McKeown Medical
167 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4SQ
Date posted — 5.10.24
As always in medicine, the best treatment is prevention – which means avoiding the sun as much as possible and covering up and protecting the skin with SPF when it’s not possible to avoid sun exposure.
But let’s assume you maybe take care of your skin now, but you weren’t so good in your younger years, and you’ve got some historic sun damage that you want to get rid of.
How do you go about getting rid of that old sun damage on the face and body?
The mainstay of treating sun damage is laser treatment, and there are three main categories of lasers you can use to treat sun damage.
The first category is ablative – which means that it removes tissue from the surface of the skin.
The ablative lasers can then be subdivided into fully ablative lasers – which remove the entire surface of the skin – and fractional ablative lasers, which remove only a fraction of the skin’s surface.
The final category is the non-ablative lasers, which don’t remove any tissue from the skin’s surface.
Let’s start with the non-ablative devices.
My favourite non-ablative way to treat sun-damaged skin anywhere on the body (we most commonly treat it on the face, but we can treat it pretty much anywhere on the body) is broadband light.
Ok, so technically, this is not a laser because it uses more than one wavelength of light. But let’s forget about the physics and think of it as a laser.
Broadband light (BBL) is an excellent technology for shattering pigments in the skin, which gets rid of the brown spots or age spots or areas of hyperpigmentation if we want to use their technical name.
BBL is also excellent for reacting with the red pigment in blood vessels, causing the blood vessels to close down and clear patches of redness.
It is also an excellent stimulator of collagen renewal, improving the organisation of collagen and elastin fibres in the skin, which, over time, improves the texture of the skin’s surface.
BBL is by far and away my favourite treatment to prescribe in the clinic because pretty much anyone over the age of 30 benefits from it. There is usually no downtime at all, and it’s a relatively gentle treatment you can repeat every six months or so to keep your skin in great shape.
If you have more severe changes to the texture of the skin, particularly with fine lines and wrinkles then we need to think about adding in some ablative laser resurfacing.
When the texture changes are more than we can deal with non-ablative laser treatment but not quite severe enough for full resurfacing, then a fractional ablative device is our go-to.
For this, I love the Halo laser from Sciton.
The unique thing about this device is that it combines two different lasers (one ablative and one non-ablative) that fire at the same time, meaning you can target different layers of the skin simultaneously.
We tend to be pretty aggressive in our approach with this, so most patients can expect 5-7 days of downtime, but when your skin is healed, you get the famous ‘Halo Glow’ and continued improvement in the surface of the skin for a few months later.
For the most severe sun-damaged skin with deep lines and wrinkles that are really etched into the surface of the skin, however, we need to get out the big guns – the fully ablative laser.
This removes the entire surface of the skin so that the skin grows back like new again.
It’s an extremely effective treatment that can get rid of even the most stubborn wrinkles, however it is also the most invasive option that most people want to avoid.
For that reason, not many clinics offer this treatment, but for some patients, it’s just the right treatment and the only one that will give them the results they are looking for.
Struggling with acne scars? We compare microneedling and laser resurfacing to reveal which treatment smooths skin, boosts collagen, and reduces...
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Struggling with acne scars? We compare microneedling and laser resurfacing to reveal which treatment smooths skin, boosts collagen, and reduces...
It’s getting to that time of year again when we start to look at skin quality and undoing the effects of the summer sun. Here’s a patient we treated with laser resurfacing to combat years of sun damage to the skin.
The patient was anxious about having laser, so we gave her some light sedation for the treatment. We added a little filler to the deep folds around the mouth at the same time. She’s four months post-op and loving life.
What do you think?
What’s the difference between a deep plane facelift and a mini facelift? Here’s our facelift expert, @bramhallplasticsurgery talking about the difference. Both procedures start in a similar way, but what happens beneath the skin makes all the difference.
In a deep plane facelift, the deeper tissues are lifted, key ligaments are released, and the entire face is repositioned for a result that’s both effective and natural.
A mini lift, on the other hand, simply tightens the tissues with a few stitches — which can look less natural over time as the skin changes.
