Enhance your Face and Disguise Wrinkles with Juvederm and Shu Cosmetic Surgery in MN

Posted on April 22, 2013 by shucosmetic

Juvederm is the hyaluronic acid (HA) gel filler that used in Minnesota to instantly smooth away wrinkles in various areas of the face. With just one treatment, you’ll get smooth and natural-looking results that last up to a year. Juvederm is a gel based product infused with lidocaine to improve comfort during treatment.

Everyone’s skin ages differently and Juvederm may be used to rejuvenate multiple problem areas. From smile lines (nasolabial folds), vertical lip lines, oral commissures, marionette lines, chin wrinkles, lip augmentation, or even in hallow areas under the eye (tear trough), you can smooth away unwanted wrinkles and restore natural contours. Young, healthy-looking skin contains an abundance of a naturally hydrating substance called hyaluronic acid (HA). But as you age, sunlight and other factors can reduce the amount of HA in your skin. The lack of HA causes your skin to lose structure and volume, creating unwanted facial wrinkles and folds – like those parentheses lines around your nose and mouth. Hyaulorinic Acid is a naturally occurring molecule. Much like a sponge, its primary function is to bind and absorb water, which creates volume in the face. In this way, HA can be thought of as the body’s internal moisturizer. But, as we age, HA diminishes, which contributes to the presence of lines and folds. Juvederm injectable gel works to correct this by restoring hyaluronic acid in your skin, helping to diminish wrinkles and nasolabial folds in MN.

Using a dermal filler like Juvederm in Minneapolis is a safe and effective way to replace the HA your skin has lost, bringing back its volume and smoothing away facial wrinkles and folds. It is safe and effective to use on skin type and color. Studies with Juvederm showed no increased risk of hyperpigmentation or hypertrophic scarring in patients of color. The procedure takes about 30 minutes and you will notice results instantly. After the procedure there may be mild swelling or bruising that could occur and could last 7 days or less. Makeup can be used right after treatment to cover any bruising if it does occur. If you would like to try out Juvederm or have a complimentary consultation with Shu Cosmetic Surgery medspa please contact us at 952-922-9999!

Laser Skin Resurfacing with Microlaser Peel in Minnesota

Posted on April 16, 2013 by shucosmetic

There are various types of cosmetic lasers for various types of skin problems. If mild wrinkles, scars, keratosis, sun damage (brown or age spots), or pigment irregularities are your main problems, a microlaser peel with Shu Cosmetic Surgery might be for you! A microlaser peel removes a thin layer of damaged skin to improve texture and provide a more youthful appearance. It provides superior results because it can be administered with great precision of depth. The procedure is tailored to your specific skin conditions and desired outcomes.

The microlaser peel’s beam is scanned over a treatment area to remove a very thin layer of skin. Removing the top layer eliminates some of the damaged cells that can give skin a tired, aged look. As the skin heals, fresh cells grow and resurface the treated area. The result is healthier-looking skin, often with reduced wrinkles and improved color evenness. Patients in MN often say that it looks like their skin went from looking tired to vibrant. Almost any skin areas can be treated. Popular treatment areas are the face, neck, chest, and hands.

Treatment results will vary from person to person but improved skin texture and tone can be obtained in just one treatment. The number of treatments needed may vary depending on your initial skin condition and your specific needs and expectations. Numbing cream is applied to the treatment area before the procedure to provide comfort. Afterwards, the skin will be cleaned and eyes protected with safety shields. The physician assistant or laser technician will position the laser hand piece above the skin and will hold it in place as the computer-guided scanner moves the laser beam around the treatment area. Depending on the size of the area being treated, the procedure usually lasts 15-30 minutes.

Immediately after a microlaser peel treatment the skin will have a “frosty” appearance. This is the dehydrated skin that will peel away within the next few days following the treatment. There will be some skin redness with a sunburn sensation as well as mild swelling after the treatment for a few days. This usually lasts anywhere from 3-4 days after a treatment. You should notice obvious improvement in tone, texture, and color evenness once the skin heals after a few days. The collagen that regenerates helps firm the skin over the course of 6 months following a microlaser peel treatment. If you are interested in a microlaser peel or for a complimentary consultation contact Shu Cosmetic Surgery in Edina, MN!

