Category: Esthetics

Cosmetic Lasers 101: Types and Uses


Not all lasers are created equally, and you should have an idea about the different styles and effects before opting for any laser treatment. Keep in mind that your body’s reaction to lasers will vary from that of other users! Nobody is “typical”.

Non-ablative lasers work without removing or otherwise harming the top layers of skin, whereas ablative lasers evaporate the top layers of injured skin. As a result, no significant patient downtime relates to cosmetic operations that use only non-ablative laser technology.


Lasers can help repair fine wrinkles, discoloration, acne scars, big pores, damaged blood vessels, and age spots. Using heat, Lasers promote fibroblasts, which are progenitors to new collagen in the skin. More collagen equals firmer, younger-looking skin by plumping up the treated skin.

How Lasers Work


Lasers emit just one wavelength, implying they only release one light color. When explaining how lasers function, that’s as broad as it gets. It is a focused, one-wavelength beam of light that employs light frequency to generate heat. Because lasers can aim so much heat precisely onto a single location, they may be used to demolish and burn away undesirable conditions. The area you wish to treat with a laser must have a specific color tone. The laser will not be as effective if this is not done. As a result, it is ideal for treating various dark spots and hair removal.


Different Laser Types for Different Cosmetic Applications


• Hair Removal: This is not always successful since laser hair removal targets and burns hair follicles. As a result, it works best on those with a pale complexion and dark hair. Removing blond and white hair with less pigment is likely to be more difficult or unsuccessful. The success and safety of laser hair removal greatly rely on the pigment present in both the patient’s skin and hair.


• Tattoo Removal: Most tattoo removal specialists believe laser removal is the most effective and cost-efficient method. To remove your tattoo, you will need to undergo a series of laser treatments over several weeks or more. Lasers do not always fully erase tattoos. Instead, they soften or fade it such that it is barely apparent.


• Fine Lines and Wrinkles: A combination of skin resurfacing, and skin tightening treatments can be utilized to address lines and wrinkles, or both can be performed with a more intense ablative laser. Wrinkles can be removed using laser skin resurfacing procedures. Laser treatments can minimize the look of deep wrinkles, smooth out moderate wrinkles, and remove light wrinkles.


• Skin Tightening: Because they induce controlled damage to the skin, most cosmetic laser treatments give at least some amount of superficial tightening. Laser resurfacing can tighten skin, and it is typically more effective than other skin-tightening procedures. It reduces fine lines, wrinkles, and dark patches on the skin, such as age spots.


• Scar Removal: Ninety-five percent of acne scars have some form of discoloration. Laser therapy for acne scars concentrates light on the top layers of your skin. At the same time, the therapy stimulates the growth of new, healthy skin cells to replace scar tissue.


• Vascular Lesions: Your doctor may recommend low-level laser therapy for skin lesions. In this instance, laser therapy will increase healthy cells, which will be used to treat your lesions. The procedure also improves healing by boosting collagen formation, which can help to avoid scarring.

Advertisement

Hot Vs. Cold Body Sculpting: Everything You Need to Know

Body sculpting is more than a fad. Yes, it’s trendy, but only because more people are hearing about it and giving it a try. Part of the attraction is that hot and cool sculpting is perfect for those who may do their best and live a healthy lifestyle but still have stubborn areas where our bodies seem to store excess fat, which means most of us. Some of us store a little winter weight in our midsection, our thighs, or our backsides. And while that too might be trendy right now, it’s not for everyone. Neither is body sculpting, but it sure is effective.

Hot Sculpting destroys fat cells with heat from a laser, while Cool Sculpting kills fat cells by freezing them.

Don’t worry; the temperature fluctuations aren’t severe enough to harm other types of cells. Cool and warm sculpting procedures are FDA approved and entail no needles, anesthetic, or recovery time. Both can treat the same regions, and the fat cells are eliminated permanently as our lymphatic system disposes of the damaged fat cells. You’ll get your ultimate results in around three months using either method.

What is Hot Sculpting?

Hot Sculpting is a fat-reduction technique that uses laser light to heat and destroy fat cells. Each session of Hot Sculpting lasts about 25 minutes. The majority of patients find the treatment to be mostly painless. However, some complain that the hot sensation is unpleasant and causes them to sweat. After the procedure, the hot sculpting tool is removed from the treatment area, and the skin may seem red and feel warm. Patients can resume their everyday routines. Dead fat cells are gradually eliminated from the body over the next several weeks via natural detoxification processes.

What is Cool Sculpting?

Cool Sculpting is a treatment that uses hand-held suction equipment to draw fat from beneath the skin into a vacuum device. This technique focuses on tiny regions of the body to freeze persistent excess fat. The frozen fat deposits are sometimes referred to as “ice crystals.” The body normally excretes ice crystals as part of its regular activities.

The Cool Sculpting technique involves a lot of tugging and squeezing. This is due to the suction and sucking of the fat cells under the skin. Cool Sculpting might be unpleasant for people with sensitive skin or more extensive fat tissue.

Which Procedure is Best for Me?

Although hot and cool sculpting is similar, there are some critical differences to be aware of. The primary drawbacks of Cool Sculpting include uncomfortable pulling, tugging, and numbness during treatment.

Both therapies are easy to do, and they efficiently destroy excess fat. And both therapies have been approved by the FDA and are considered far safer than intrusive surgeries. And while Warm Sculpting has become the treatment of choice for individuals wishing to avoid lasers, Cool Sculpting offers the same benefits without the high-tech involvement.

