyaluronic acid, calcium hydroxylapatite, permanent, and fat.
Collagen
Collagen is the natural material that keeps skin firm. It is made out of long protein chains, like threads.
Since fillers replace collagen, it only makes sense that the first fillers should just use collagen itself. This worked passably well. Collagen fillers do reduce wrinkles and plump up the skin, but sometimes inexperienced injectors can make collagen work a little too well.
Collagen fillers can bunch up into raised chains, sometimes creating an “overstuffed” look. Now, they are mostly used for major enhancements like lip adjustments.
Collagen Stimulator
A newer and more exciting trend are collagen stimulators that use special chemicals to encourage your body to rebuild its natural collagen layer. The most common brand name is Sculptra. Sculptra slowly builds collagen up over 90 days, restoring youth to your skin. Instead of changing your appearance, it just makes you look as you did when you were younger.
Collagen stimulators are best used to restore small amounts of volume, especially in the cheeks and temples.
Hyaluronic Acid
Though it sounds like a lab chemical, hyaluronic acid is not. It’s a naturally occurring body fluid that fills in and cushions the joints. Unlike collagen, it brings moisture as well as volume, and works effectively on the thin skin under the eyes and nose. The most popular brand is Juvederm, but equally effective brands include Perlane, Prevelle, Puragen and Restylane.
Calcium Hydroxylapatite
Calcium hydroxylapatite is another natural fluid that fills in bone marrow. It is injected deeper into the skin, where it provides large amounts of volume without risk of migration.
Permanent
Permanent fillers use synthetic microspheres that are never absorbed by the body. They are only suitable for the lips and skin around the mouth, not thinner areas like the eyes and cheeks.
Fat
Fat works well as a filler, and can lead to permanent changes. It needs to be done carefully, with the fat being purified before the injection, for the best results.

The post What are Dermal Fillers used for? appeared first on The Centre for Dermatology.

Of skin conditions in Canada, some are more common than others. According to the Canadian Dermatology Association, these skin problems are so common that over half of all Canadians will experience them in their lifetime:

1. 1. Acne

This is the big one. Everyone gets pimples, and nothing we do can make us totally pimple-immune. All skin creates oil and keratin, and all people have bacteria in their hair and on their skin. Unfortunately where there’s oil, keratin, and bacteria, there are pimples.
However, there are certain factors that make acne more common:

1. 1. • Ineffective hair and skin washing. Acne sufferers may want to change your skin care or hair care routine and products.
      • Androgen hormones. Androgens control how much oil your skin produces. They spike during puberty and pregnancy, and there’s not much you can do about that! However, if acne sufferers take hormone-affecting drugs, like birth control pills, baldness treatments, and steroids, they may benefit from consulting with a doctor to adjust their dosages.
      • Poor diet. Diets that are high in dairy, but low in vegetables and fibre, leads to problems with acne.
      • Lots of dead skin. The top layer of dead skin produces most of the keratin that plugs pores. You can manage it with exfoliation skin peels, and laser treatments.
      • Makeup! There are over a thousand chemicals that are banned in European cosmetics that are allowed in North America, which is why we often see worse facial skin than those in Europe.
   2. Sun Damage

Unlike indoor light, sunlight contains ultraviolet radiation. UV is low-energy compared to X-rays and microwaves, but it still degrades the cells. It can mess up DNA, causing benign cancers and moles, and can also break down the skin’s ability to fight infections, leading to lesions.
For most people, sun damage manifests in the destruction of collagen protein, leading to sagging and wrinkles. The only preventions are hats and sunscreen, though the damage can be treated after the fact with cosmetic enhancements.

1. 1. Visible Scarring

Ideally, the body should heal incisions by stitching them with thin and straight threads of collagen protein. Additional trauma, scratching, sunlight, and plain bad luck can make these collagen threads bunch up instead, creating raised and visible scars.
These can be prevented at the time of the incision by suturing the wound properly, protecting it from the sun, and by wearing a pressure garment. After raised scars form, they can be soften by massages, topical treatments, and laser therapy.