Microdermabrasion in Minneapolis

Posted on April 7, 2013 by shucosmetic

Microdermabrasion is one of the easiest non-surgical cosmetic procedures you can get in Minnesota. It is essentially powerful mechanical exfoliation by removing the uppermost layer of dead skin cells from the face and neck with diamond-tips. By using the diamond tip with fine surface, even people with sensitive skin can get a treatment from a skilled esthetician in Minneapolis. It takes about 30 minutes and there’s no down-time after treatment. For the best results, it is generally recommended get a series of 6 treatments about 10 to 14 days apart. You should avoid vigorous exercise and the sun after the microdermabrasion treatment. It is important to use a sunscreen, even in a cloudy day.

Microdermabrasion is an effective anti-aging treatment with multiple benefits.

• Softens fine lines and wrinkles
• Improves skin texture
• Reduces scarring and pore size
• Decreases age spots and sun spots.
• Help skin care products to penetrate
• Build collagen
• Improve local circulation
• Gives skin its youthful appearance

Do not get Microdermabrasion if you have:

• Extremely sensitive skin
• Diabetes
• Rosacea
• Active acne
• Skin infections or trauma
• Keloid scarring
• Skin Sunburn
• Taking blood thinners
• Had face injection within 3 days

The Elements of Facial Aging in Minnesota

Posted on March 27, 2013 by shucosmetic

The appearance of the face and neck typically changes with age. Loss of tissue volume and skin elasticity gives the face a flabby or drooping appearance. Although everyone in Minnesota gets older, and there’s no stopping it, it doesn’t mean we have to look older, more tired or less attractive. This blog helps you to understand facial aging mechanism and process that make you look older than you’d like and help what can be done to make you more attractive.

Your face and neck age because of changes in the following factors:

Volume changes: people in the Minneapolis and St Paul areas typically lose the fat volume in the forehead, temporal areas, and cheeks. In the meantime, excessive fat accumulation happens in the eyelids, upper side of nasolabial grooves, and jowl and neck (submental) areas.

Skin Changes: The skin changes are noticed much earlier than any other changes. These skin changes happen due to aging, genetics, skin nutrition and sun damage. Skin loses elasticity over the time and becomes dry, thin and wrinkled. In addition, the skin’s normal turnover process gets slower as we age, the ability of self-rejuvenation of the skin cells decreased. Moreover, repeated contraction of facial expression muscles over the years leads to the formation of permanent folds where become inscribed in the skin.

Other tissue changes: Just like skin and fat changes, other facial tissues such as muscle, fascia and ligaments change. These tissues can lose strength and elasticity and cause looseness of facial tissues.

Gravity effect: Over time, gravity, aided by a loss of elasticity in the skin and tissues, can displace the tissues of the face. For example, the brow and eyelids sag, creating a tired or old appearance. Hanging skin and fat in the jowl areas create the square shape instead youthful V shape.

These aging changes combine to transform your face from an attractive and youthful one into a tired and aged appearance. However, our full lines of anti-aging services in Shu Cosmetic Surgery can either improve or reverse these effects by targeting each aging element.

Forever Young with Broad Band Light (BBL) in Minneapolis

Posted on March 27, 2013 by shucosmetic

What if there was a way to stay younger looking without surgery or down time? Now you can. Research has proven that using Broad Band Light (BBL) treatments on a regular basis, not only seems to halt the aging process; it tends to help the skin look up to ten years younger. BBL is visible and infrared light from 400-1400 nm delivered for phototherapy. It is a gentle approach for treating sun damage that gives impressive results. The treatments actually change the histology of skin causing it to become like younger skin.

Over the years, exposure to UV radiation results in photo damage which shows up in the skin as reduced epidermal and dermal thickness, wrinkles, spider veins, rough skin texture, actinic keratosis and malignancies. Photo damage starts showing as early as the 30’s and 40’s.

In a recent study done by Dr. Patrick Bitter Jr and Dr. Jason Pozner, 15 people were evaluated to see if regular treatments done with BBL over a period of years would help them to look younger than their actual age. The age range of the participants was 39-69 years old. Each participant received at least one BBL full face treatment per year. Over a 5-11 year time frame. The result of the study was that the patients who maintained a regular annual or biannual regimen of BBL treatments did have reduced signs of photo damage and aging in a way that looked very natural.

