Story Published: Nov 22, 2006 at 1:06 AM PST
Story Updated: Nov 22, 2006 at 3:44 PM PST
There are many reasons why people consider cosmetic procedures.
"As far as sun damage, most of the sun damage occurs to skin when children are under the age of 12," said Dr. Valerie Fox, owner of Viaggio Medical Spa. "Ninety percent of of the sun damage occurs then, because we have our kids out playing in the water when we don't have sunscreen on. That causes long term sun damage. Every time you tan, you are getting sun damage. So, it's really important to stay out of the tanning beds and to wear a full-spectrum sunscreen."
Good advice now, but my skin has already felt the effects from long term sun exposure, which is why I decided to try out the latest in skin technology at Viaggio Medical Spa in Clarkston. Valerie Fox suggested I get microdermabrasion, skin resurfacing and tightening.
"You'll see results for up to a month," Dr. Fox said. "You will see continued tightening for up to a month, because that's how long it takes the collagen to rebuild. Actually, even three to six months."
None of the procedures were too invasive. And Dr. Fox says little to no risk is involved.
"The laser and the lights are looking for certain chromofores in the skin," says Dr. Fox. "Our targets are either pigments or blood. So, they aren't doing damage to any of the underlying tissues. The biggest risk is burn. The primary reason people get burned is if there is sun exposure that we are not aware of. We treat you as a certain skin type. Now, if you've had sun exposure, we have to treat you as a deeper skin type so that the light and the laser can differentiate between the damage and your natural skin tone."
One of the most important factors when choosing a location for procedures is to be sure there is a licensed physician on hand overseeing the process.
"When a person comes in for their consultation, one of the first things we do is take a history, as far as if they've had any previous skin cancers," said Fox. "Then we take a good look at the skin and if there are any hyper-pigmented or darker lesions or anything that looks suspicious, we do biopsy it. It's very important to have a physician look at your skin before you have any laser procedures done because if you take away part of the color, you take away part of the ability to diagnose."
Cosmetic procedures aren't just a vanity thing. Some clients, as Doctor Fox told us, just want to boost their self-esteem.
"We've had a number of younger women who have had pretty moderate to severe acne," says Dr. Fox. "They could be in high school. I think it changes their entire social outlook as far as if they weren't as active or if they always wore too much makeup, which actually made the acne worse. So, now I see them around town and they have no makeup on and they feel good about themselves and they feel comfortable in their own skin."
And that's what Doctor Fox enjoys the most about her job.
"They come in and leave feeling a lot better, " she said.
Now, Fox suggests getting a series of treatments in order to see the best results. So for the next few months I'm going to continue with my treatments and share my results in February.