Arizona Aesthetics Licensing Exams

Hate tests? Well, me too. It’s so intimidating and scary. I’ve always had a bit of test anxiety, so taking a test to get licensed for anything you love sounds tough! Still, the keyword there is “love,” so again, if you really want to do well, you will.

Be Prepared for Your Test

Don’t forget the most important parts of being prepared beyond the hundreds of hours you’ve spent in class at an accredited school. Those things include eating well on the days before your testing as well as getting plenty of sleep.

Other things that will let you get the sleep you need are arranging your travel to the testing site, making sure you have a backup plan, and those silly things like taking your picture ID, bringing your phone (just in case, and having some cash – think lunch later, Uber, or some other unknown!

As for those hours of training you put in, the Arizona State Board of Cosmetology expects those testing to have completed 1600 hours of Cosmetology training. Those wishing to get other specific licenses will need 750 hours for Hairstyling, 600 hours for Aesthetics, 600 hours for Nail Technology, and 350 hours for all Instructor training licenses.

The Arizona Cosmetics Aesthetics Testing Process

The Aesthetics testing consists of two parts, a written test with approximately 100 questions and a practical test to show off your skills. The written portion takes about an hour. As for the practical, time depends on how many students take the test with you. This can vary depending on how many students take the test with you. Plan for three hours.

The practical part takes longer because you are using your skills in front of the testing group. You’ll need to bring your State Board kit with everything needed. This can change from time to time, so check at the official Arizona State site to ensure you have what’s necessary.

The written part will test your overall knowledge of Aesthetics. No notes or books are allowed – and it is administered on a computer. Don’t worry; it goes fast if you know the subject fairly well.

Being prepared is essential, so keep in mind that schools like IMAj Institute offer Examination Preparation courses. At IMAj, their course is 32-hours of hands-on training for students who may have trained in another state, at another school, or who need to refresh before taking the state tests.

Of course, if you attend IMAj Institute they will spend the last two weeks before graduation helping you prepare for the state boards and you’ll be so ready!

What Arizona Requires to Test

Step one: You must apply for your examinations, so go to Virtual Inc. (PCS) and register (no fee). Then choose Arizona and continue your application. There is a $177 fee for both the written and practical portions. If your application is in order, you’ll receive authorization to test. The official admission notice for the practical part will be emailed to you about two weeks before your exam date.

Step two: Go to the Arizona State Board of Cosmetology website and submit your application. You’ll need a 2×2 Passport photo, a certificate of graduation on your school’s letterhead, proof of lawful presence in the US, proof of age (16 years with HS diploma or 18 and older).

Once those are uploaded and accepted, you get to pay the non-refundable $60 fee. Afterward, the Board will notify Virtual Inc. (PCS), who will schedule your exams with you.

Notes:

  • Use your full legal name as it appears on your state/government ID
  • Make sure you do both steps one and two, or you won’t get an exam date
  • You’ll get your admission to test (written) 2 business days after Board approval
  • You’ll get your admission time for the practical portion 2-5 days after approval
  • Practicals can’t be rescheduled. You’ll have to pay a new fee if you can’t attend

You’ll get your final scores and your license in about two weeks if everything goes well. When that happens, the world’s your oyster. Go be a success!

Chemical Peels for that Added Glow

A chemical peel works by applying a chemical solution to the skin under treatment and then removing the top dead layers. The regenerated/new skin is cleaner and more even toned. You’ll probably have to repeat the process with a light or medium peel to achieve desired effects.

Chemical peels are offered at Medical Esthetics programs and rejuvenation spas to remove wrinkles, discoloration, and marks from the skin as well as helping to enhance the texture of the skin. A chemical solvent is added to the skin, causing it to “blister” and gradually peel off. In most cases, the new skin is cleaner and less wrinkled than the old skin.

Treatments can also reduce the appearance of dark spots. Chemical peels lighten black spots by removing the skin pigment melanin.

Best Effects of a Chemical Peel

  • Acme scars and blemishes
  • Wrinkles and fine line
  • Discoloration and uneven skin tone
  • Improve skin elasticity
  • Reduce dark spot and eye bags
  • Helps with cells/skin regeneration
  • Improve skin texture and adds a healthy glow

Types of Chemical Peels

  1. Light:  Light chemicals remove the outermost layer of the skin. To exfoliate softly, they use mild acids like alpha-hydroxy. It penetrates only the skin’s top layer and helps fight acne scars, wrinkles, fine lines, and discoloration.
  2. Medium:  A medium chemical peel separates skin cells from the epidermis as well as the middle layer of skin. It is used in the treatment of wrinkles, acne marks, and poor skin tone. This is often done with trichloroacetic or glycolic acid to remove the middle and outer layers, increasing effectiveness in removing dead skin cells.
  3. Deep: A deep chemical peel destroys even more skin cells. These peels also use phenol or trichloroacetic acid to thoroughly penetrate the middle layer of the skin and remove dead skin cells.

Risk and Side Effects of Chemical Peels

A chemical peel can cause redness and inflammation that lasts several days. The recuperation time is longer after a medium or deep chemical peel. A chemical peel may induce a bacterial, fungal, or viral infection, such as a cold sore outbreak caused by the herpes virus, although this is rare.

Chemical peels treat acne by lowering the pH of the skin, which aids in the removal of dead skin cells, resulting in a clearer appearance and fewer clogged pores. Peels can help other ingredients to penetrate better since they strip the top layer of skin.

Your skin condition determines the durability of a chemical peel. Light to medium peels can last one to two months. Consult a professional if you want to see more visible and lasting effects. You may have to take a few days off work to heal. It takes 5 to 7 days for the skin to recover to the point that you can conceal the redness caused by the peel.