Category Archives: Cosmetic Treatments

What’s the Best Way to Treat Laugh Lines?

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Vertical lines that located on either side of the mouth are often called smile lines or laugh lines—because they’re most noticeable when you’re smiling and laughing—but the technical term for them is nasolabial folds. These lines develop between the bottom of the nose and corners of the mouth, and their severity varies from person to person. Dermatologists can help you find the best technique for treating your nasolabial folds based on their severity and what’s causing them to deepen. There are several types of skin treatments—including hyaluronic acid facial fillers at our Albuquerque, NM, practice—that can help make these wrinkles less noticeable. 

Nasolabial folds are perfectly normal. In fact, almost everyone has these facial features (except for newborns and people who have certain medical conditions) so you wouldn’t want them to be completely erased, as it would look unnatural. The most common causes include sun damage, deficiency of collagen due to aging, a loss of fat, and frequent facial expressions like smiling.

The folds themselves contain dense bundles of fibrous tissue and muscle. For many, these laugh lines are no laughing matter as they become more prominent as time goes by, and the tissue becomes thinner while losing its elasticity. Fortunately, there are plenty of solutions for correcting them if you would like yours to be less pronounced. 

Although they don’t require treatment and aren’t a sign of a medical condition, some people prefer a smoother appearance without the folds. While minimally invasive treatments can’t get rid of them completely, injectables can enhance the skin and make the lines appear less pronounced. Facial fillers are soft gels that blend in beneath the skin and reduce the severity of nasolabial folds by giving the skin a more youthful, volumized, and lifted appearance.

When treating nasolabial folds, fillers can be injected to smooth out wrinkles or in the upper cheek area to provide a subtle lift. Skin resurfacing techniques like laser skin resurfacing and microdermabrasion can also improve the overall appearance of the skin to offset the appearance of laugh lines. 

Temporary facial fillers from The Spa @ Western Dermatology Consultants reduce different types of moderate to severe wrinkles, including nasolabial folds. Call us at 505-855-9267 or submit a contact form if you’re ready to schedule a consultation. 

How to Identify Signs of Sun Damage on Your Skin

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We provide skin resurfacing at our Albuquerque, NM-based practice as a way of improving the health and appearance of skin that has been damaged by overexposure to sunlight or other stressors, such as smoking. Prolonged, unprotected sun exposure is a sure-fire way to cause lasting damage to one’s skin. This is because the sun’s rays penetrate beneath the surface and can reach the deepest parts of the skin to warp the DNA itself.

That doesn’t mean sun damage is always easy to detect, however. Your complexion might look quite clear and almost flawless in the mirror, but there can still be damage. Remember that sun damage occurs in different forms, and even if you don’t get sunburned in a noticeable way, your skin could still be being damaged in other ways. Not to mention, many signs of sun damage take time—sometimes many years—before they can be seen on the surface because UV rays are damaging it at such a deep level. 

Some of the most common signs and symptoms associated with UV damage include:

Uneven Pigmentation

An increased production of melanin (the pigment that gives color to your skin) occurs as the skin attempts to protect itself against UV rays. This can give your skin isolated spots, freckles, or a mottled and blotchy appearance if the excess pigment forms in an uneven way. 

Tan

Dermatologists often stress that there’s no such thing as a “healthy” tan or a “base tan.” Whenever your skin’s natural color changes, this is a symptom of some type of skin damage. 

Worsening Melasma

Melasma is a condition that causes patches of skin on the forehead and cheeks to turn brown. It can also cause blue-gray patches or spots that look like freckles. Melasma is made worse by sun exposure because the UV rays increase the activity of cells that produce pigment. 

Liver Spots

Flat spots with a tan, brown, or dark brown color that are a deeper shade than freckles may occur on sun-exposed areas. They are typically round or oval in shape and form in different sizes. They are non-cancerous, but you can choose to lighten them for cosmetic reasons. 

Remember that sun damage can also cause cancers to develop, so be sure to watch for more obvious signs, such as awkward-looking or evolving moles, crusty patches that bleed or never heal, and areas that are sensitive or painful to the touch.

Get a clearer, healthier, more flawless skin tone by taking steps to prevent sun damage—and by choosing skin resurfacing from The Spa @ Western Dermatology Consultants. Call us at 505-855-9267 or submit a contact form to get started. 

Why Are Humectants So Important in Skin Care?

