Why suffering through a retinoid reaction just isn't worth it.

If you've tried your fair share of skin care products over the years you've probably tried out some sort of vitamin A during that time. Most people are familiar with vitamin A as retinol, even though retinol is only one of the many different forms of vitamin A.

If you've tried a high dose vitamin A from your doctor, you likely would've been given a 1% Tretonoin cream which is retinoic acid.
If you've gone the medical grade route and have used vitamin A products from clinics you've likely tried 1% retinol creams, and if you've gone to stores like Shoppers or Sephora it's likely been a lower dose such as .25-.5% retinol product.

No matter where you've got your vitamin A product in the past, you've likely been given the same instructions...start using it at night a couple times a week and slowly increase the frequency of use while pushing through any irritation it may cause such as peeling, flaking, dryness, burning and inflammation. Why? Because if you can tolerate this uncomfortable reaction for several weeks...perfect skin is waiting at the end!! Or so they say.

Once again I'm here to burst that bubble!!! What can I say? It's sort of like a hobby of mine.

So here's the problem with that concept....
Skin cell walls are not easily penetrated. Only certain chemicals with distinct shapes can enter through different receptors on the wall. Retinoid receptors are responsible for allowing vitamin A to enter into a cell. Since there are many forms of vitamin A, not all the receptors are meant for retinol.
Some receptors will only allow retinoic acid, or retinyl palmitate, retinyl acetate...you get the idea.

Another problem here is that as we age we naturally lose vitamin A from our skin and things like smoking or UV exposure quicken this process. As our skin becomes depleted in vitamin A, it also becomes depleted in retinoid receptors.

Suddenly the skin is flooded with an incredibly high dose of retinol and it simply can't use it all. The skin cells absorb what it can but seeing as how retinol only makes up 3% of the vitamin A in the skin, the majority of it sits around the cells and causes massive irritation. The skin reacts by purging and results in the peeling, burning and dryness....a retinoid reaction!

The most unnecessary, pointless, painful and embarrassing thing to go through that I've ever come across in this industry. Yet everyone believes this is the way to perfect skin, but usually because they're only regurgitating information that was given to them by the sales rep of companies who make products like these. Not because they know how the skin actually functions and how it is affected by different chemical substances.

The end result if someone can actually tolerate an on going retinoid reaction for that long until the skin acclimatizes is usually sensitive skin that is thinner than before, and likely more dehydrated too.
The constant inflammation and peeling caused from a retinoid reaction opens the skin up to more environmental damage such as dehydration, pollution, bacteria and can leave the skin hyper sensitive and prone to redness.
More often than not however, the ongoing reaction is not tolerated long enough for the skin to acclimatize and the use of the product is discontinued with the final impression being that vitamin A is awful and doesn't work.

There are so many vitamin A products on the market and sadly few of them are sophisticated enough    to work with the skin instead of against it. This is why vitamin A has acquired such a bad name over the years and is now thought of as a very harsh product to use.

The truth is vitamin A is vital for the skin and has many positive benefits such as anti-aging, normalizing the function of the skin and even repairing DNA damage caused from UV exposure.
So why is something as important as vitamin A not being formulated in a smarter way?
Well it is, but like I said it can be hard to find amongst the sea of 1% rip your face off strength retinol creams.

Environ makes all their vitamin A products in a step-up system and use a complex of several different forms of vitamin A to utilize all the different receptors on the skin cells. This means more of the vitamin A is actually used by the skin, is tolerated much better and makes the skin stronger.
By starting on a low dose and moving on to the higher doses, the skin can acclimatize to levels normally by making more retinoid receptors over time and therefor use the vitamin A properly and in a way that does not cause severe reactions.

Who would've thought that formulating a product according to how the skin functions would be a good idea?!

This is the main reason I swear by Environ products. They're smart, high quality, high concentrated products that are made from a company that actually has respect for the skin.


To book a consultation with me...
Call LAB11 Advanced Medical Aesthetics ‭(403) 283-0764‬

What Makes Lasers Different From One Another?

I'm a big believer in doing your research before jumping into a treatment chair, not only on the person who's treating you but the equipment being used as well.

Problem is with so many different kinds of lasers and different brands that make them, it can be really overwhelming.

