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Studies show that the demand for BOTOX^® has increased significantly throughout the pandemic as a large number of people have wanted to minimize an aged appearance associated with stress. We’re also spending an increased amount of time looking back at our own faces in video calls, noticing areas we wish to improve. Botulinum toxin type A injections have been within the top five minimally invasive cosmetic procedures in the country for years—even prior to the pandemic. There’s one simple reason why BOTOX^® has remained so popular since it received FDA approval in the early 2000s: It actually works. Our team of board-certified dermatologists offers anti-wrinkle injections at our Los Angeles-based practice to temporarily minimize those tiny lines and deeper wrinkles on our skin that are telltale signs of aging.

By now, most of us are aware of the wrinkle-softening effects of BOTOX^®, but what you might be wondering is: How exactly does this injectable work?

BOTOX^® is designed for treating dynamic wrinkles, which are creases that occur because of repetitive facial movements. Injections contain small doses of botulinum toxin, which is a protein produced by a bacterium found in many natural settings. Its scientific name is Clostridium botulinum. The botulinum toxin powder is diluted with saline, and it works beneath the surface of the skin to prevent the muscle activity that causes crow’s feet, frown lines, and other types of wrinkles.

After it’s injected, the active ingredient works by relaxing the muscles associated with dynamic wrinkles. It accomplishes this by preventing the proper flow of signals—a chemical messenger called acetylcholine, sent from nerve endings—that tell the muscles to contract. When the muscles are less prone to contract, the skin will appear smoother, softer, and more refreshed, with fewer wrinkles.

After several months have passed, the facial muscles will be able to move normally again, and the wrinkles will come back. A new round of injections can repeat the skin-smoothing process once again.

Discover more about the advantages of anti-wrinkle injections at Skin Care & Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills. Fill out a contact form online if you would like to send us your questions or comments, or call us at 310-246-0495 to request an appointment.

There’s a simple reason why your skin gets slightly thinner each decade: collagen loss. Sadly, it isn’t possible to increase collagen just by taking supplements or using skin care products that contain the protein. But what if there were a way to help your skin create more of its own collagen to make up for what is lost? It turns out, that’s actually possible with collagen induction therapy. At our Los Angeles-based Skin Care and Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills office, our board-certified dermatologists use collagen induction therapy, also known as microneedling, as a mechanical treatment for enhancing the complexion. It works by creating micro-injuries in the skin, which triggers a healing response, thereby increasing fibroblast activity along with collagen and elastin generation to revitalize the skin.

Microneedling is low risk, minimally invasive (making channels causes minimal damage to the surface of the skin), and safe for patients with a wide range of skin types and tones. Unlike certain other types of skin rejuvenation therapies, microneedling is generally safe for darker skin tones as well. It’s a great choice for people who want longer-lasting improvements compared to makeup or topical creams.

Patients who have the following concerns are considered good candidates for microneedling treatments:

• Superficial acne scars, minor burn scars, and other post-traumatic scars

• Fine lines and wrinkles

• An uneven skin tone and texture

• Stretch marks from weight fluctuations or pregnancy

• Sun damage

• Dull skin caused by a buildup of dead skin cells

Patients who won’t be eligible for collagen induction therapy include those who are immunosuppressed, have open wounds or infections in the treatment area, are currently pregnant or nursing, have had radiation therapy within one year, have a history of keloid scars, have extremely sensitive skin, have been taking Accutane^® within the last six months, or have psoriasis or another chronic skin disease.

Thinking of trying collagen induction therapy? Talk to our team of board-certified and cosmetic fellowship-trained dermatologists at Skin Care and Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills to find out more about how this treatment helps your skin. For more details on our cosmetic procedures, fill out a contact form or call us at 310-246-0495 to schedule a consultation.

At the start of each year, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions—which are typically about self-improvement. The most common resolutions are related to health and wellbeing, with many people wanting to maintain a healthier lifestyle, lose weight, exercise more, or smoke or drink less. For others, the goal might be to finally get and maintain radiant, balanced, and flawless skin throughout the upcoming year. The question is: How exactly do you enhance your skin? If you struggle with constant breakouts, irritation, dullness, dryness, blotchiness, or other skin-related concerns, some simple changes to your regimen can make all the difference and complement cosmetic treatments like injectables. Want to finally get your skin in order? Our skin-savvy and board-certified dermatologists who offer medical and cosmetic dermatology at the Los Angeles-based Skin Care & Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills explain some of the ways you can upgrade your skin care routine in 2022:

Use More Vitamin C Serums

Your skin is constantly worn down by oxidative damage that you may not even realize is happening. This damage comes from external stressors, such as ultraviolet radiation and air pollution, and it causes your skin to age at a faster rate. Antioxidants can shield your skin cells from some of this damage. Vitamin C is one of the most powerful antioxidants available. It brightens and hydrates skin while fading hyperpigmentation.

