What Are Skin Treatments and How Do Skin Treatments Help me?
At Atlantic Medicine & Wellness, we offer a number of aesthetic services, designed especially to slow the appearance of aging. Along with a healthy lifestyle and our multi-disciplinary approach to optimal wellness, we encourage our patients to feel comfortable enjoying these services, designed to erase wrinkles, as well as rejuvenate, restore and add volume to the face. For many patients, time is working against their skin’s appearance. Every time you speak, eat, kiss, or smile, your skin remembers and lines eventually begin to show on your face.
There are solutions that are effective, well tolerated and can be done in the comfort of our office with Dr. John Ricci. Our patients love them.
Anti-Aging Treatments
Our injectable anti-aging treatments fall into two categories: neuromuscular blocker or filler.
A prescription injection for temporary improvement in the look of moderate to severe frown lines between the eyebrows (glabellar lines) in adults less than 65 years of age. At AMW, our preferred neuromuscular blocker is XEOMIN®. This treatment works by blocking the nerve’s communication with the muscle it controls. In so doing, the muscles no longer contract and move, and the wrinkles and lines diminish. The XEOMIN® solution is injected with a tiny needle into the muscle, generally, at the level of the eyes and above. Patients see the benefits develop over the seven to ten days following the injections. If you’ve ever had someone ask you if you were upset, but you weren’t, XEOMIN® may be the treatment for you. Or if you have “11’s” or “hockey sticks” between your eyebrows, XEOMIN®, may also be the right treatment for you.
Fillers are substances which are injected into wrinkles and furrows to diminish their appearance. The most common fillers are hyaluronic acid (HA), a substance that occurs naturally in your skin and joints, but diminishes with the aging process.
RESTYLANE®, RESTYLANE-LYFT® and BOLETERO® – are all HA fillers that we use at AMW. They are considered to have an effective life span between 6 and 12 months, depending on the injection site. Best of all, as HA is a naturally occurring substance, it has the least potential for reactions. RESTYLANE® is used for moderate lines and outlining and augmenting lips. It’s also used on fine wrinkles and tear troughs. RESTYLANE-LYFT® is the thickest HA and is used for deeper injections, such as moderate wrinkles, and for refining the cheek and jaw lines. BOLETERO® is the thinnest HA and is used for superficial lines and wrinkles, acne scars and tear troughs. All three can be used individually, together or with XEOMIN®.
RADIESSE® – is a filler which uses a different technology, calcium hydroxide (CaHA) mircospheres, in similar applications as the HA fillers. RADIESSE® works immediately to fill lines and wrinkles, as well as stimulating natural collagen production and deposition, for a longer lasting correction. RADIESSE® is only used in deeper lines and wrinkles and is not indicated for superficial lines around the eye. Clinical studies have shown the effects of this filler to last for 1 year, or sometimes, even longer. RADIESSE® is a viable option to help provide a long-lasting natural look while immediately smoothing wrinkles.
SCULPTRA® – is considered a semi-permanent filler, meaning its effects last as long as 2 years. It’s a form of Poly L Lactic acid, which is the same substance used in dissolvable sutures. It can be used for all the other indications as the other fillers, but seems to work best with deeper injections, such as severe wrinkles, as well as the restoration of lost volume. SCULPTRA® is excellent in plumping up cheeks and filling hollow temples, as well as defining jaw lines. SCULPTRA® is usually injected in 2 sessions to allow improved results with the least side effects.
Skin Tags
Skin Tags (acrochordon) are common, acquired, benign bits of flesh-colored or darkly pigmented tissue that project from the surrounding skin from a small, narrow stalk (pedunculated) that look like a small soft, balloons of hanging skin. Skin tags are harmless growths that can vary in number from one to hundreds. Although some skin tags may fall off spontaneously, most persist once formed. Skin tags typically occur in characteristic locations, including the base of the neck, underarms, eyelids, groin folds, and under the breasts. Early on, skin tags may be as small as a flattened pinhead-sized bump. At Atlantic Medicine & Wellness, we offer a quick and safe procedure to remove these skin tags. We use radio frequency device called a hyfrecator, which uses high frequency sound waves to cut and seal. Our patients can have the procedure done during their lunch breaks and immediately return to work.
Skin Moles
Skin Moles are growths on the skin that are usually brown or black. Moles can appear anywhere on the skin, alone or in groups. Most moles appear in early childhood and during the first 30 years of a person’s life. Congenital nevi are moles that appear at birth. Congenital nevi occur in about one in 100 people. These moles may be more likely to develop into melanoma (cancer) than are moles that appear after birth. A mole or freckle should be checked if it has a diameter of more than a pencil point or undergoes change of any kind. At AMW, the treatment for mole removal is the same as in skin tags, where a hyfrecator is used to remove the mole and seal the skin. Again, it is a quick and safe procedure.
Skin Cysts/Lesions
Skin Cysts/Lesions are generalized terms for growths on the skin. Skin lesions can include warts, moles, cancers, and skin tags. Cysts are abnormalities in the body that may contain liquid or semi-liquid material. Cutaneous cysts are harmless, sac-like growths in the deeper layers of the skin. It is not known why cysts appear. Some people get many cysts because of genetic and / or environmental influences. Sebaceous cysts are common noncancerous cysts of the skin. Sebaceous cysts are mostly found on the face, neck, or torso. They grow slowly and are not life threatening, but they may become uncomfortable if they go unchecked. A ganglion cyst is a noncancerous lump that most commonly develops in the wrist or hand. Some occur in the ankles or feet. If a ganglion cyst presses on a nerve, it may be painful. Depending on its location, a ganglion cyst may restrict movement. Some cysts do not require any treatment, but others require surgical removal.
If you’re interested in our aesthetic services, such as skin tag removal or injectable anti-aging treatments, contact at our wellness center in Wall, NJ. You can also take a peak inside Atlantic Wellness and Medicine by seeing our virtual tour.