You may have heard of a product or treatment from friends, family or colleagues, or you may have seen a particular aesthetic product advertised, and would like to know more.
Perhaps you're wondering what Botox is? Or Restylane or Juvederm or Radiesse or Sculptra? What is that skin peel that they use on Channel 4's 10 Years Younger?
This section of the website allows you to browse by product or treatment type. If you would like more information, please book in for a complimentary consultation with our Doctor.
Botulinum toxin is a protein made by certain bacteria. It prevents nerve impulses traveling into muscle and so weakens or relaxes the muscle.
It has been used medically for many years to treat conditions such as muscle spasm. Patients who were treated for muscle spasm around their eyes (a painful condition called blepharospasm) also noticed that their wrinkles softened and often disappeared. This led to the investigation and development of Botulinum toxin as a Cosmetic Treatment.
There are many different types of Botulinum Toxin, but Type A is sommonly used for cosmetic treatments.
Botox, Botox Cosmetic, Vistabel, Xeomin and Dysport are all product names for Botulinum Toxin Type A. The drug company Allergan produces Botox, Vistabel and Botox Cosmetic. Merz Pharma produces Xeomin, and Dysport is made by Ipsen.
Each company produces botulinum toxin differently, and the various products are not the same - you cannot inject the same amount of botox and dysport for the same result. Each must be used and tailored to the individual patient's needs by a qualified, experienced and skilled practitioiner.
All formulations of Botulinum Toxin are Prescription Only Medicines.
Botulinum Toxin is most commonly used to treat the upper face - the Glabella (area between the eyebrows), the forehead or brow, and the crows feet that surround the eyes.
More advanced practitioners can treat areas in the mid and lower face. These include the area around the lips to smooth out fine lines, reducing 'gummy smiles', improving a dimpled chin or softening lines traditionally treated with fillers, such as the Nasolabial folds and marionette lines. It can also be used to soften wrinkles in the neck, and to reduce prominent muscle bands in the neck.
Botox is also used to treat excess sweating of the armpits, hands and feet (known medically as hyperhydrosis).
Finally, certain headaches, particularly those related to muscle spasm, can be alleviated by botox.
As we age, connective tissue within the skin such as collagen, elastin and a substance known as hyaluronic acid reduce. This leads to line and wrinkle formation.
A simple way to correct these wrinkles is to fill them with with a dermal filler made from hyaluronic acid (Non animal hyaluronic acid or NaHA). This substance occurs naturally in our bodies, so does not require allergy testing. It is broken down by natural processes in the body. Our own body's hyaluronic acid is produced and broken down again within days. Biomedical companies have developed methods to stabilise the hyaluronic acid that they use in their filler products which allow it to last for many months. Depending on where the filler is used, duration of effect typically ranges from 3-9 months.
There are several hundred different types of hyaluronic acid fillers onthe market today, but not all are FDA approved, or CE marked. At Le Salon Bliss, we only use filler which have a proven safety record.
Some of the commonly used NaHA fillers available include:
NaHA fillers can be used to restore face volume, soften lines and wrinkles, augment lips, and restore skin tone, elasticity and hydration. Common treatments include:
Certain fillers such as Restylane Vital, Restylane Vital Light and Teosyal Meso can by used to rehydrate the skin as well as improve skin elasticity and tone. Areas treated typically include the face, back of hands and decolletage (neck and chest area).
Radiesse® dermal filler is made of calcium-based microspheres suspended in a water-based gel. The gel provides an immediate fill effect simliar to the Hyaluronic acid (NaHA) fillers above. What makes Radiesse unique is the calcium-based microspheres which stimulate the body's natural collagen production (collagenesis). As the gel is slowly reabsorbed, the microspheres stimulate new collagen growth in the injected area. The result is that where the hyaluronic acid fillers last an average of 6 months, Radiesse lasts for up to 18 months.
Radiesse can be used in most areas that NaHA fillers are used, apart from the body of the lips and the glabella area. It can also be used to rejuvenate the back of the hands.
While Radiesse is slightly more expensive than NaHA fillers per treatment, the longer lasting effect can make it considerably cheaper in the long term.
Sculptra® - the non surgical facelift by natural collagen stimulation.
Sculptra® is a long lasting, clinically-proven treatment than can smooth deep lines and wrinkles and restore facial volume lost to the body's natural ageing process.