Without getting too far into it I'm going to break down what makes one laser different from another and why there's no such thing as "the best one."

A laser is a concentrated beam of energy (photons) that contains a single wavelength.
Think of a hand held laser pen. This makes it different than light which contains multiple wavelengths and is diffused and scattered energy (photons). Think of a light bulb.

To start, only the non-ionizing spectrum of energy is used in medical aesthetic devices.
This means the energy does not cause cellular mutations like x-ray or UV rays can, for example.
All the wavelengths used are safe and do not cause cancer, which is a concern many people have.

See image of light spectrum below:

















So for this article I'll be focusing on the non-ionizing wavelengths.

A wavelength is a measurement of the distance between two peaks in a wave of light energy and this distance is measure in nanometers (nm).

This is what makes lasers different from one another...but hang on it's not quite that simple.

Different wavelengths not only penetrate into tissue at different depths (see image below), but what they absorb into best varies from one another too. In medical aesthetics you have three main targets (chromophores) that you'd want a laser to absorb into.

Those three things are water, hemoglobin (in blood) and melanin (or other pigment such as tattoo ink). Some wavelengths "like" certain targets more than others.


Depth of penetration by wavelength:

For example a 755nm wavelength likes pigment and due to the depth of penetration the energy has into tissue it's used to treat sun spots, tattoos and hair removal since all these things have melanin or man made pigment.

Make sense?

Another example would be a 1064nm wavelength which penetrates so far into tissue it can reach the fat or subcutaneous layer. This wavelength absorbs into water and hemoglobin nicely and is what I use to treat leg and facial veins.

So choosing which wavelength is best depends on the target or chromophore you're treating, and where it is in the tissue. That's why there's no single best wavelength. They all behave very differently.

Then there's ablative or non-ablative wavelengths. Ablative meaning to remove tissue.
To do skin resurfacing for anti-aging or for acne scars you'd need to use an ablative wavelength like a CO2 laser or an Erbium YAG laser. Again, even though they can both be ablative they're actually still very different.

So now you may be wondering how to produce different wavelengths in the first place.
It's pretty cool actually!

Inside each laser there is an "Active Laser Medium" and this is what's used to amplify the power of the photons, which is what all light is made up of.
Depending on the medium, the photons come out as different wavelengths.

Different types of active laser mediums fall into three different categories...solid, liquid and gas.

An example of a solid state laser would be the 1064nm Nd YAG where neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet is used to produce this specific wavelength.
Neodymium is a metal and Yttrium Aluminium Garnet is a crystal.

An example of a liquid state laser would be a 600nm Pulse Dye Laser where an organic dye is used as the active laser medium.

And an example of a gas state laser would be a 10,600nm CO2 laser.
CO2 gas inside the laser is used as the active laser medium.

Told you it was pretty cool!

This is why it's incredibly difficult for people to do their own homework on what laser is best for their specific concern.
What I've explained here is just the tip of the iceberg and if you don't understand laser and light physics and the interaction is has with tissue, it's pretty much impossible to figure it out on your own.

This is also why I stress the need for people to do their research on the person behind the lasers, the technician. The technician has to have a solid understanding of this and so much more to decipher what will be best for each individual and give safe, effective treatments.



To book a consultation with me text or call 403 991 1663, message me on Instagram @lauras_lasers or email me at lauraslasers@gmail.com

How To Treat Your Acne Scars At Home

To be clear, this is not an article on how to torture your skin with house hold products...if you've read my previous blogs you may know I'm not exactly the biggest fan of baking soda masks, lemon juice peels or apple cider vinegar in place of toner.

Instead this blog is about how to get the most out of your home care routine (with the correct products that were made for human skin) to lighten scars from acne.

To start off, there are actually two different kinds of scars that acne can leave behind.
The first is called Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PIH for short) and these are the scars that appear pink, red, purple or brown in colour and are flat, not indented in the skin.

The other kind are scars that are pitted and indented in the skin, and these can come in different shapes and have different names such as "box car" or "ice pick" scars.

These types of scars cannot be fixed with home care, so this blog is addressing the PIH scarring only.
I'll quickly say that to treat indented scarring you need to look into things like laser resurfacing, needling,  injectables and skin care as these scars are the most difficult to treat. It is do-able however so those with indented scars should no be deterred by this article.

