Active Fx to Correct Texture after Chemical Peel

I am much too young for a facelift of any kind. But in March I had a chemical peel done to my face that left my skin with a rough texture/orange peel look. Do you know about this side effect? I have tried many other procedures such as micro-dermabrasion, smoothbeam and creams to fix or help my skin but nothing is working.

When I take my skin and stretch it back a little, my skin looks smooth again though. So this is my I am considering a facelift. I am most interested in focusing on the apples of my cheeks and a bit below that, towards my mouth. What are your thoughts on this?

I was also considering a rhinoplasty as a have a bulbous nose and would possibly like to thin it out very, very slightly. My main concern is the facelift, but the reason I mention this is because I was curious whether having a rhinoplasty along with the face lift, would allow you to tighten the skin better in the areas I desire.


Thank you for your time.



I do not think that a facelift will help you.

The problem that you are describing has more to do with the texture of your skin than with overall skin laxity. I have heard of this kind of thing happening, but I do not really use chemical peels, so I have not experienced it among my patients.
It takes a lot of energy to change the texture of your skin once this kind of thing has happened. Microdermabrasion and creams will not help. Smoothbeam is an okay choice, but even that is not potent enough, in my opinion, to change the topography of your facial skin. The only laser that I have seen to really have an effect is the active fx. I would suggest that you do a bit of research on that laser - it should help tighten your skin a bit and smooth out the orange peel effect.

Regarding your nose, it sounds like you would be a candidate for non surgical rhinoplasty. It would be a shame to undergo surgery for a subtle effect such as the one you're talking about. It can be achieved with a few steroid injections.

http://www.westsidemedicalspa.com/activefxlaser.html

Chest Sun Damage and IPL vs Peels vs Active Fx

Hi Dr. Rivkin,
I have sun damage on my chest from years of sunbathing when I was young - which I no longer do.
I also have flat white acne scars in the same area, which show up even more due to the darkness of the skin caused by sun damage.
I had one IPL treatment but did not notice even a slight improvement and it was around 500.00 to have it done.
I was told by the woman who gave me the treatment in my dermatologist's office that microderm would work just as well.
I have always been self conscious about my scars, and feel like there has to be something that will be effective on them and the sun damage.
Can you look at my album photos and advise me on the best procedure and how many I will need? Also, the estimated cost if possible.
Thank you,
Pamela

Hi Pamela,
I do not think that microdermabrasion will do much, but it certainly will not hurt and it may help over time.

There are some decent chemical peels out that may work - Vi peel is something we've been doing in the office - seems to give good results so far. It's pretty cheap - $300 or so some of the more aggressive lasers may help with the hypopigmentation - active fx is a good one. there is some downtime with these lasers, however. its expensive - about $1000 or more.

Another option is to try the IPL again on higher settings, making sure that you are not suntanned at all prior to treatment. you can pre-treat with a hydroquinone cream for 2 weeks and that should let your doc use higher settings.


http://www.westsidemedicalspa.com/IPL_photofacial.html
http://www.westsidemedicalspa.com/activefxlaser.html