November is National Healthy Skin Month!
It’s the first thing we see or touch, it covers us all from head to toe and shields us from the outside world – our SKIN.
So… with all that your skin does for you, what have you done for it lately?
The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) implemented November as Healthy Skin Month in order to raise awareness about the importance of keeping skin fresh, hydrated and healthy all year round.
All month long, people are encouraged to learn about the functions of skin and how to keep it healthy and looking good.
Understanding how the skin functions starts with understanding the structure of the three layers of skin – the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue.
The epidermis is the outer most layer of skin and contains five layers. The top layer of the epidermis, the stratum corneum, is made of dead, flat skin cells that shed about every two weeks.
_
The next layer is the dermis made up of Connective tissue that supports the epidermis, providing nutrients and protecting it.
The lower most layer is the subcutaneous tissue. The subcutaneous tissue is a layer of fat and connective tissue that houses larger blood vessels and nerves. This layer is important in the regulation of temperature of the skin itself and the body. The size of this layer varies throughout the body and from person to person.
Each of these layers plays an important role in the way our skin functions and looks. As a result, any breakdown in one of our skins layers causes various skin issues that we are all familiar with; be it acne, wrinkles and even good old aging.
As a market leader in the development of advanced medical aesthetic systems, Viora stands behind partners and practitioners worldwide and is committed to maximizing your abilities to address a wide variety of aesthetic treatments. Viora’s systems deliver uncompromising quality and safety and offer practitioners a competitive revenue advantage for their business and their patients.
We have created a wide range of medical aesthetic systems to target different skin conditions all combined in our four products: Reaction, Trios, Infusion and Pristine.
Viora invites you to read and learn about the various solutions that can best improve and satisfy your inner and outer layers of skin!
A Worldly Event (or two)
NY, Germany, Russia, Philippines, Portugal, Hong Kong…
These are just a few of the places Viora has been in the past month- showing the world Reaction in action!
Viora has a successful international presence with a fresh innovative line of products which are being proudly presented in exhibitions around the world- products with a global agenda; especially since they have something to offer everyone!
Every exhibition is a new occasion to present the Reaction, Trios, Infusion and Pristine aesthetic devices – leading products addressing the most desired aesthetic procedures – and it gives us the opportunity to hear from our clients, leading doctors and cosmeticians around the world. We see these occasions as an important platform to stay connected to best serve and understand what our customers want!
Our greatest satisfaction is to hear the stories of customer satisfaction and see the transformation Viora’s products bring to their practices and clients’ lives.
For your opportunity to see Viora in action, visit our Global events page on the Viora web site. Don’t miss out!
Viora at Beautyworld Middle East
Beautyworld Middle East is taking place now at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre and Viora is making it’s presence known! Participating in the US Pavilion, Viora is exhibiting it’s complete product line.
Demonstration of Pristine, Viora's award-winning microdermabrasion device
To read more about the event and importance of this event in the region, click here.
My Personal Story As an Aesthetician
Greetings!
My name is Carolyn Stone and I would like to share my career story with you.
Carolyn Stone, LE
I am an Aesthetician living and working in Massachusetts. After working for dermatologists and a prestigious spa in Newburyport for several years I decided to start my own spa. My spa was nothing short of elegant. Hardwood floors, silk drapes and furniture even nicer than what I had at home. I had the clientele, experience, wonderful location, and I knew that I was a good Aesthetician. So, what more did I need?
After about a year into it, I felt like there was something missing. It wasn’t until I closed my doors that I realized my business just couldn’t survive on the typical esthetic treatments that I learned in school. Clients were looking for more and I didn’t have the high tech equipment that is available to estheticians that could increase my revenue.
That’s when I met Andrea Bingham, an Electrologist and day spa owner who was looking for an Aesthetician. Andrea’s Spa was using an IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) for hair removal as well as some other high tech equipment for various skin conditions. After working with Andrea for a while, I understood what was missing in my business and why hers prospered. Now, whenever I talk about my experience, I tell colleagues, with confidence, that if I had it to do over again, I would open a smaller, cozier spa and focus on having the equipment that clients are looking for today.