Do your research and look into someone who has experience treating different types of scars on different types of skin (...hi!!) and go in for a consultation to get all the details.

Now as for those PIH scars...I have to say this is a very common concern as these scars can stick around for a very long time, can be embarrassing and a pain to try and cover with make up on a daily basis.
As someone who has been there and done that, I know how frustrating it is to constantly be reminded of those breakouts from the past and wondering when the spots will finally fade away.

Good news is the spots do tend to improve in most people over time, bad news is that it can take years and ain`t nobody got time for that, am I right?

First thing you have to do is ditch all the skin care I'd bet you're currently using that is slowing your progress down and likely damaging your skin. Make the switch to high quality effective products and once you start to see a difference, you'll be so happy you did!

Astringents

Sometime these products hide behind the word "toner" when they're actually full of alcohol and medicated ingredients such as peroxides, tea tree oil and salicylic acid.

While I don't have anything against those last two ingredients on their own, when formulated into an astringent with a bunch of alcohol it really does suck the skin dry of all moisture and hydration.
You know that tight, squeaky clean feeling it gives you?
Ya, that's not a good thing!

When you strip the skin of all its natural oils and moisture you're removing the protective barrier on the surface which leaves the skin open and vulnerable to environmental damage. It also stimulates the oil glands to work extra hard and produce more oil to replace what was lost. Excess oil can also contribute to more breakouts, and therefor more scars.

Replace your astringent with a real, proper toner. A true toner should balance pH and instead of taking away, it should give back to your skin.
Environs Moisturizing Toner was my first true love and what ultimately got me hooked on the rest of Environs incredible products.
The toner has vitamins, botanicals and lactic acid which all work together to even skin tone, lightly exfoliate, balance pH and add hydration. The product should be used morning and night after cleansing.


Scrubs

I don't care what brand it is or how much you paid for it, all scrubs are evil.
They increase inflammation, strip the skin, spread bacteria and will actually slow down how quickly your skin renews itself, which means it's slowing down how quickly those scars can start to fade away.

Use the rest of your scrub up on your feet, knees and elbows and switch to an exfoliant that will do much more for you. Environs Revival Masque, or Teoxane's Perfect Skin Refiner are both wonderful options.

Environs Revival Masque has lactic, malic and asiatic acid to dissolve dull, dead skin cells, kill bacteria, stimulate a faster renewal rate of the skin and prevent future breakouts at the same time.
I like to think of the Masque as a mini at-home chemical peel. Used 1-2 times a week and left on for 25 to 45 minutes at a time, it really helps to fade pigment, even skin tone and gives a beautiful dewy glow!

Teoxanes Perfect Skin Refiner has hyaluronic acid and glycolic acid to deeply hydrate the skin while the acid goes to work. This is a great option for anyone with severely dry skin, or those who want a product where you can put it on and forget about it as it's used as a night time lotion 2-3 times a week. Men usually love this product!


Skin Bleachers

I know it's easy to become frustrated and want a quick easy fix no matter the product or cost, but please don't go the skin bleaching route!
Hydroquinone or "HQ" has been banned in several countries around the world as it is considered a potential carcinogen, or cancer causing.

The chemical works by poisoning the pigment producing cells in the skin, called melanocytes.
Long term use of the chemical risks melanocyte death, and once a melanocyte has been destroyed there is no coming back.
This means you can be left with permanent white patches in the skin where there is no pigment at all. If however, you stop using the product before you get to that point the melanocytes often rebound after usage has stopped and produce way more pigment than ever before.
So, the problem comes right back and can even be worse than it was before!

A healthy alternative that is even more effective is something like Environs C-Boost Lotion. 
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and helps to lighten and brighten the skin naturally by simply blocking the signals to the melanocytes, so they never get the message to make more pigment!
Besides that it stimulates healthy collagen production, protects against sun damage, evens skin tone and hydrates all at the same time.
The product can be used twice a day for years and it will only make the skin more healthy and resilient.


For any questions or to book a consultation with me you can contact me through my Instagram page which is @Lauras_Lasers or call/text 403 991 1663

3 Easy Skin Care Solutions For Men

After over 5 years in this industry it baffles me how so many men are actually so alike...