Be Consistent

Our skin loves consistency, from mild weather to the routines we use to care for it. Try to avoid switching up your routine too much, and avoid adding lots of new products at once to your daily care. Also, pay particular attention to seasonal shifts, when your skin can need extra TLC for it to maintain balance despite changes in humidity and temperature.

Avoid Less Obvious Forms of Sun Exposure

You might assume you’re protected from the harmful effects of UV rays when you’re in your car or indoors, but think again. Some types of UV rays penetrate the windows of cars, homes, and offices. In fact, some studies have shown that people tend to get more wrinkles, other signs of sun damage, and skin cancer on the side of their body that is more exposed to sun from windows.

Contact our team of physicians providing medical and cosmetic dermatology at the Los Angeles-based Skin Care & Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills to learn more about how to enhance

Sunscreen might be the last thing most people think about when the weather is cooler, but it’s still a necessity—yes, even if you’re travelling somewhere where there’s snow and the sun doesn’t shine as much. Dermatologists will always tell you that sunscreen is an absolute must for your routine if you want to reduce your risk of skin cancer while avoiding the rapid aging that can be caused by too much sun exposure. At Skin Care and Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills, our board-certified dermatologists provide wrinkle injections for Los Angeles-area patients, along with an extensive range of other medical and cosmetic skin treatments.

Among the many women and men we work with, we see numerous patients who are unsure of how to combine sunscreen with makeup, especially if they have acne-prone skin and want to avoid breakouts.

Even though slathering sunscreen onto your body can seem like the easiest thing in the world, it gets a lot more complicated when makeup is involved. It can be frustrating trying to re-apply sunscreen without ruining a picture-perfect look. Not to mention, so many products containing sunscreen are now available, so patients may be unsure as to whether their cosmetics are giving them the protection they need.

See below for a few basic tips on wearing sunscreen and makeup:

There’s a Correct Order

The best order for layering on makeup and sunscreen is this: Apply your sunscreen first as a base before you put on any other makeup. After you’ve added moisturizer and other skin friendly ingredients on top of that, then comes makeup, and finally another layer of sunscreen for additional protection.

Make Sure You Apply Enough Sunscreen

A quarter-sized amount is usually ideal, whether you’re applying sunscreen or a moisturizer that has a sun protection factor.

Re-Apply Consistently

Sunscreen wears off after a few hours of use. You need to continually reapply sunscreen over your makeup, especially if you’re going to be spending time in the sun. If you’re looking for an alternative to sunscreen, tinted sunscreens are another option.

Want healthier, more youthful-looking skin? Talk to our board-certified and cosmetic fellowship-trained dermatologists at Skin Care and Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills for more advice about wrinkle injections and other types of aesthetic procedures, sunscreen, makeup, and more. Fill out a contact form online or call us directly at 310-246-0495 to schedule a consultation.

Although we think of acne as something that may only bother us during our teen years, many adults experience acne flareups in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. This skin condition, which is associated with clogged facial pores due to a buildup of bacteria, dead skin, and oils, can be frustrating. It also usually isn’t something that goes away overnight, especially if you have a chronic and severe inflammatory skin condition. If you’re bothered by this condition, despite taking good care of your skin, you can receive acne treatments in Los Angeles from our team of board-certified dermatologists at Skin Care & Laser Physicians team.

We can help you find the underlying cause of the issue and determine the best ways of managing it. Zits, oiliness, and blackheads tend to occur on the T-zone: the forehead, nose and chin. What many patients don’t realize is that the specific parts of the face where pimples and cysts appear can give them some clues about what’s actually causing the problem.

Hairline and Forehead Acne

An oily skin type makes forehead breakouts common, especially if you have bangs or use pomades in your hair. Pimples usually form around the hairline if you’re using thick, mineral oil-based products that are blocking the pores. You can make some simple changes to avoid this type of acne, such as using a clarifying shampoo, using only non-comedogenic hair products, washing your face after you apply hair products, or shielding your face after using them.

Nose Acne

The common cause of nose acne is simply excess oil and sometimes high stress. Manage stress and use salicylic acid cleansers to reduce the oil.

Acne on the Cheeks

Scientists aren’t yet sure of what specifically causes cheek acne, but it could be linked to genetics or your everyday habits. Holding anything up to your face for long periods of time—such as your phone, pillows, sheets, or hands—makes you more likely to have breakouts because bacteria, oil, and dirt accumulate on the skin. Clean items you come into contact with frequently, and don’t touch your face.

