Very soon after Botox’s FDA approval for treating hyperhidrosis, I became certified to administer Botox by the International Hyperhidrosis Society.  I remain one of only two doctors in Maine who have earned that certification.

Research has shown that treating the underarms and even the hands, feet and face for excessive sweating with Botox is safe and effective.  In one clinical study involving 322 patients with severe underarm sweating, 81% experienced reduced sweating by more than 50% for at least 3 months after receiving Botox injections.  Half of all the patients in the study showed improvement lasting up to 7 months.

This phenomenon was initially noticed by people receiving Botox treatments for facial wrinkles.  As it turns out, these same people also had a problem with facial sweating.  After Botox, both problems became resolved, and researchers began implementing another use for Botox.

So how does Botox reduce sweating?

Botox appears to block a protein in the nervous system that “turns on” the body’s sweat glands.  For some reason yet to be discovered, certain individuals inherit a tendency to produce excessive amounts of this protein, thereby producing more sweat than necessary.  By blocking that protein, Botox “turns off” sweating in the area where it has been injected.

A very fine needle is used to inject small amounts of Botox (usually 1 or 2 units per injection) just under the skin near the sweat glands responsible for excess perspiration.  A typical treatment involves multiple injections, averaging 25 injections (or 50 units or Botox) per underarm area.  Hands and feet can also be treated.

However, because the hands and feet contain more nerves than the underarm, the injections are understandably more painful.  Usually, when treating these areas, I will administer a nerve block in addition to the topical anesthetic gel I use under the arms.

Botox will not cure excessive sweating, but will help control it.  Sweating will eventually return to the treated area, and follow-up injections will help to maintain dryness.

On a personal note, I have observed some positive life-changing results from patients after receiving this treatment.  You don’t realize how disabling excessive sweating can be socially and psychologically until you meet and talk with some of the hyperhidrosis sufferers.

Unlike cosmetic Botox injections, underarm Botox is treating a serious medical condition.  Although you have go through a lengthy approval process, most health insurances do cover these treatments.  We can help you through this, however, and are always available for any questions you may have.

A “great age betrayer” is the most visible part of your body that makes you look older.  So you would think that the “great age betrayer” would be your face, right?  After all, in the course of daily skincare, everyone pays attention to their face.

It is hard to ignore, as it is right there looking back at you in the mirror.  Your bathroom cabinet is probably full of cleansers, toners and moisturizers for your face.  People are even paying more attention to their own neck and decolletage (the lower part of the neck closer to the shoulder area).

So while the face, neck, and decolletage all qualify as “great age betrayers”, they are obviously not the ones to which nobody pays attention.  Despite everything you do to reverse the clock from the chest up, the dead giveaway to your real age lies in your hands!

Truthfully, if you take a good look at your hands, they show more signs of age you don’t notice when looking at yourself in the mirror.  They may have pesky age spots (also commonly known as sun spots or liver spots) caused by harmful UV rays.  However, hope is not lost on getting rid of such spots.

There are plenty of skin lightening or bleaching products on the market, but they only slightly work.  The bleaching agents will not convert a spotted aged hand into a youthful hand, no matter how expensive the product or how long you use it.  Such over-the-counter antidotes are meant for very minor or faded spots that are just starting to appear, or to maintain the effects of a previously-applied, more aggressive treatment that actually was effective.

The fastest and best way to remove age without using a time machine is laser.  It rarely takes more than 15 minutes to treat the backs of both hands, and it is relatively painless.

The back of the hands contain few pain fibers because most of the nerve endings are on the palm and fingertips.  As a matter of fact, I have treated the backs of my own hands using a laser without any problems. It was fast, there was minimal discomfort, and my hands looked great after only two treatments.

Since the skin that covers the surface of the hands is relatively thin, the dark pigment left by sun damage is fairly shallow.  After the first treatment, the spots look immediately darker, but many of them will literally flake or peel off in the first several days.

In the next few weeks, the skin will gradually continue to lighten, but less dramatically than the first few days.  In most cases, a second treatment will result in a significant improvement from the baseline appearance.  From then on, over-the-counter skin illuminating agents should be tried and will be more effective.

As we age, the skin on the backs of our hands can also lose volume.  In fact, many people, especially women, are bothered by the increased appearance of bones, veins, and tendons in such areas.  To decrease this look, fillers can work wonders.  Use of topical numbing cream makes the procedure relatively painless.  Also, only one injection is generally needed.

The fillers that we also use on the face can be injected into the hands.  One injection is made of a syringe of Juvederm.  Then, the filler is massaged throughout the back of the hands which creates a layered and natural effect turning back the volume loss of the hands by at least 10 years.  The fillers last at least one year and up to 18 months before retreatment may be needed.