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Our skin is constantly in contact with the environment, so it’s affected not just by sun exposure, but also by all kinds of changes in weather and climate. Once “sweater weather” arrives in Albuquerque, our skin tends to become drier and duller, thanks to increased exposure to central heating and colder, less humid air. One of the best things we can do to maintain healthy, clear skin during these seasonal changes is adjust our skincare routine accordingly. One of the essentials everyone needs in the cooler months is a good face and body moisturizer to stave off parched, irritated skin—especially if you have a naturally dry or sensitive skin type. Chances are good that if you’ve ever looked up skin care ingredients, you may have seen the term “humectants” thrown around. What you might be asking yourself is what exactly do they do and why are they an essential part of your skin care routine? Hyaluronic acid, the same ingredient found in most of the popular facial fillers at our Albuquerque, NM-based practice, is a humectant. Here are some things you should know about the benefits of adding humectants to your skincare regime. 

Humectants Draw in Hydration

Humectants are hydrophilic, meaning that they’re attracted to water molecules. These substances act like magnets to attract moisture to the outermost layer of skin, called the stratum corneum. The water might be drawn from the deeper, middle layers of skin or from the surrounding environment. 

Humectants Are Mostly Used for Moisturizing

These water-loving ingredients are most typically found in moisturizing products for the face and body, such as creams, lotions, and serums, along with shampoos and other beauty products. 

Not All Humectants Are the Same 

Some of the most common examples of humectants used in skin care include glycerin or glycerol, hyaluronic acid (as noted above), urea, sorbitol, alpha-hydroxy acids, salicylic acid, aloe vera, and honey. Some types of humectants simply hydrate, while others remove dead skin cells to regulate moisture levels. 

Want plumper, less wrinkled-looking skin and enhanced facial contours? Call us at 505-855-9267 or submit a contact form to request a consultation if you’re curious about the benefits of aesthetic treatments. Find out more about products and services from The Spa @ Western Dermatology Consultants.

Can BOTOX® Prevent Wrinkles from Developing?

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We’ve all wished we could turn back the clock on aging. Of course, there’s no way of realistically doing that. We have to live with the fact that our skin is constantly folded and creased when we make facial expressions each day, or even during small movements involved in chewing gum or drinking from straws. Lines eventually form in the areas where the skin folds most frequently. Once the body begins to produce less collagen, our skin isn’t able to snap back into its normal position, and expression lines start to deepen.

While there’s no time machine we can use to avoid this, there are some cosmetic treatments that can indeed delay the effects of aging for anyone who wants to preserve youthful skin for as long as possible. The beauty of wrinkle relaxers from our Albuquerque, NM-based practice is that they not only do BOTOX® and similar injectables quickly minimize the fine lines that have already become more pronounced on the face—such as crow’s feet and frown lines—but they can also delay or prevent the formation of additional wrinkles. 

This is one of the reasons why a younger demographic of patients—meaning in their 20s and 30s—have begun using neuromodulators.

There are many advantages to what is known as “preventative BOTOX®.” The goal of these wrinkle injections is to prevent those early, faint fine lines that appear when we smile, frown, or make other expressions from deepening and becoming engraved into the skin.

If you’re bothered by faint lines in your 20s or have a very expressive face and know that you’re most likely going to want wrinkle relaxers later in life, it makes sense to start early. Once the lines have become more pronounced, patients will need more units of fillers and neuromodulators or more invasive procedures to correct them.

Also, if you start treatments earlier in life, you may not need as many units as someone who starts injections at an older age because your wrinkles will be fewer in number and less pronounced. 

For more information on wrinkle relaxers, contact The Spa @ Western Dermatology Consultants. Call us at 505-855-9267 or submit a contact form to request a consultation if you’re seeking non-invasive treatments to reduce facial lines. 

How Does the Holiday Season Affect Our Skin?

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Even if you’re not exposed to freezing temperatures, snow, and wind, winter festivities can put your skin through the wringer so that by the time the New Year comes around, you’re having to deal with the terrible effects of a post-holiday complexion. Between getting together with friends and family, indulging in rich holiday foods, and perhaps going on an exotic vacation, we often let our healthy habits fall to the wayside when we get busy. This makes acne breakouts, irritation, and dry, dull skin more likely. A lack of quality beauty sleep deprives our skin of its chance to repair itself, all of the sweet treats cause inflammation to spike, stress harms our skin barrier, too much alcohol produces free radicals that break down skin fibers, and our normal skin care routine may get put on the backburner when things get hectic. At Western Dermatology Consultants, we provide a range of cosmetic treatments—including lasers and microdermabrasion—for Albuquerque patients to revive their skin by removing the buildup of dull and damaged skin cells that block the surface. 

Along with in-office procedures to restore more vibrant, healthier skin, we recommend that patients follow these tips for helping their skin survive the holiday stress. 

Avoid Certain Holiday Foods

Some high-glycemic and processed foods are believed to be linked to skin breakouts. Eggnog is something you’ll need to avoid because it contains plenty of inflammation-inducing saturated fats along with alcohol that will dry out your skin. Sugar cookies can also be detrimental for your complexion because of all the white sugar and white flour they contain. Trade in eggnog for water or hot chocolate or have a slice of antioxidant-rich pumpkin pie instead of cookies. 