The post What are the Most Common Skin Conditions? appeared first on The Centre for Dermatology.

BroadBand Light Technology: A New Method for Ousting Unsightly Skin Conditions
The secret to BBL lies in its power to produce a far-reaching range of light wavelengths. This gives surgeons the ability to fine tune and adjust the intensity of the beam for custom-targeted treatment.
Pinpoint precision is essential in the field of cosmetic surgery, so it is hardly a surprise that BBL is now being added to the arsenal of many doctors across the country. In addition to the use of dual lamps, the availability of flexible Finesse Adapters make it very easy for doctors to treat otherwise hard-to-reach regions, something that was once a hassle, and impossible in some cases.
If you have fine lines and wrinkles, tissue scarring (from acne and other), dilated veins, sun damage, and age spots, BBL may be the best cosmetic option at your disposal. By utilizing the special properties of light energy, this type of treatment tends to be far more effective than current alternatives.
The success rate of permanent results is perhaps the main reason an increasing number of doctors are recommending it to their patients, especially for conditions such as small facial veins, rosacea, freckles, red spots, port wine stains, burn erythema, and even unsightly, dark coarse hair.
Another distinct advantage of BBL is that its applications are not restricted to the facial region; every area of the body can be treated, but the vast majority of procedures target spots where visible sun damage exists.
The chest, face, neck and top sides of the hands are thus the most popular zones, but your doctor will determine where to apply the light waves during the initial consultation. Like similar non-invasive procedures, the recovery time for BBL tends to be quite quick.
Notwithstanding any potential complications that may arise (this is uncommon), most patients are able to resume their normal, day-to-day activities the day after their procedure, with the most common side effects consisting of slight redness at the treatment site. Expect a minor amount of skin fading and flaking for up to 10 days post-procedure as well.
If you’re looking for the same results that BBL can provide, talk to the experts at our clinic today! We can determine which treatment is right for your skin tone and can help you obtain the perfect skin you desire.

The post How is BroadBand Light Useful in Treating Skin? appeared first on The Centre for Dermatology.

Having been available to the public now for decades; it is far from being considered out of the ordinary for men and women to schedule an appointment for an injection. On the surface, the concept of inserting a toxin into one’s body seems dangerous, but every study on the subject has concluded that when administered by a professional and used in regular doses, it’s far from it.

Being Safe with Botox

However, despite being known for its nerve-killing effects, Botolinum (the primary chemical toxin used in Botox) only goes so far as to paralyze the muscles located directly at the injection site; no more, no less.

By ceasing all communication between the corresponding nerve endings and central nervous system, this in effect eliminates the formation of fine lines and wrinkles, those so-called subtle imperfections that most people simply cannot stand to look at in the mirror. The results of the treatment are often noticed immediately, although they are not permanent nature.

The Importance of Visiting a Reputable Clinic
Follow-up injections are required every few months in order to maintain your desired results. This is why it’s crucial for patients to work only with a qualified and experienced cosmetic team, one who has performed many successful treatments and who knows how to safely and accurately inject Botox. As per the latter, an obvious predicament is one that would result from an excessive application of Botolinum.

Too high of a concentration of the toxin understandably poses some notable risks, namely an issue commonly referred to in the medical field as “frozen face.” Since the primary purpose of Botox is to neutralize muscle nerve contraction, too much can lead to complete ceasing of the face, making it appear unnatural and fake, the definition of the plastic look.

While some doctors and patients actually delight in these results, it’s often caused by an inexperienced hand and inappropriate administration. Proper care should especially be taken when the goal is to reduce wrinkles; cosmetic surgeons must aim to soften only those facial expressions which are considered negative, such as crow’s feet and frowns.

It’s extremely infrequent for patients to experience negative side effects. Contact our team today to hear more about how Botox can help mask your fine lines and wrinkles!

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