The improvement is gradual, long-lasting and gives you an entirely natural-looking fuller face.
Clinical studies have shown that the results last for two years (and longer) after the final treatment has been completed, significantly longer than other injectable treatments.
Sculptra® is an injectable volumising treatment that stimulates the build up of the body’s own collagen to smooth out lines and wrinkles and restore lost facial volume to give you a fuller, younger-looking face.
Unlike the hyaluronic acid fillers (such as Restylane) and Radiesse, Sculptra does not give an immediate result. A course of treatments usually consisting of three treatments 6-8 weeks apart produces a gradual regrowth of natural collagen. Sculptra is used to treat the whole face, rather than individual lines. The effect is a natural restoration of youthful features and contours.
There are many methods that can be used to remove old, tired, damaged and wrinkled skin, and force your body to regrow fresh, youthful-looking skin. These include lasers (Fractal CO2, Laser resurfacing, IPL), Microdermabrasion, Microneedling, and TCA skin peels.
At Le Salon Bliss, we use the Obagi Skin care and rejuvenation systems, in combination with the Obagi Blue Peel. Details can be found in the Skin Clinic pages of this website.
True medical peels are very different from traditional 'beauty therapist' peels, which essentially freshen the skin by deep exfoliation. True medical peels such as the Obagi Blue Peel penetrate much deeper into the skin, and can be used to
With the correct preparation, we can treat and peelmost skin types - including dark skin. It is essential that you have your TCA peel performed by a suitably experienced and qualified practitioner. A properly administered Obagi Blue Peel will produce fantastic results. A peel admisinistered by an inexperienced practitioner can be disasterous, and can in fact make problems such as hyperpigmentation worse (a condition known as Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PIH)).
Please refer to the Skin Clinic pages and Blue Peel pages of this website for more details, and patient photographs.
The face is the most popular area to be peeled. However, any skin can be peeled - for example, the decolletage, back of hands, skin of the abdomen, and so on.
Microdermabrasion is a gentle exfoliating technique using gentle abrasion and suction to remove the superficial layers of the skin (the strateum corneum).
The removal of the superficial layers of the skin stimulates new skin and collagen growth. The technique rejuvenates skin, reduces the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and scars, and treats mild pigmentation irregularities.
Older microdermabrasion machines used crystals made of products such as Aluminium Oxide which could be irritant or produce allergy. At Le Salon Bliss, we use Diamond Microdermabrasion. The diamond heads on the machine are non-allegenic and non irritant. No crystals are used in the treatment.
The treatment is painless and in fact quite relaxing!
There are many methods that can be used to remove old, tired, damaged and wrinkled skin, and force your body to regrow fresh, youthful-looking skin. These include lasers (Fractal CO2, Laser resurfacing, IPL), Microdermabrasion, Microneedling, and TCA skin peels.
The Microneedle roller (sold as Rol-Cit, MicroRoller etc by different manufacturers) consists of a skin roller with several hundred tiny needles, ranging in length from 0.1mm (home use microroller) to 3mm (medical or surgical microroller).
The o.1mm and 0.2 mm microneedle rollers can be used at home, alongside suitable skin creams. The tiny needles penetrate the top protective layer of the skin (the Stratum Corneum), forming passages through this layer. This allows skin care products to penetrate deeper into the skin following the treatment. Note that not all skin care products are suitable for use following microneedling. At Le Salon Bliss, we will be happy to advise you on a full skin care regime that you can use in combination with the microroller.
Medical and surgical Microneedle rollers have much longer needles - typically 1.5 to 3mm. As these needles penetrate much deeper into the skin, we anaesthetise the skin with a topical anaesthetic cream for 30 minutes before the procedure. The longer needles not only allow deeper penetration of prescription skin products, but also cause tiny areas of bleeding beneath the skin. The body's natural response to healing these micropunctures is to lay down new collagen and elastin. The new collagen and elastin growth smoothes out wrinkles, tightens and refreshes the skin, and remodels scarring.
Microneedling can be used to treat the following conditions:
A course of microneedle treatments usually consists of 6 treatments 4 weeks apart, although some people notice an improvement even after the 1st treatment.
The face is the most popular area to be microneedled. However, most body areas can be microneedled - for example, the decolletage, abdomen (for example for pigmentation following pregnancy), and so on.