Michele Grodberg, MD

I have many patients who have enjoyed the benefits of Fraxel on areas other than the face.  Popular areas include the neck, the backs of hands, the chest, the arms and even the legs.  It is important to understand that non facial areas usually take longer to heal so expect the recovery for the body to take two weeks compared to one week for the face.  Other post procedure considerations, like wearing loose fitting clothing to minimize irritation to the skin and avoiding sweating may also need to be considered when treating the body with Fraxel.

For some time now, MGMD Dermatology has been offering Exilis Elite treatments, an exciting technology using radio frequency to deliver high energy in a controlled fashion to the dermis of the skin, causing collagen remodeling and a tightening effect. We have been obtaining fabulous results with the Exilis Elite and are excited that BTL, the maker of the Exilis system, has now introduced Exilis Ultra.

Exilis Ultra adds ultrasound to the radio frequency technology increasing efficacy.  With ultrasound the therapeutic treatment temperature is reached faster, increasing the skin tightening and fat burning effectiveness of Exilis Ultra treatments.  Exilis Ultra also enables easier treatment of difficult to treat areas, including slack upper arms.  

These two fillers are both used successfully to volumize the face; however, they have very different mechanisms of action. Sculptra is a biostimulatory filler.  That means it triggers your own body to produce collagen. This process takes time and also requires multiple treatments that build slowly on each other.   Voluma is a Hyaluronic Acid filler which can be strategically placed to provide lift and fullness in the cheeks.  The results of Voluma are immediate so the benefits may be noticeable sooner than with Sculptra which provides a slow improvement over time.

“Spock eyebrow” is a telltale sign of Botox that no one wants to endure.  It occurs when muscles in your forehead get recruited to raise your lateral eyebrow when adjacent muscles have been weakened by Botox injections.Often this requires a tiny injection of Botox into the muscle to soften the “pull”. This can be done day 3 after Botox, however, if your forehead has been treated it may be better to wait until day 7 because sometimes the Botox can take longer to take effect in certain areas and overcorrection of pulling or “Spock brow” can cause drooping of the eyebrow which is often worse.

Both Juvederm Ultra Plus and Voluma are Hyaluronic Acid (HA) fillers. There is no contraindication to using them together.  However, sometimes a deal on a cosmetic procedure is too good to be true.  Be sure to research the injector and make sure they are qualified and experienced.