At McKeown Medical, we stopped offering mini lifts years ago because the results of a deep plane facelift are just in another league.
If you’d like to know more about the deep plane facelift, visit the link in our profile.
Are fillers over? Should you just skip them and go straight to facelift surgery? We don’t think so! Here’s why…
Did you catch us on @stvnews last night? Dr Rhona and @driainmartin joined some of our patients to speak about the importance of accessible, high-quality healthcare for women. No one should feel dismissed or unheard when it comes to their health, and we’re proud to be part of the movement pushing for better standards of care for women.
This is our 5ml protocol. It’s an excellent option for patients looking for a general refresh either at the earlier stages of the ageing process, or even further into the ageing process if you want to start gently.
Jowls are one of the most common complaints that our patients come with - and so many of you want to avoid surgery, for a variety of very personal reasons.
So just what can we do for jowls without surgery? This!!!
Thank you so much to this patient for allowing us to share the results of her volumetric facelift. The volumetric facelift involves restoring volume to areas of the face that have lost volume as part of the ageing process - typically the cheeks, chin and jawline - which can really help to rejuvenate the face, especially reducing the appearance of jowls.
The patient is over the moon with this result. What do you think?
Varicose veins and thread veins might sound similar, but they’re actually quite different. Here`s Dr Alex, our vascular surgeon explaining the difference.
Varicose veins are larger, swollen veins that sit just beneath the surface of the skin. They often appear on the legs or feet and can cause discomfort, pain or a heavy, aching sensation.
Varicose veins and thread veins might sound similar, but they’re actually quite different.
Varicose veins are larger, swollen veins that sit just beneath the surface of the skin. They often appear on the legs or feet and can cause discomfort, pain or a heavy, aching sensation.
Thread veins, sometimes called spider veins, are much smaller. They appear as red, blue or purple web-like lines on the surface of the skin and are usually painless. You’ll often see them on the legs or face.
We can treat both types of veins. If you’re not sure what’s right for you, get in touch and we’ll be happy to talk it through.
Learn more about varicose veins and how we can help at the link in our profile.
Varicose veins and thread veins might sound similar, but they’re actually quite different. Here`s Dr Alex, our vascular surgeon explaining the difference.
Varicose veins are larger, swollen veins that sit just beneath the surface of the skin. They often appear on the legs or feet and can cause discomfort, pain or a heavy, aching sensation.
Thread veins, sometimes called spider veins, are much smaller. They appear as red, blue or purple web-like lines on the surface of the skin and are usually painless. You’ll often see them on the legs or face.
We can treat both types of veins. If you’re not sure what’s right for you, get in touch and we’ll be happy to talk it through.
Heavy periods can be more than just an inconvenience. They can cause anaemia, fatigue and have a real impact on your quality of life.
In this video, Dr Iain Martin @driainmartin martin explains the different treatment options available, from iron supplements and hormone therapy to ultrasound scans to check for fibroids or polyps.
If no clear cause is found and you`re not planning any more pregnancies, we offer treatment with the NovaSure® endometrial ablation device. It is a quick, minimally invasive procedure that can significantly reduce or stop bleeding altogether.
If heavy bleeding is something you’ve been putting up with, it might be time to explore your options.
Find out more about your treatment options at the link in our profile.
Another new exciting development in aesthetic medicine! The blockbuster drug Botox now has a license for treating the ageing neck.
The treatment works by relaxing the muscle in the neck, which improves the jawline and neck. Variations of this treatment have been around for a long time on an ‘off label’ basis. I’ve always been a little underwhelmed by this, but in the trials for approval they used higher doses than we typically used in the past and managed to achieve more consistent results.
The neck is an area that has a lot of anatomical variation, so the best treatment for each individual will vary. This is probably best for people with skinnier necks. If you have a bit of excess fatty tissue, then a treatment like CoolSculpting might be best or if you have loose skin then some Halo laser might be the option.
As always the way to find the best option for your concerns is a consultation with an experienced doctor!