Shu Cosmetic Surgery Medspa offers full lines of BBL treatments to rejuvenate your facial skin in Edina, MN. Please contact us if you have any questions on Forever Young BBL therapy or any other laser treatments.

Chemical peels in Minneapolis

Posted on March 26, 2013 by shucosmetic

Chemical peels, also known as derma-peels, have been around for thousands of years. Cleopatra was known to do the first chemical peels by bathing in milk which contains lactic acid. Women in Minneapolis use chemical peels to soften skin, improve blemishes, brown spots, acne scars, wrinkles and fine lines that appear with age.

African American women or black women in Minnesota are known to age very well due to the amounts of melanin in their skin which gives them natural sun protection. Yet years of sun exposure without sunscreen will cause facial skin to turn many shades darker than the skin on the neck and chest. This is a sign of sun damage which can also lead to skin cancer.

The use of chemical peels can help by lifting away layers of skin. Peels are done as a series of 4-6 treatments and over time, softer, smoother, lighter skin is revealed. During and after the peel treatments, an SPF factor of 30 or more must continually be used to protect the skin and prevent the sun’s UV rays from doing its damage all over again.

There are chemical peels that are good for all skin types and some should not be used on darker skin. Darker skins can either hyper-pigment and turn darker or hypo-pigment which causes it to turn very light in color. Your esthetician or clinician can determine the best chemical peel for you and can do a spot treatment to see how your skin will react.

Sonya Stelmachuk – Esthetician in Shu Cosmetic Surgery, Edina, MN

Gentle Way to Rejuvenate Facial Skin – Microdermabrasion in Minneapolis

Posted on March 24, 2013 by shucosmetic

Although the laser skin rejuvenation has been becoming popular over the past years, non-invasive cosmetic procedure such as microdermabrasion still is among the most common treatments in skin rejuvenation because many people in Minnesota can’t afford to have downtime with some invasive cosmetic procedures or microdermabrasion is added between the laser treatments to keep looking skin young and healthy.

Microdermabrasion is the process of peeling off the outermost surface of the skin with very tiny rough grains of crystals or diamond tips. The tip also has a vacuum attached which helps to take away the dead skin cells. It is a gentle, painless, non-surgical cosmetic technique that aims to remove the topmost layer of the skin called the stratum corneum to create a rejuvenating effect and treat common skin problems such as acne scarring and mild discoloration, sun damage, and wrinkles. Microdermabrasion will stimulate circulation of blood to the cells which keeps skin healthy and gives it a nice glow. It also helps to stimulate the protein called collagen, which keeps our skin firm. Although other parts of the body such as the neck and chest can be treated with microdermabrasion, the face is the most common area to be treated.
The procedure can be administered to adults at any age. It can be done monthly on the regular basis or as frequently as 1-2 weeks depending on the skin’s sensitivity and tolerance.

No needles or anesthetics are needed. A typical microdermabrasion is done by cleaning off all make up and oils on the skin surface. Then an esthetician moves the handheld device across the skin slowly and repeatedly until enough outer skin is exfoliated from the surface.

Microdermabrasion is among the safest skin rejuvenation procedures. It has very minimal side effects including the skin’s sensitivity to sunlight and rare light bleeding due to fine broken blood vessels.

Skin Rejuvenation with Jessners Chemical Peel in Minneapolis

Posted on March 19, 2013 by shucosmetic

Jessners chemical peel is one of the most common chemical peels for skin rejuvenation in Minneapolis. A Jessners chemical peel is very effective in treating many different kinds of skin conditions. It is made up of 14% Salicylic acid and 14% Lactic acid with Resorcinol solvent. It delivers outstanding results and is able to treat acne, acne scars, hyper pigmentation, photo damage and aging skin. It is a good peel to be used on all skin types.

