Dr. Lorrie Klein’s Blog

Laser hair removal is a necessity for some and a luxury for others.  Personally, I smile every time I think about the fact that I no longer own a razor, having done laser hair removal on myself 9 years ago.  My legs are always silky smooth and I never have to worry about remembering to shave my underarms every time I wear a tank top or bathing suit.  Same goes for the bikini area.

We have both the Candela GentleLase and Candela GentleYag lasers for hair removal, the “best in class” lasers for hair removal on the market.  The GentleYag is ideal for dark skin and both are safe and very effective.  Not all laser hair removal devices are created equal.  Some of the less expensive ones can hurt more, require many more treatments, may not give you permanent results and may have more side effects.  Not every clinic that performs hair removal is equal either. Be wary of medi spas that do not clearly advertise who the physician is who owns it.  Many are not owned by physicians (it is illegal in California but it still happens), the physician may not be directly involved or be located anywhere near the spa and/or the physician may not be a specialist in skin or cosmetic medicine.  What happens if you have a problem?

With the current state of our economy I felt that laser hair removal would be a great treatment to temporarily lower our prices on, to make it available to more women who would also love to experience a razor-free life.

Therefore, from now until December 31, 2008 we have dramatically lowered the prices on our most popular laser hair removal areas to prices lower than we have ever offered.   There is no limit to the number of areas you can treat and if you start soon you can probably get in 2 treatments to each area before the end of the year. 

Underarms - $ 99 (our everyday special, normally $200)
Bikini (not including thighs) -  $99 (normally $250 and up)
Brazilian Bikini (not including thighs) - $199 (normally $400 and up)
Lower Legs - $299 (normally $450 and up)
Full Legs - $499 (normally $650 and up)

You may even pre-pay for up to 3 treatment sessions and receive this special pricing (cannot be combined with other discounts.)

We offer laser hair removal at my office and at Euro Day Spa, Salon & Laser Center.  We are also open on Saturdays at our spa location.  To schedule an appointment call our office at: 949-363-1788 or our spa on La Paz Rd at 949-831-2006.   To read more about laser hair removal, visit this link.

Take advantage of these incredible discounts while you can.  You too can be smooth and silky every day of the year!

In response to numerous comments and questions about Vivite Vibrance, this week’s product of the week is an Obagi product that works very well with Vivite Vibrance, Obagi C-Clarifying Serum.  Obagi C-Clarifying Serum contains Vitamin C plus 4% hydroquinone, the highest prescription strength of hydroquinone commercially available.  As mentioned in previous blog entries, I prefer to mix a hydroquinone-containing product with Vivite Vibrance for optimal lightening of brown spots.  My personal “recipe” is to mix a dropper full of Obagi C-Clarifying Serum with 1-2 pumps of Vivite Vibrance in my palm then apply it to my face, neck, hands or wherever I want to lighten my skin, twice daily.  This mixture seems to work better than either product alone.

Vivite Vibrance is available without a prescription but only through physicians.  We have it at both of our spas, my office and on our website for purchase.  Obagi C-Clarifying Serum is not sold through our website as it is prescription strength and therefore illegal to sell via the internet without a prescription.  It is available at my office for sale however.  You can also call us at 949-363-1788 for other purchasing options.

Purchase both of these products through my office and save $20 through 10/31/08.  Call us at 949-363-1788 or stop by and mention this blog special.

See this week’s page on how to treat Dandruff and Facial Scaling.

These are tough economic times.  But we still want to feel good about ourselves and to look our best.  While many of my patients can still afford to do whatever they want to do for themselves, I have many patients who would love to do more for themselves than they can currently afford.  Luckily there are still many great cosmetic procedures you can do as a second choice treatment.  You can always put the first choice, best treatment on your “wish list” for the future.

Here are some common cosmetic treatments and their less expensive alternatives:

Instead of a:

Nose Job - get a filler nose job with Radiesse or Artefill (it takes just 10 minute and looks good immediately)

Face Lift - get a Liquid Face Lift or Fraxel CO2 re:pair laser treatment

Botox Crow’s Feet or Frown Lines - just get a Botox Brow Lift

Photo-Facial (IPL) for texture and brown spots- get a series of medical microdermabrasions

Microdermabrasion- get a series of light glycolic peels

Light Peels - use physician-strength skin care products

Vivite Complete Skin Care System - use Vivite Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30

Obagi Nu-derm System- use Vivite Vibrance with Obagi C-clarifying serum

Fraxel CO2 re:pair Laser - get a series of Fraxel re:store laser treatments

Fraxel re:store Laser - get a series of Photo-Facials (IPL) 

Juvederm lip plumping - get a half size syringe and just outline and define your lips 

Juvederm/Radiesse/Artefill treatment for wrinkles - get a smaller size syringe and treat the most important areas 

Laser Hair Removal on legs - just laser your underarms or bikini areas for now

Eyelashes Extensions - use Lumigan at home (it’s also better than extensions since it grows your own eyelashes)

Any comments from my readers and patients?

See this page to view this tip on Melanoma detection using the ABCDE criteria.

I am very pleased to announce we are the first office in South Orange County and one of the first nationwide to offer the Fraxel CO2 re:pair laser, the most advanced skin rejuvenation treatment available on the market today.  Results of a Fraxel re:pair laser treatment approach the tightening and wrinkle removal that we normally see only after a facelift, with very few complications and limited downtime.