Most guys despise having a complicated routine with too many products and think it will somehow derail their entire day if they spend 3 extra minutes in the morning and night to take care of their face.

They often worry moisturizers will make them feel greasy as men usually have oilier skin to begin with, and it can be near impossible to talk them into even wearing a simple sunscreen.

In my experience women are much better thinking ahead. So they invest in preventative measures such as antiaging skin care, they partake in treatments such as laser or injectables to fine tune, enhance and correct before there's a bigger cosmetic issue at hand, or just to age gracefully.

Men on the other hand only show up in my chair when they have big bags under their eyes, dark circles that make them look tired, lines that have set in across their forehead or have suddenly started to breakout.

While I have some great treatments and products for all the above concerns they likely wouldn't even be sitting in my chair so soon if they took the time to do some simple things at home.


1. Cleanse and Tone

There is a rhyme and reason for everything in this industry and the cleansing and toning part of the at home regimen often gets brushed off because it's thought to be unnecessary when it's actually just as important as everything else!

Cleansing removes debris, excess oil and allows impurities to exit the skin. I find men either skip this step entirely or they're using some sort of harsh bar soap that may not even be meant for the face.

Guys, if you're one of the many that complain about how oily your skin is, step away from the bar soap! Now!
Anything that foams and leaves your skin with that tight dry feeling is only going to dehydrate your skin and stimulate your oil glands to produce more oil!!!

Our skin has a natural moisture barrier on the surface and it's there for a reason. It keeps our skin protected, hydrated and clean. By removing this barrier the oil glands kick into hyper drive to replace what was stripped away. That may explain that greasy gross feeling you're noticing around lunchtime or at the end of the day.

Toning is the second essential step as this brings the pH of your skin back to normal which will again, keep your oil glands calm and your skin feeling good.
Now your skin is ready to better absorb any beneficial ingredients from your moisturizer.
If you're one to invest in high quality products (as you should) this means you're getting the most out of your investment!


2. Show Your Eyes Some TLC

Using a hydrating eye product can do wonders to reduce puffiness, dark circles, lines and prevent premature aging of the area.
The skin around the eyes is the thinnest on the entire body. That's why it's usually the first to show signs of aging which can make us look rough and tired. Teoxane has a great option that men especially seem to really like.

The product is called RII Eyes and is hyaluronic acid based which is something that's already found in the human body. Each molecule of HA holds 1,000 times its weight in water!

It has a cooling metal tipped applicator which feels great in the morning and helps to reduce puffiness, it's ever so slightly tinted so it also helps to disguise darkness immediately (No guys, it won't look like you're wearing makeup, I promise!) and it addresses all possible concerns in one easy step...darkness, puffiness, lines, dehydration and dullness.


3. Just Put On The SPF
 
This is easily the best thing you can do for your skin!
Daily use of SPF will prevent aging including lines, wrinkles, brown spots, volume loss, dull skin and sagging. Not to mention it will also prevent skin cancer...the #1 most preventable cancer out there.

My favourite sunscreen is from Environ.
It has an SPF of 25 and is a mineral sunscreen which contains titanium dioxide as well as antioxidants.
It's extremely light, does not contain any fragrance, will not cause or worsen breakouts and doesn't appear chalky on dark skin tones. The size of a small pea covers the full face including the eye area, (don't forget about your eyes guys!) so one tube seems to last forever.


Most guys these days tend to take pretty good care of themselves. They go to the gym regularly, eat relatively well, maintain their hairstyle, have nice wardrobes and wear nice cologne.

All that effort into everything else yet they let their skin take a daily beating of UV rays, pollution, dehydration and malnourishment.



Including these three things will keep you out of my treatment chair longer, will give you healthier skin and I promise you won't regret it!

The Link Between Dairy and Acne

I get a lot of questions about how the diet impacts the skin. It actually varies quite a lot from person to person depending on how sensitive the skin, and certain skin conditions are to possible food triggers.

While some people can't seem to sneak any sort of junk food like chocolate or other sweets without suffering the consequences, others show no reaction at all.