Your esthetician or clinician in the Minneapolis and St Paul areas will apply a solution to the skin with a consistency like water. It goes on very light and takes a few coats to fully cover the skin. It will have a mild stinging or burning sensation. This is temporary and will go away. The skin will start to turn white like frost. After the peel it will have a slight to moderate redness to the skin depending on the individual’s skin type. Shortly after the peel, the skin will start to feel tight. 24 hours later it will start to flake or peel off which can take 5-7 days. After the skin has peeled off, the skin will appear clearer and smoother.

While a Jessners peel gives great results, skin conditions are not corrected with one chemical peel. It is a progressive treatment which takes a series of peels. Usually a series of 6 treatments is required which can be done every 4 weeks. How many you need depends on the condition of your skin. It is suggested to get a Jessners peel every 3 months to maintain healthy and radiant looking skin. Using a medical skin care product line is also helpful to maintain beautiful skin in between treatments.

Sonya Stelmachuk – Esthetician in Shu Cosmetic Surgery, Edina, MN

Microdermabrasion-A Non-Surgical Skin Rejuvenation in Minnesota

Posted on March 16, 2013 by shucosmetic

Many people in Minnesota wonder what a microdermabrasion is and some are even a little apprehensive of the treatment. They fear that it will be painful and leave them with red irritated skin. In reality this treatment is a great way to refresh and rejuvenate the skin without Chemical peels , laser resurfacing or surgery. It is a minimally abrasive treatment that feels like a light scratching. The tip, made from diamond chips, will take off the outer most layers of dead skin cells, the stratum corneum, revealing the fresher skin below. It’s great for someone in the Minneapolis and St. Paul just beginning to take care of their skin.

The tip also has a vacuum attached which helps to take away the dead skin cells and will also stimulate circulation of blood to the cells which gives it a nice healthy glow. It also helps to stimulate the protein called collagen. We need collagen to keep our skin firm. As we age and our collagen decreases, we notice that our skin is losing elasticity and is starting to appear a little loose or saggy. Not only is the face treated but other parts of the body can be treated such as, the neck, décolletage and hands.

Microdermabrasion is great for treating mild skin conditions such as; light scarring, brown spots, fine lines and wrinkles. It is recommended to get a treatment at least every 1-2 weeks when treating mild skin conditions and every month to maintain healthy skin. A pharmaceutical skin care line, which works on the cellular level, is recommended to work with the treatments and to help maintain results in between treatments. There is no downtime with microdermabrasion . There may be some slight redness or pinkness to the skin due to the circulation being stimulated but that usually goes away within 30 to 60 minutes. After the treatment the skin will feel smoother and tighter and have a youthful glow.

Sonya Stelmachuk-Shu Cosmetic Surgery, Edina, MN

Chemical Peels in Minneapolis

Posted on March 12, 2013 by shucosmetic

Chemical peel is one of the most common skin care procedures in Minnesota. It reduces fine wrinkles and improves many other skin conditions. In this treatment, a chemical solution is applied to the skin, causing the top layers of skin to peel off in a few days. The new skin is usually smoother and less wrinkled.

Chemical peels can be used to:

• Reduce wrinkles
• Improve mild acne scars
• Treat certain types of acne
• Reduce age spots, freckles, and melasma
• Treat the areas of sun damage
• Improve the overall skin texture

A series of 4-6 peels is recommended as results are seen over a period of time. During a chemical peel treatment, the skin is first cleansed then a prepping solution is applied to prepare the skin for the chemical peel solution. Next, the alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) and/or beta hydroxy acid (BHA) is applied to the face. The exfoliating agent is generally thin, almost water-like in its consistency, and is applied with a small brush, cotton pad or large cotton swab.

You will feel a warming sensation soon after the exfoliating agent is applied. Some people say they feel just a slight stinging; others describe it as more of a burning. It depends on the person’s skin. Everyone is different. Up to two passes of solution will be applied. Many estheticians in Minnesota use small, hand-held fans to gently cool the skin during the peel.

After your peel, your skin can look like it’s sunburned. This redness can fade in just a few hours time or last up to five days, depending on the strength of the peeling agent used. Using make-up to cover any redness after a peel is fine.

After a chemical peel , skin is temporarily more sensitive to the sun, so wear sunscreen every day. It is important that you use the skin care recommended to you to prepare for your peel ahead of time and to maintain your results after. Following the instructions that your esthetician gives you will help you to get the best results.