The good news is that today, if you are a licensed Cosmetologist or Aesthetician in Massachusetts, you are approved by the Board of Registration of Cosmetology to use Intense Pulse Light in your practice for the removal of hair only. Here is what I found:
Source: www.mass.gov
“The Board has been made aware of the increasing popularity in other states of non-laser Intense Pulse Light (“IPL”) Devices.…. Therefore, because of the apparent safety of these devices, the Board will approve the use of IPL devices for the removal of hair only by its licensees in appropriately licensed salons.…. Salons which wish to utilize these devices must abide by the following guidelines:
• You must notify the Board of your location and floor plan
• You must provide the Board with a copy of the User Manual for your IPL
• You must only perform Hair Removal with your IPL
• Show proof of training from either the company that sold your equipment or other IPL professional training (see Training and Education below)
Click Here to read the full policy on the Government’s website.
The best news of all about this piece of legislation is that, now, you can afford the equipment too!
Recently VIORA introduced an advanced IPL that anyone can afford, the Trios™. Developed by an R&D team with over four decades of engineering experience and know-how in light-based systems, Trios™ is a phototherapy system that offers trusted clinically proven technology at an affordable price. And for Aestheticians, the company offers special promotions as no paid consumable.
If you are interested to learn more about IPL in general, or more specifically about the Trios, feel free to contact me or Andrea at any time.
Carolyn Stone, LE 978-518-0118
Andrea Bingham, RE 617-257-1085
IPL Vs. Laser Hair Removal
Source (www.qesthetics.com)
Hair removal with lasers and intense pulsed light (IPL) devices is commonly performed in most dermatology practices. However, there have been few clinical studies directly comparing the efficacy of multiple hair removal systems in the same individual until recently. And some hair removal service providers announced that they prefer using lasers over IPLs, because they think that lasers do a better job of targeting hair follicles, and therefore reduce hair more effectively than IPLs.
But a recent clinical study shows that although hair removal with lasers is highly effective as expected, treatment with IPLs can cause less pain while showing efficacy equivalent to laser systems. This study was done by Dr. Snehal P. Amin & Dr. David J. Goldberg, skin laser and surgery specialists of NY & NJ, and The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
In their study, Dr. Snehal P. Amin & Dr. David J. Goldberg evaluated the efficacy of four highly popular systems for laser hair removal. Ten subjects with skin types I–III, aged 18–55 years underwent treatments of unwanted hair removal on the back or thigh. All subjects were treated twice with:
- an ipl with a red filter;
- an ipl with a yellow filter;
- a 810 nm diode laser;
- a 755 nm alexandrite laser.
Evaluation of photographs at 1, 3, and 6 months revealed a significant decrease in hair counts (50%) and hair coverage (55%). There was no statistical difference in efficacy between the four different light devices. Minimal temporary adverse effects were noted from all systems, and the alexandrite laser showed the highest pain scores. The original article about this study was published at Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy. 2006; 8: 65–68.
Another study (Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, 2004; 150.) also found that the effects of diode laser and ipl exposures on hair follicles are similar. The minimum fluence to suppress the hair growth is the same for both devices.
Fitzpatrick Skin Type Classification
Source: http://www.skininc.com
By now, everyone that has ever worked with an IPL is well aware of the importance in understanding and recognizing the skin type they will be treating. Working with the TRIOS is no different in that aspect, but what the TRIOS can do for you, is simplify the process with its intuitive software. The practitioner must choose light, medium or dark for skin type and the TRIOS will do the rest. Below, you’ll find useful information on the importance of knowing and using the Fitzpatrick scale.
The Fitzpatrick Skin Type Classification system was developed in 1975 by Harvard Medical School dermatologist Thomas Fitzpatrick, MD, PhD. This system classifies complexions and their tolerance of sunlight. It is used by many skin care professionals in order to determine how someone will respond or react to facial treatments.