Be Consistent 

Consistency is the key to healthy skin, so remember to follow the same skin routine—including wearing sunscreen—throughout the colder months. 

Don’t Sleep with Makeup On 

You’re likely to be wearing more makeup for holiday parties, but even if you feel too exhausted to remove it before bed, make a habit of at least using micellar water to cleanse your skin. Forgetting to take off your makeup results in blocked pores and bacteria. 

Explore options for cosmetic skin resurfacing procedures like microdermabrasion from Albuquerque, NM’s The Spa @ Western Dermatology Consultants. Call 505-855-9267 or submit a contact form to schedule a consultation if you need advice on skin care. 

How to Prevent Chlorine Rash

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While it’s the most fun time of the year for many of us, summertime can be rough on the complexion. We’re usually much more active during these months, but all of the moments we spend exposed to the elements—during barbecues, outdoor sports, tropical vacations, and lounging by the pool—often leave us with dry, wrinkled, or painful skin by the time September rolls around. You can use BOTOX® from our Albuquerque-based team to minimize wrinkles around the eyes from sun exposure, but the injectable won’t sooth dry, cracked, or blistered skin from other types of stressors.

The chlorine that’s added to swimming pools and hot tubs serves an important purpose—destroying germs and bacteria—but unfortunately this chemical is also an irritant that strips the natural oils from your skin, especially when you’re exposed to it for extended periods. This leaved your skin dehydrated and speeds up premature aging. Chlorine can also cause an itchy, red rash that’s similar to a chemical burn, especially among those who have sensitive skin or allergies.

The good news is: If you love everything that’s involved in late summer, you won’t have to let sensitive or irritated skin prevent you from doing the things you enjoy—like swimming. Simply plan to take certain steps before and after you swim to avoid uncomfortable rashes. You may also want to give your skin time to heal by avoiding exposure to chlorine for a while. 

• Start by putting on a waterproof, broad-spectrum sunscreen (SPF 50+) before you get in the water. For it to work properly, you need to apply it 15 minutes before you go outside. This protects your skin from UV damage and may reduce chemical damage from chlorine. 

• Create a barrier to protect your skin from the water by applying petroleum jelly to irritated areas before swimming. 

• Shower or bathe with clean water right after you get out of the pool, then use a good moisturizer that contains ceramides to protect the skin’s barrier and replace the natural oils it may have lost. 

Want more summer skincare tips? Talk to our team to learn more about skin conditions or set up an appointment for cosmetic procedures from The Spa @ Western Dermatology Consultants. Reach out to us by calling 505-855-9267, or submit a contact form to request a consultation if you’re interested in learning more. 

Top 4 Non-Obvious Ways You Can Get Sunburned

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Aside from normal aging, a major cause of wrinkles, hollows, discolorations, and textural changes to your skin is exposure to UV radiation. Once the collagen breaks down and the DNA of the skin cells themselves is warped by this external stressor, people begin to notice static wrinkles appear on areas like the cheeks and the lips. Injectable fillers from our Albuquerque-based practice are ideal for adding subtle volume to minimize these wrinkles. Nevertheless, the best defense against these signs of aging is preventing them from occurring in the first place.

As this generation is more knowledgeable on sun protection than previous ones, more people are taking steps to guard their skin against skin cancer and premature aging than ever before. Even a mild sunburn can cause lasting damage to your skin.

Many people don’t realize, however, that you don’t have to spend hours sunbathing at the beach, exposing your skin to harsh summer sun rays, or use tanning beds constantly to end up with skin damage. Even some of the small things you do every day could be increasing your risk of skin damage. Here are four surprising ways you could be baking your skin without knowing it:

  1. Sitting inside by a window or driving in your car without protecting your skin can be causing skin damage. Although you might think your skin is safer when you’re not outside, UV radiation penetrates through glass, so you may need to wear broad-spectrum sunscreen and install window films or special tinting on your car or home windows.  
  2. Be aware of medications, acne creams, skin care treatments, and foods that increase your sun sensitivity. Take extra precautions about going outside if you know you’re at a higher risk of harming your skin.
  3. Looking at an iPhone, iPad, or similar tablet or device could increase your sun exposure significantly due to the reflected glare.
  4. Wearing the wrong sunscreen or not using it correctly may be almost as bad as not applying it at all. Choose a broad-spectrum sunscreen that’s water resistant and high-SPF. Re-apply it every few hours.

Get more information from The Spa @ Western Dermatology Consultants. Call us at 505-855-9267, or submit a contact form to request a consultation, and we can give you further advice or help you put together a treatment plan.