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| Disclaimer: I am not featured in this photo (wish it was me!) |
Everyone thinks that medical cosmetic treatments are just for the rich and famous, but working on an aesthetic nursing magazine has shown me that many men and women seek procedures every day.
Last Thursday, after a skin consultation to determine my suitability for treatment with leading Brazilian dermatologist Dr Ariel Haus, I decided to experience a procedure myself for both personal and professional reasons. And I thought it would be interesting to share my experience with you and increase awareness of the importance of going to experienced health professionals if you are looking to have your skin treated with lasers or injectables.
MEET AND GREET
When I arrived at Dr Haus' Harley Street clinic, I was greeted by the lovely receptionist Marita who checked with me what treatments I would be receiving, offered me a drink, and got right down to business with the patient information and consent forms. I really liked that there were individual consent forms for all three parts of my treatment, not only because it established my trust in Dr Haus, but also because it helped me to understand the procedures I was about to experience in more detail. After taking around 5-10 minutes to complete the forms, Marita took me through to the consultation room, where Dr Haus soon followed with a polite knock and a genuine welcoming smile.
PREPARING FOR TREATMENT
To prepare my skin for treatment, the first thing Dr Haus did was give me a shower cap. I know what you are thinking - what on earth did he do that for? But there was a method in his momentary madness - it was time to apply LMX4, a pain-relieving cream, to my face in order to 'make the procedure as comfortable as possible', which I thought set the experience off to a good start. As the cream took 5-10 minutes to absorb and take effect, I was left to relax with a glass of water for a while. The best way to describe my experience with the LMX4 cream was that it felt like a face mask - my skin felt tighter as time went on. Something I found interesting was that he applied the cream on top of my make-up, when I expected to have it removed almost immediately. However, my make-up wasn't removed until after the anaesthetic cream took effect. Dr Haus used a Eucerin Clarifying Toner to remove my make-up and also sprayed some La Roche Posay Thermal Water on my skin also, which is the best way to moisturise your skin according to Dr Haus. The only thing left to do then was to apply cooling gel to the treated surface area immediately before the laser treatment took place.
LASER PROCEDURE
The procedure involved two different devices - the SRA laser for the treatment of acne scarring and fine lines, and the Sublime laser for lifting and tightening. The first laser used on my skin was the SRA, which involved bursts of heat at staggered points across the mid face, above the jawline and along the forehead. Of the two lasers used, this was the more uncomfortable treatment; however, having said that, it was a procedure I still tolerated well. The only strange thing about it was not knowing when to expert the bursts of heat, as I had to wear eye protection and couldn't see what was going on around me. But Dr Haus checked at several points whether I was OK, so I maintained a sense of ease. The treatment with the SRA only lasted about 10 minutes overall, and cooling gel was reapplied to my skin every time the laser was used. Moving on to the Sublime laser treatment, this was a more comfortable procedure and worked in lines rather than at static points. Dr Haus used longer strokes around the outside of my face and decreased the length of the passes in the middle of my face. This part of the laser procedure only took about 5 minutes and cooling gel was used again throughout. He cleaned my skin with the Eucerin toner, thermal water and also La Roche Posay's Cicaplast to accelerate the repair of my skin following treatment.
CHEMICAL PEEL
When Dr Haus had finished treating my skin with the SRA & Sublime lasers, he optimised the results by providing a 'simple' chemical peel with a non-branded 30% salicylic acid formulation. The use of salicylic acid is particularly beneficial for acne-prone skin, which I have, and Dr Haus told me that my skin may dry out a little bit around the blemishes I had, but that this would resolve as normal in a short period of time. On application of the peel, my skin did burn a little as expected; however, after multiple applications of thermal water to cool down my skin and also the use of a skin cooling device, my skin resumed its normal appearance and feeling in a matter of minutes. I was then left to apply my make-up as normal before leaving the clinic.
AFTER CARE
I was so impressed with Dr Haus' after care advice sheet, which was a simple one-sided A4 list of bullet points, advocating the use of a sun protection factor of 50+. He was also kind enough to give me several samples of La Roche Posay products to apply to my skin for a couple of weeks following the treatment, including the Effaclar Astringent Lotion Micro-Exfoliant, Thermal Spring Water, Effaclar H Soothing Compensation Moisturiser, Anthelios XL SPF 50+ Melt-In Cream and Effaclar K Daily Renewal Fluid.
DID I RATE THIS EXPERIENCE?
After umming and aahing about pursuing treatment for my skin because of hormonal and confidence issues, I am so grateful to Dr Haus for inviting me to have the procedure. I'm always reading about laser rejuvenation at work and found the experience really insightful. My skin is something I feel quite low about a lot of the time, so I was really happy when he said he could see a significant difference in the quality and texture of my skin. Not only did my skin look better, there was no redness or patches of dry skin immediately after treatment and there was no pain either.
WOULD I GO BACK TO SEE DR ARIEL HAUS?
I know that one treatment doesn't fix everything, so I had to ask Dr Haus how many times he would have to see me make a real long-term difference. Although he said it differs from case to case, due to healing times and severity of symptoms, he did advise 5-6 treatments with a month between each one. The real test of how good this experience was is whether I'd pay out of my own pocket to have treatments again in the near future, and without question my answer is yes. Dr Haus was extremely skilled and knowledgeable, and I really felt at ease during my treatment with him. I really would urge anyone thinking about laser skin rejuvenation to see a health professional, and Dr Haus is a fantastic person to go to in the first instance.