One link between diary and acne however is a little more clear. It's been proven that often those who struggle with acne also have some level of insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance is a condition where the body doesn't respond to normal levels of the hormone being release in the blood stream post sugar spike. The pancreas continues to release more and more until, finally sugar levels are normalised.
The problem is now there's all this additional insulin hanging out that needs to be dealt with.
So the hormone is then processed very similarly to a male hormone, which has a direct stimulating effect on the sebaceous, or oil glands in the skin. More oil usually means more breakouts.

But what does insulin have to do with dairy? Typically when we think of a sugar spike we think of chocolate, candy or alcohol, right?
Well lactose is the natural sugar found in dairy products and contributes to sugar spikes. Along with added processed sugar like in ice cream, yogurt or chocolate it's suddenly an extra hit on the system.

Dairy also contains natural hormones, since cows milk is made to make small calves grow, and fast I might add. Dairy contains growth hormones no matter where it comes from.

Yes, in Canada we have dairy products that do not contain ADDED hormones and that's great...but don't let that make you think the diary we consume is hormone free.

These hormones get processed in the human body similarly to how we process our own natural growth hormones when we're growing ourselves. In children who already have a ton of their own natural growth hormones surging through them, now you've added in some extra, and for what? Good measure? In adults who are fully grown, well...you see where I'm going with this.

These hormones are also processed in the system similar to a male hormone, again, having a direct stimulating effect on the oil glands. As if they weren't working hard enough already, am I right?

The result is excessively oily, clogged and inflamed skin.

Medical tests are available to see if you may be someone struggling with insulin resistance however, an easy way to see if you're sensitive to the effects of dairy in general would be cutting it out for at least 2 weeks, if not 3.
Reintroduce one serving of dairy like a glass of milk or cup of yogurt and wait another 72 hours.

If you end up having a flare up in your acne, or notice your skin is more oily during those days it may be best to cut out dairy all together, or at least minimize your overall intake.

Of course, I have to say that I am a Laser Technician and Skin Health Therapist. So, if you're going to make any radical changes to your diet please talk to your doctor or nutritionist before doing so.

Striving For A Higher Standard

These days it seems like everyone and their dog is a skin care expert, it can be confusing to know how to decipher the real information and the trending now, gimmicky kind of information...i.e. 24K gold, collagen, Himalayan salt, coconut oil, and charcoal ingredients that all promise to transform your skin.

 

First off, many people will be surprised to learn that to be a skin care professional there are no requirements or standards set in place. Not even in spas or medi-spas, and of course anyone on the planet (and who knows, maybe even seriously their dog!?) can sign up and start selling skin care from pyramid type companies.

 

Without needing to write an entire separate blog, we’ll just say that the skin is an organ. The largest organ of the body, and just like any other organ it needs proper nutrition to be healthy.

The cells in the skin are growing and dividing constantly, just like all the cells in the rest of the human body. These cells need vitamins and minerals to function normally. When you come across new, trendy skin care you might want to approach with some healthy skepticism.

 

Skin care that provides high quality vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, peptides and hydration are products that will feed, and change the skin. These types of products are placed in a separate category all together, called cosmeceuticals. They are highly concentrated, active products that are only sold through spas or clinics with trained professionals.

 

Even more terrifying, the same goes for the laser and light industry. No requirements, no standards, nothing needed to get behind a laser and start treating people. That being said, it’s always important to do your homework when you’re choosing to hand over not just your money, but your face to someone.

 

Many clinics and spas choose to set higher standards and will only hire estheticians or laser technicians who have gone to school and have experience in the industry.

Some clinics and spas however, do not. So the onus is on the client to research, and to even simply ask what kind of education their esthetician or technician has and what the hiring policies of the establishment may be.

 

While getting bad skin care advice may not be the end of the world as it may only turn out to be a waste of money and dissapointment in the lack of results, a bad laser or light treatment can be far more costly.

Burns, infections, scarring, permanent pigmentation and eye damage are just a few of the complications that can arise from a treatment gone bad.

 

Of course, this article is not meant to instill fear in those who are looking into laser or light treatments. After all when done properly, the results can truly be amazing and well worth the investment.

 

However it’s important to know that these treatments don’t just involve a point and shoot method. Laser and light physics and the interaction this energy has with tissue is a science and something that needs to be well understood by those delivering treatments.

Be diligent, don’t trust blindly and do your homework!