Dr. Lorrie Klein’s Blog

One of the side effects of treatments that involve injections is potential bruising.  This is often seen after filler injections, such as Juvederm, Radiesse and Artefill.  My advice to patients to minimize bruising as much as possible after these and other procedures that involve potential bruising is three-fold:

1. Avoid aspirin and all ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, etc.) and naproxen (Alleve, etc.) containing pain medications, if they are not medically necessary, for at last 1 week before.  Acetominophen (Tylenol, etc.) are okay to take as it does not effect clotting as the other medications do.
2. Plan some time to apply ice to the treated areas frequently for at least a few hours after your treatment.
3. Take Arnica Montana, an herbal medication, that day and the day after.  The oral versions work better than the creams.  This herbal medication really does work and even comes in stronger, physician-strength capsules which are often available through your physician.  We carry it specifically for our filler patients to use.

Patients undergoing surgical procedures involving the skin, such as skin cancer surgery and plastic surgery also can benefit from this medication.   Always check with your dermatologist or surgeon before taking this and other medications before surgery.

We have finished our make-over of Julie, our beautiful “Ugly Bettie” contest winner.  Julie was chosen because she has beautiful features but she needed some rejuvenation of her skin and refreshing of her eyes and mouth.  Age, sun and stress add years to our looks but thanks to cosmetic dermatology procedures such as Botox, fillers and lasers we can reverse many of these changes.   Julie had Botox to raise her brows and smooth out her crows feet, frown and forehead wrinkles.  We gave her Juvederm to enhance her lips and smooth her lip wrinkles, smile lines and marrionette lines and she received a series of IPL (photofacial) treatments to smooth her skin texture, remove her brown spots and even out her skin color.   Lastly, she received a spa makeover at my day spa and salon: Euro Day Spa, Salon & Laser Center where she received a light, natural makeup application and a hair style at our salon.   Here are her before and after photos.  You can see her lack of wrinkles better when she is not smiling, but I couldn’t resist putting in this smiling photo, as it truly expresses how she feels about her treatments.

Julie, you look gorgeous! Look for Julie’s comments about her treatments in an upcoming blog entry.   If you have any questions about how these cosmetic dermatology treatments or spa and salon treatments would work for you, please call our office at 949-363-1788 or Euro Day Spa, Salon & Laser Center at 949-831-2006.

This week my favorite product is Neostrata Daytime Ultra Smoothing Cream with SPF 15.  This has been a long time favorite of mine.  It contains glycolic acid for rejuvenation and skin softening and an SPF 15 sunscreen in a moisturizing base.  Since this cream “has it all” I take it with me whenever I travel as it is a moisturizer, sunscreen and rejuvenation product in one compact tube.  It also meets the airline’s carry-on cosmetic regulations (under 3 oz.) so it’s perfect when I don’t plan on checking my luggage.

As usual we are offering a discount on our favorite product of the week.  Now through November 15, 2008 save 20% when you purchase this product.  You must mention the “Blog Special” to receive this discount at our spas or dermatology office.  Read more about Neostrata Daytime Ultra Smoothing Cream with SPF 15 on-line.  You will also receive your discount if you order on our website.

See this week’s page to learn about how to reduce bruising after cosmetic procedures, such as Juvederm, Radiesse, Restylane and BOTOX.