Melissa Lazarus, MD

Voluma was FDA approved on October 23rd, 2014 for use in the U.S. and should be available at your dermatologist or plastic surgeon's office soon!

A Vitalize Peel is a superficial peel that I find is great for patients with acne, acne with hyperpigmentation or mild scarring left behind from previous acne, and general hyperpigmentation from either sun damage, previous inflammation, or melasma.  The best thing about this peel is that it can be safely used in experienced hands on all skin types.  The peel is applied in 3 steps.  The first step is a prepping solution which is alcohol/acetone based which is similar to most peels.  The second step is the peeling solution which contains Salicyclic Acid, Resorcinol and Lactic Acid.  The final step is a layer of Retinol.  The strength of the peel can be altered by additional coats of step 2, so it is best to see a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon to see if this peel is right for you.

The reason this peel may not be that common is that is it a "branded" peel and these tend to be more expensive to the physician.  We continue to perform it because I love the results and so do our patients. It is the most popular peel with our staff (they are always asking me to treat them with it) and I have frequently done it on myself to brighten up my skin.  Best of luck!

I see no reason why a chemical peel and Restylane (or any other filler) cannot be done at the same visit. I frequently do this for patients to not inconvenience them with multiple visits. It depends on what type of peel I am performing as to which order the treatments are done during the visit, but one does not interfere with the other.  This also allows patients to recover from both at the same time which decreases "down-time".  Best of luck!

The answer to your question really depends on your anatomy and your "bulge" (the actual fat you would like to treat).  I have had many patients that we were able to "fit" both the upper and lower abdomen into the larger applicator, and others that it was impossible to do so and they required separate treatments to each affected area.  There have been many cases where we have used combinations of the small and large applicators to get the best results. We customize our treatments specifically to what we see during the consultation so discuss it with your physician and she/he should be able to guide you as to what would give you the best results. Most patients see 20-25% improvement with each treatment. Good luck!

Fraxel helps restore your skin and give it a more youthful appearance. In addition, it will soften fine lines and wrinkles.  Fraxel is also very effective for the treatment of Acne scars, and can be used to diminish other types of scarring on the face or body.  We have recently been doing Fraxel with great success on the hands to rejuvenate the skin and to give them a more youthful appearance appearance.

We recommend 5 treatments for the face, and usually at least 3 for the hands and other scars on the body.