As always, prevention is the best medicine.  After you have invested in your hands’ improved appearance, or if you want to halt their further aging, protect your investment and stop further sun damage with daily application of sunblock.  If you are applying sunblock on your face and neck everyday anyway, simply squirt a little extra on the backs of your hands, rub it in, and you’re done!

As you may know, medical grade treatments sold through doctors offices are made with stronger active ingredients than those sold over the counter in drug stores. The most important step is to start and end every day with a clean face, which means washing your face when you get up in the morning and before you go to sleep.

However, it is difficult to determine which cleansers work the most effectively without drying your face out. For those with sensitive skin, I generally recommend using Chamomile Cleanser. For all others, Salicylic Face And Body Wash works best.

After washing, I recommend applying Vita Soothe followed by Ultra Benefits. These products will moisturize the skin and protect it from the drying effects of changes in humidity in the environment.

Of course, with it currently being winter (and a harsh one at that, particularly here in Maine), it is very easy to forget this next step. However, before going out the door every day, rain or shine, no matter what time of year, put on your Daily Replenishing SPF 30+ Sunblock to protect yourself from the debilitating effects of the sun.

At the end of the day and after washing up, use Vita Soothe and Multi-Complex Night Creme (my wife’s favorite). These products specifically help to actively reduce signs of aging, such as wrinkles, while you sleep. For those who have already started developing wrinkles, several more products are available to help to combat the effects of aging.

Wri-Lax is a topical peptide that helps to relax the muscles and mimics the effects of Botox although only for short periods of time. For those who use Botox, regular Wri-Lax can prolong the time between Botox injections allowing “more bang for the buck”.

Ultra Firming Eye also helps to erase wrinkles around the eyes, decreasing dark circles and pesky undereye puffiness. Nutra Fill is also an excellent topical filler that helps to smooth deeper wrinkles.

All these treatments contain unique, clinically tested ingredient combinations that create impressive results. Click on the highlighted products to order the recommended medical-grade treatments to look younger and fight the onset and progression of that dreaded aging process.

Next week, I will reveal my “Healthy Skin Regimen”.

Your skin is your body’s largest organ, and arguably the most important.  We actually cannot live without healthy skin, as it protects us from hostile environments and is the first line of defense against toxins and bacteria.  The skin keeps you hydrated, and plays a vital role in your immune system.

The skin heals its own wounds, controls loss of heat, cools the body when necessary, and produces vitamin D for your bones.  Glands within the skin produce oil that keeps the skin moist.  The outer layer of the skin, the epidermis, consists of millions of epithelial cells in many layers.  New epithelial cells are formed every day in the deeper layers of the epidermis, and then they grow upwards to the surface to replace the older cells.  However, not all those cells get removed.  As they accumulate, the skin gradually looks older over time.

Anti-aging and skin-resurfacing technologies, such as Fraxel, remove the top layer of damaged older epithelial cells that are not replaced naturally.  Because the deeper, newer and healthier epithelial cells look better, the resurfaced skin has a healthy fresh glow.  The epidermis is a living and growing layer which can regenerate and renew itself, but applying topical products and laser technology to it regularly can help prevent and correct aging changes.

The next layer of skin beneath the epidermis is called the dermis.  The dermis is the pink layer of the skin that carries the blood vessels and provides the structural support for the outer layers.  The support structure consists of collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid.  Collagen and elastin are produced by special cells within the dermis called fibroblasts.  These cells are stimulated by Fraxel and other deeply penetrating lasers to produce more collagen.  Fibroblasts slow down in their production of collagen with age and when damaged by smoking and ultraviolet radiation.

A damaged dermis can cause striking changes associated with aging, especially on the face.  The loss of the skin’s basic foundation layer results in the wrinkling and sagging commonly attributed to the aging process.  Stimulating the fibroblasts to produce more collagen and replacing the foundation with hyaluronic acid fillers (Restylane, Juvederm) can start the process of reversing the damage.  As I frequently say to patients, we can turn back the clock on your appearance, although we still cannot stop the clock of aging.

I hope this basic outline of the skin structure does not conjure up images of a classroom, but rather helps you better understand how the skin works and how the latest technology can help undo some of the damage caused by the sun and the aging process.  In the future, I will try to fill in some other details about the structure and mechanics of the skin.

But for now, class is dismissed!