Go here to find out more about Dr Ariel Haus.
When I arrived at Dr Haus' Harley Street clinic, I was greeted by the lovely receptionist Marita who checked with me what treatments I would be receiving, offered me a drink, and got right down to business with the patient information and consent forms. I really liked that there were individual consent forms for all three parts of my treatment, not only because it established my trust in Dr Haus, but also because it helped me to understand the procedures I was about to experience in more detail. After taking around 5-10 minutes to complete the forms, Marita took me through to the consultation room, where Dr Haus soon followed with a polite knock and a genuine welcoming smile.
PREPARING FOR TREATMENT
To prepare my skin for treatment, the first thing Dr Haus did was give me a shower cap. I know what you are thinking - what on earth did he do that for? But there was a method in his momentary madness - it was time to apply LMX4, a pain-relieving cream, to my face in order to 'make the procedure as comfortable as possible', which I thought set the experience off to a good start. As the cream took 5-10 minutes to absorb and take effect, I was left to relax with a glass of water for a while. The best way to describe my experience with the LMX4 cream was that it felt like a face mask - my skin felt tighter as time went on. Something I found interesting was that he applied the cream on top of my make-up, when I expected to have it removed almost immediately. However, my make-up wasn't removed until after the anaesthetic cream took effect. Dr Haus used a Eucerin Clarifying Toner to remove my make-up and also sprayed some La Roche Posay Thermal Water on my skin also, which is the best way to moisturise your skin according to Dr Haus. The only thing left to do then was to apply cooling gel to the treated surface area immediately before the laser treatment took place.
LASER PROCEDURE
The procedure involved two different devices - the SRA laser for the treatment of acne scarring and fine lines, and the Sublime laser for lifting and tightening. The first laser used on my skin was the SRA, which involved bursts of heat at staggered points across the mid face, above the jawline and along the forehead. Of the two lasers used, this was the more uncomfortable treatment; however, having said that, it was a procedure I still tolerated well. The only strange thing about it was not knowing when to expert the bursts of heat, as I had to wear eye protection and couldn't see what was going on around me. But Dr Haus checked at several points whether I was OK, so I maintained a sense of ease. The treatment with the SRA only lasted about 10 minutes overall, and cooling gel was reapplied to my skin every time the laser was used. Moving on to the Sublime laser treatment, this was a more comfortable procedure and worked in lines rather than at static points. Dr Haus used longer strokes around the outside of my face and decreased the length of the passes in the middle of my face. This part of the laser procedure only took about 5 minutes and cooling gel was used again throughout. He cleaned my skin with the Eucerin toner, thermal water and also La Roche Posay's Cicaplast to accelerate the repair of my skin following treatment.
CHEMICAL PEEL
When Dr Haus had finished treating my skin with the SRA & Sublime lasers, he optimised the results by providing a 'simple' chemical peel with a non-branded 30% salicylic acid formulation. The use of salicylic acid is particularly beneficial for acne-prone skin, which I have, and Dr Haus told me that my skin may dry out a little bit around the blemishes I had, but that this would resolve as normal in a short period of time. On application of the peel, my skin did burn a little as expected; however, after multiple applications of thermal water to cool down my skin and also the use of a skin cooling device, my skin resumed its normal appearance and feeling in a matter of minutes. I was then left to apply my make-up as normal before leaving the clinic.
AFTER CARE
I was so impressed with Dr Haus' after care advice sheet, which was a simple one-sided A4 list of bullet points, advocating the use of a sun protection factor of 50+. He was also kind enough to give me several samples of La Roche Posay products to apply to my skin for a couple of weeks following the treatment, including the Effaclar Astringent Lotion Micro-Exfoliant, Thermal Spring Water, Effaclar H Soothing Compensation Moisturiser, Anthelios XL SPF 50+ Melt-In Cream and Effaclar K Daily Renewal Fluid.
DID I RATE THIS EXPERIENCE?
After umming and aahing about pursuing treatment for my skin because of hormonal and confidence issues, I am so grateful to Dr Haus for inviting me to have the procedure. I'm always reading about laser rejuvenation at work and found the experience really insightful. My skin is something I feel quite low about a lot of the time, so I was really happy when he said he could see a significant difference in the quality and texture of my skin. Not only did my skin look better, there was no redness or patches of dry skin immediately after treatment and there was no pain either.
WOULD I GO BACK TO SEE DR ARIEL HAUS?
I know that one treatment doesn't fix everything, so I had to ask Dr Haus how many times he would have to see me make a real long-term difference. Although he said it differs from case to case, due to healing times and severity of symptoms, he did advise 5-6 treatments with a month between each one. The real test of how good this experience was is whether I'd pay out of my own pocket to have treatments again in the near future, and without question my answer is yes. Dr Haus was extremely skilled and knowledgeable, and I really felt at ease during my treatment with him. I really would urge anyone thinking about laser skin rejuvenation to see a health professional, and Dr Haus is a fantastic person to go to in the first instance.
Go here to find out more about Dr Ariel Haus.
What do you think of my skin care experience? xxx
*This treatment was free, but all opinions are strictly my own