This scale focuses on potentials for irritation—burns—and hyperpigmentation. Both can be good indicators of treatment choices. For example, Fitzpatrick skin type I clients have a greater tendency toward irritation, but less, theoretically, for developing hyperpigmentation, if it is not triggered. Conversely, the Fitzpatrick skin type VI client will not be as easily irritated and will have an inordinately high tendency toward pigmentation.
| Type | Color | Burns | Tans |
| I | Very fair | Always | Never |
| II | Fair | Usually | With Difficulty |
| III | Normal/White | Sometimes | Average |
| IV | Slightly Dark | Rarely | With Ease |
| V | Dark | Very Rarely | Very Easily |
| VI | Very Dark/Black | Does not Burn | Very Easily |
The Effectiveness of an IPL for Hair Removal treatment
The timeline for hair removal stretches from the prehistoric age to today’s hi-tech devices such as Viora’s Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) device, the TRIOS. Dreams of a summer season without hair create an added value for aesthetic and medical clinics all over the world. As a society, we’ve been conditioned to associate excessive body hair with unattractiveness and/or lack of hygiene. Over the years, men and women have razored, waxed, tweezed, electrolysized and lasered unwanted hairto look and feel better about themselves.
Hair is a renewable resource and as such, an endless revenue stream for businesses smart enough to capitalize on it. An entire industry has sprouted out of our seemingly harmless desire to be relatively smooth-skinned and hair-free. Recent statistics presented by the various aesthetic and medical societies show that hair removal is the 4th most popular non-invasive procedure in the United States.
In 1995, the FDA cleared the first laser for hair removal, the Nd:YAG laser. Since then, other technologies for Hair Removal based on photothermolysis have been introduced, such as the Intense Pulsed Light (IPL). Developed in the mid 1990’s as an alternative to dermatological lasers, IPLs have become the workhorse of hair removal practices. IPL systems have advantages over lasers in their variability, convenience, and cost.
Target specificity is the basic of phototherapy, as the light emitted targets chromophores found in the hair. Phototherapy based hair removal is a technique for long-term hair removal by thermal destruction of the hair follicle and its stem cells. Heat is generated by the conversion of the light energy emitted which is selectively absorbed by chromophores in the skin. Melanin is the main chromophore in hair follicles and the key target for the process of phototherapy based hair removal. Patients with light skin tones and dark hair color are the most ideal candidates for IPL treatments because of the large amount of melanin found in the dark hair and little amount in the skin thereby not creating a conflict of interest for the light as there would be with a dark skin and dark hair candidate.
IPL treatment is effective in removing hair from the back, chest, legs, arms, underarms, face and even the most sensitive and private areas, such as the bikini line. IPL is not as painful as waxing or lengthy as electrolysis. Some IPL patients feel a stinging or pinching sensation when the light pulse is applied onto the skin, but the treatment does not involve anesthesia.
Treatment times may vary depending on the area being treated, hair color and pigmentation of the skin. Before the treatment begins, all clients must go through a pre-treatment consultation to determine the correct energy level for their skin type. Although the number of treatments required will vary from client to client, typically IPL Hair Removal is a continuous process for all candidates as reduction increases with each treatment you have. Usually 3 – 6 treatments are enough to reduce hair from common problem areas but various factors affect the results of the treatment (thickness of hair, the area subjected to treatment, the growth cycle of hair).
The cost of an IPL hair removal treatment largely depends on the surface area to be treated based on the number of pulses used. Hair Removal with an IPL is faster, less obtrusive, and more cost effective than any other hair removal system today. Therefore, it is commonly thought that IPL Hair Removal is the most advanced and effective permanent hair reduction process available.
Before and After Pictures:
Post five treatments. One treatment every six weeks.
Post five treatments. One treatment every six weeks.
leave a comment