That’s why a recent report on women’s health published on WebMD highlighted six simple, but important, steps for women of all ages to look and feel younger.   No matter how many candles were on your last birthday cake (or your next one for that matter), you can feel stronger, more youthful, and energized by implementing these measures:

#1: Bone Up

To keep a good posture and maintain your spine and hips in strong condition, women of all ages need at least 1200 milligrams of calcium per day, especially after menopause.  If you lack adequate dairy intake in your diet as is the case in many women, you need to take a calcium supplement to hit that milligram target.  Taking vitamin D at a dose of at least 1000 units per day is also essential.   Fortunately, many calcium supplements include vitamin D, as do multivitamins.

#2: Ban the Tan

This advice should be familiar to anyone who has listened to my advice or read my newsletters or blog.  As you get older, the drawbacks to youthful golden tans are frequently extra lines, spots and wrinkles.  In addition, the increased risk of skin cancer is real.   It’s never too early, or too late, to stop the sun damage with sunblocks, or simply by staying out of the sun whenever possible.  Of course, to erase some of the previous damage, Maine Laser Skin Care offers a wide range of treatments.

#3: Take Care of Your Heart

It does no good to look young if your heart is damaged.  Heart disease is the biggest killer of women, and a big cause of disability in heart attack survivors.  Heart risk factors including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and abdominal fat.  However, twenty to thirty minutes of moderate exercise every day can cut your heart disease risk in half, even if that exercise is taking a long walk in the morning.  The heart is a muscle.  Therefore, use it or lose it!

#4: Hit the Sack

While you sleep, your body, specifically your skin, regenerates faster than when you are awake.  That may be why they call it “beauty sleep”.  Also, people who sleep seven to eight hours per night are less likely to be overweight and/or depressed, and are generally healthier.

#5: Mind Your Memory

The brain is a very important part of your overall health.  Just like your muscles, your brain can benefit from a workout.  A cognitive fitness program includes doing a crossword or sudoku puzzle, learning a new language, or going to a museum.

#6: You Are What You Eat

Drinking lots of fluids and eating smaller and more frequent meals with lower carbohydrate and total calorie content can help you lose weight.  A healthy diet makes for a healthy body and healthy-looking skin.

Take good care of your body internally and you will feel good.  As a side benefit, you will look better externally.  Keep up the good work on the steps above, and you will age at your best.  Give Becky a call at (207) 873-2158 to set up a free consultation anytime to discuss any of your skin care needs.  Also, don’t forget to check the monthly specials on the website, and check out our webpage for updates on monthly specials or info on other skin topics within the Maine Laser blog.

For all of us as we grow older, there is a point where a good night’s sleep and skin creams bought in the drugstore or from an infomercial are not sufficient to keep us looking as young and refreshed as we would like.  Many people turn to me for help in turning back the clock to improve their appearance.  Some want to just feel better about themselves, while others want to stay more competitive in a workplace that is increasingly youth-oriented.

Many people are turned off by the concept of facelifts and plastic surgery, as they should be because of the potential dangers such procedures bring.  Others see the widening array of minimally-invasive treatments that are now socially acceptable and financially accessible.  While the number of facelifts in the US fell 23% last year, Botox injections increased 3.8% to 2.6 million.  My use of Botox at Maine Laser Skin Care is up at least 10% from this time last year.

Dermal fillers such as Restylane, Juvederm and Radiesse can be used to plump lips, fill smile lines and decrease the volume loss of collagen that follows longterm skin damage and the aging process.  Many aesthetic specialists feel that injections of fillers can replace the collagen loss and delay the need for considering facelifts.

Last but not least, laser treatments, especially the use of Fraxel, can improve the superficial appearance of skin color and tone while also stimulating collagen production.  Increasing collagen will smooth the skin from the inside out while also improving the appearance of scars, especially acne scars.

From Botox to dermal fillers to Fraxel, Maine Laser Skin Care has treatments for real rejuvenation of your skin.  Give Becky a call at (207) 873-2158 to set up a free consultation anytime to discuss any of your skin care needs.  Also, be sure to check out our webpage for updates on monthly specials or info on other skin topics within the Maine Laser blog.

• Friday, August 19th, 2011 in Vassalboro
   
• Wednesday, August 24th,2011 in Augusta
   
• Friday, August 26th, 2011 in Vassalboro
   

If you are due for a Botox treatment,  have been wanting or meaning to try it, or have a friend or family member who wants in, this is a truly golden opportunity for you all.  If you’re still not sure if Botox is right for you, read all about its benefits in our blog.
 
Give Becky a call at (207) 873-2158 ASAP to book an appointment.  These are the only days we are allowed to offer this pricing.  Once appointments book up for these three days, the offer ends.
 
Also, if you are interested in Juvederm as a dermal filler, be on the lookout for the next newsletter.  Information concerning special pricing on Juvederm for the remainder of August will be on its way to you soon.