Nikki Sommer, a nurse practitioner with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning for Medical Matters.
If you’ve got skin that might need treatment, sometimes layered treatment is the best option.
Sommer said, “This is when we combined all our devices in one treatment. We about aging, and aging happens at different levels. So what do we mean by that? When you’re looking at aging skin, we’re seeing multiple things happening, redness and broken capillaries, pigment and sun damage, collagen loss and loss and laxity in the skin and adult texture. This all happens at different levels in your skin as you’re aging, among other things that go on in your body. These all occur at different depths of the skin. If you only treat the surface, you’re missing the target to stimulate that collagen, which is deeper in the skin. If you only tighten, you’re not correcting pigment. So when you pick one over the other and you don’t kind of combine them or have a plan to address all those issues, it could leave you lacking in some areas.”
What does the Elite IQ laser do?
Sommer said, “It has two different wavelengths, the 755, and the 1064. The way the 1064 wavelength can penetrate down into the dermis, it targets the hemoglobin in the vessels to calm down that inflammation that gives you that redness, that gives you the appearance of those broken capillaries. So we want to treat the diffuse redness, again, treat those broken capillaries, that flushing look that you might have on your skin and background inflammation. When we do that, as the first step, we’re calming down that activity, creating a stable foundation for the next three that are going to follow.”
The second part is tightening and rebuilding.
Sommer said, “Next we’re going to tighten and rebuild, and that is with radio frequency, micro needling that’s going to address the structure. This can penetrate deeper down into the skin. With radio frequency, it can reach up to a depth of four millimeters. However, we don’t normally go to that depth on the face, not unless you have severe scarring. So we usually do not go above two millimeters on your first treatment. But this is where collagen lives. We want to use the radio frequency. It’s the energy delivered through needles, deeper into the skin. This is what helps stimulate collagen, tighten that skin laxity, improve any scarring, such as acne scarring, and improve crepey texture that you may have in your skin as you age. So it’s truly remodeling, just not treating the surface.”
The third step is the PicoSure laser.
Sommer said, “We’re going to address our pigment with the PicoSure. As I always say, in Key West or anywhere, really, pigment is pesky, but it’s more pesky down here, because we’re in the sun and we’re exposed to heat and the sun rays almost all year round. So 12 months out of the year, we’re in the sun. PicoSure Pro uses ultra short pico second pulses to shatter the pigment particles. It works from the epidermis down to about two millimeters into the dermis. So the dermis, remember, is kind of like you have your top layer of the skin, your epidermis and your dermis. This is what we treat sun damage with. It can also treat melasma, sun spots, post inflammatory hyperpigmentation and overall dullness. So this helps to brighten your skin as well. This can also stimulate collagen through something called laser induced optical breakdown without damaging the surrounding tissue. So this laser is pretty high tech, and I don’t want to say, a protective laser, but it’s a laser, all of our lasers are non ablative, so it’s protecting other areas of the skin, targeting what it needs to target.”
The fourth step is the LaseMD Ultra.
Sommer said, “This laser is a 1927 thulium laser, and it works more superficially. It’s like the closer, about 100-300 microns deep into the epidermis. This gives you that glow. It improves texture, refines pores, brightens your tone, and it also helps to create little micro channels. So we can put a topical serum on that gets penetrated and activates at the cellular level.”
Why should the technologies be combined?
Sommer said, “We don’t just pick one, because aging is layered. So when they work together, here’s just a brief summary of how all four of them work together. The Elite IQ calms the blood vessels, calms that redness, inflammation, the Potenza, that’s our RF micro needling machine, radio frequency micro needling, it helps tighten the structure. The PicoSure Pro helps to break that pigment up, that all that unwanted pigment, and the LaseMD Ultra is good for resurfacing and also helping us infuse those topical serums. So that’s a full spectrum rejuvenation from superficial epidermis down to the deep dermis. That’s why we do this all together.”
The open house at Key West Surgical Group will be held on March 12.
Sommer said, “You can call the office, 305-294-1041, to RSVP. Space is limited, and I want everybody to be able to get in and see at least one part of the demonstration who is interested. We will have treatment, education about this, in case you missed it, or you have more questions regarding the procedure. There’ll be special event only pricing and I’ll be there to answer any questions that anyone might have. We don’t treat it at one depth. This is not about chasing trends. It’s about science, safety and strategic layering.”
For more information, click here: https://www.keywestsurgicalgroup.com/