New laser treatment: No redness, swelling or downtime
WELLINGTON, FL (WFLX) - Laser skin treatments are nothing new, and typically they come with painful side effects including redness and swelling.
But there's a new type of laser treatment called "The Icon" that makes all of that and the downtime a thing of the past.
To find out how it works we met Cindy Rey bravely at Dr. Michael Sinclair's office in Wellington for our interview wearing no foundation -- just a little eye makeup and lipstick. "People are surprised when I tell them I'm a 'nana,'" she said. "I have four grandkids. I'll be 55."
She's been keeping her skin looking so good with what's called "The Icon". "The original lasers were sort of crude instruments that would ablate or remove everything in sight," said Dr. Michael Sinclair of the Epilution Med Spa. "The recovery times were long and the side effects were significant."
But Palomar, the company that manufactures the Icon, claims it is the most advanced laser skin technology in the world right now. Sinclair tells us there are only a few Icon machines currently in use in the country, and he has one of them.
He's been practicing medicine for 25 years and focusing on cosmetic procedures for the past decade. "The demand is enormous. Baby boomers just don't want to age, and there's really no reason they have to," said Sinclair. "The procedures are safe, effective, comfortable and they don't even have to miss work. You can do the procedure at lunch and be back to work at 1 p.m., and nobody would ever know."
The Icon is one machine with multiple attachments, and it can fix almost any skin problem: freckles, wrinkles, sagging skin, large pores, it even does hair removal -- with no downtime.
"Probably the most important thing for people to realize is that this technology is safe, effective and comfortable. A lot of people have been afraid to do this because of the downtime. Some of the old pictures would show people with these hideous looking faces -- with oozing and crusting and dripping. There's nothing like that going on anymore," he said.
How does it work? Without getting too technical - it essentially makes your body make new skin.
How does it feel? "A little pinch, perhaps, and I love the results afterwards," said Rey. "You're a little pink, a little puffy, a little red. But everything that bothers you on your face is simply gone."
Her trouble spot? Wrinkles around her eyes are virtually undetectable now. The procedure can take as little as 10 minutes if you're only working on one area or up to an hour if you want to treat your whole face.
It's time saved Cindy can now spend with her four grandchildren. "It's so much better!"
Depending on how much of your face you want to treat the cost ranges from $200 to $2,000.
If you're good about staying out of the sun, the results are permanent.
The most important thing, though, is to do some homework on your doctor. "There are a lot of doctors putting skin in the laser game that don't have a tremendous amount of experience with it."
You can check out "before and after" pictures on Dr. Sinclair's office on his Web site.
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