While we still love our Fraxel re:store (the gentler Fraxel we’ve been using for over 2 years), this new Fraxel re:pair will help treat deeper wrinkles plus tighten skin!

As opposed to traditional CO2 resurfacing lasers which ablate 100% of the skin (vaporize and remove it all at once), leading to extended downtime, wound care and high risk of complications, the Fraxel re:pair Laser is the first CO2 laser to treat the skin fractionally and deeply. The Fraxel re:pair lays down thousands of tiny microscopic wounds in the skin, penetrating much deeper than traditional ablative lasers, but leaving the cells around these tiny wounds untouched. The tissue in each of the microscopic wounds is removed with the use of the CO2 energy.  The healthy tissue surrounding the wounds then contracts which leads to immediate tissue tightening.  This spared tissue between treatment zones also promotes rapid healing while stimulating collagen production in the deep layers and new epidermal cells in the top layer.

Fraxel re:pair laser treats:
 
• Wrinkles- mild, moderate and deep
• Skin tone, texture and pore size
• Skin laxity (tightens and smoothes skin)
• Severe sun damage
• Pigmented lesions and skin discoloration
• Acne scars and surgical scars

We will be having a Night of Beauty featuring the Fraxel CO2 re:pair laser on October 30, 2008 from 6-8 m at the Doubletree Hotel, Doheny Beach in Dana Point.  Join us for refreshments, gifts and a chance to win a free Fraxel laser treatment.  We will also be offering discounts for treatments scheduled that evening.  Attendance is limited so please call to RSVP if you would like to attend: 949-363-1788.

I am very excited to announce that we are the first office in South Orange County to have the Fraxel CO2 Re:pair Laser.  This is a new laser that became available this year, that takes the regular Fraxel (now known as the Fraxel “re:store” to the next level.  Best of all, you will only need 1 treatment!

Many of you may be familiar with the old CO2 lasers that did a great job in removing wrinkles and scars but had several weeks of down time, left the skin red for months and had a high incidence of depigmentation (loss of color.)  Because of these effects the CO2 laser fell out of favor among both physicians and patients and many physicians such as myself stopped using it.

The Fraxel CO2 re:pair laser combines fractionalized laser technology with CO2 technology to give us the best of both worlds: deeper, more effective treatment of wrinkles and scars, plus great skin tightening (some researchers feel it might eventually replace face lifts) with the faster healing and decreased down time of Fraxel, with just 1 treatment.

Yes, there will be some downtime (everything is always a compromise!), but it will be only 3-5 days, not weeks.  Also, according to the company there has not been any reports of depigmentation to date.

We will be ready to start treating patients in a few weeks.   Call my office at 949-363-1788 if you would like to be put on our interest list for this incredible treatment (no obligation, we’ll just let you know when we start scheduling treatments.)  I will have an informational handout and page on my website shortly.  We will also be havng an informational seminar October 30th in the evening.  More information to follow. 

Send your comments or questions if you have any.

Follow this link to this week’s skin care tip of the week on using Clarisonic Pro to smooth out KP bumps.

I am heading off to Santa Barbara for the California Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery Annual Meeting this weekend so this week’s article will be very brief.  I just wanted to share with you some great before and after photos of my Liquid Face Lift.  Dr. Klein’s Liquid Face Lift™ is a comprehensive treatment incoroporating various fillers such as Radiesse and Juvederm, with or without Botox, to give your face a naturally younger look.  Read more about it here.

My blog was a bit light last week because I was out of town attending a friend’s daughter’s wedding.  Weddings also seem to bring a lot of patients to my office lately!  Every week I seem to have several brides, mothers of brides and grooms (and even some fathers!) and other assorted relatives, friends and bridesmaids coming in for pre-wedding beautification.  Botox is probably the #1 most popular pre-wedding treatment with fillers and lasers running a close second.  Sclerotherapy for leg veins is also pretty popular before weddings, more so for the mothers who are not wearing gowns and whose legs are exposed.

Since patients are often unsure of when to do what, here is a simple timeline for getting ready for the big event (reunions as well!)

Botox - at least 2 weeks before so the results kick in completely, 4-6 weeks before is even better to give you time to come in for a touch-up if necessary.

Juvederm, Restylane, Radiesse, and other fillers - at least 2 weeks before so you won’t have bruising on the big day, 4-6 weeks before is even better to give you time to come in for a touch-up if necessary.

Photo-Facials, SmoothBeam, Fraxel and other lasers - most of these take several treatments, usually done  monthly, so start early, perhaps 6 months before, to get the optimal results.

Laser Hair Removal - Since you will see results after only 2-3 treatments (although you need more treatments for permanent results) start at least 2 months ahead. 

Microdermabrasion - 6 treatments are recommended and can be done weekly, so start at least 2 months ahead.

Skin Care - Have a series of facials once a month or every 2 weeks for 2-3 months before the big day.  If you have acne, also see a dermatologist several months ahead to get on some good acne medication and possible laser treatments.

Hair Care and Makeup - Make sure you find someone you like to do a trial run on your hair and makeup prior to the big day.