Get diagnosis and acne treatments from a board-certified dermatologist at Skin Care & Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills, providing both medical and cosmetic dermatology services. If you would like to ask us about finding ways to manage your skin condition, fill out a contact form or call us at 310-246-0495 to schedule a consultation today.

The eyes are one of the areas of the face where the most prominent signs of aging and skin damage show, for a variety of reasons. The skin surrounding the eyes is naturally already thinner than the skin on other parts of the face and body. It’s also more sensitive, and it doesn’t have much fat beneath it, so it’s more prone to wrinkles. This skin is continually impacted by the heavy muscle movement around the eyes that makes our skin wrinkle, along with the formation of free radicals that damage the skin due to exposure to sunlight and pollution. Our skin also produces less of its natural oils as we age, and the lack of moisture makes any fine lines more visible. Since this skin is so vulnerable, its fragility makes it even more important to give special care to the area. Laser therapy from our Los Angeles-based practice is commonly used to enhance this area of the face, as the treatment reduces the appearance of wrinkles and dark circles. However, aside from in-office cosmetic procedures, having a good eye cream is also indispensable—and yes, it should be different from the moisturizers that you use on other parts of the face.

Here’s what you should know about choosing an eye cream.

Choose a Cream That’s Meant for the Eye Area

Since the skin around the eyes is more delicate, using a standard facial moisturizer could cause it to be irritated because those creams may be too thick or contain harsher chemicals. Use a gentle, fragrance-free product.

Look for Skin-Healing Ingredients

Choose a product that contains nourishing ingredients that enhance circulation, promote new cell growth, keep cells healthy, protect the skin barrier, increase collagen, and fade discoloration. Retinol, peptides, antioxidants, and hyaluronic acids are all beneficial options.

Keep Your Skin Moisturized

Skin in this area tends to be drier, and the lack of moisture makes wrinkles appear more pronounced. With this in mind, you need to moisturize frequently. If you have very dry skin, use an emollient formula containing omega fatty acids or creams containing hyaluronic acid to pull in moisture.

If you’re curious about choosing an ideal product for your own eye area, or about how laser therapy works, contact us at Skin Care & Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills for more information. Submit a contact form or call us at 310-246-0495 to schedule a consultation with an experienced and board-certified dermatologist.

Not all fat that we store on our body is the same. Unfortunately, some types of fat are more difficult to shed than others through diet and exercise. For instance, it’s easier to reduce visceral fat (the unhealthier type that is stored in the abdominal cavity close to the organs and is sometimes called hard belly fat) than it is to lose the subcutaneous fat (soft, pinchable fat just below the skin) on other areas of the body. Exercises that focus on specific areas, such as ab workouts, will improve the stomach muscles but won’t reduce fat in the midsection. Spot reduction, meaning targeted fat loss, seems like a great idea, but it isn’t possible. That’s why even after overall weight loss, many patients still have some areas that they wish they could shrink. Cosmetic fat reduction techniques such as CoolSculpting^® can kill off the unwanted fat cells in these areas, decreasing the volume of these areas without surgery. Want to get the most out of a treatment? These are some recommendations from the Skin Care & Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills team for patients who want to get optimal results from non-surgical fat reduction at our Los Angeles practice.

Exercise

Although there’s no strong evidence to prove that anything we do will greatly enhance the results from non-surgical fat reduction, and very minimal aftercare is required, patients tend to find that they see results faster if they continue to exercise. Workouts are not a requirement during recovery, but they can improve all-over fat loss. Not to mention, having an exercise routine will help you to prevent weight gain in the future so you can better maintain the results from this procedure.

Have Additional Treatments

Some patients choose to have additional treatments if they need them, focusing on certain areas on the body that may be larger or have more fat. Further reduction is possible with follow-up sessions.

A Healthy Lifestyle

In addition to exercise, our diet can also help us improve the effects of weight loss. Drinking plenty of water is believed to quickly help the body flush out toxins and waste. Patients will also need to watch what they eat and avoid processed or other unhealthy foods.

For more information on non-surgical fat reduction, contact Skin Care & Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills. Fill out a contact form online or call us at 310-246-0495 to set up an appointment if you’re interested in learning more.

The word “acid” might make certain treatments sound harsh, but when it comes to hyaluronic acid, the opposite is true. Hyaluronic acid (or HA) is commonly found in many skincare creams and serums, and is actually one of the best ingredients you can use to maintain healthy and radiant skin. The molecule occurs naturally throughout your body and provides a wide range of benefits, such as regulating skin hydration, supporting tissue regeneration, and helping wound-healing processes. It’s also considered to be one of the best moisturizing ingredients to use on your skin because of its ability to pull in moisture from the air or from the underlying layers and trap it in the top layers of skin to give the surface a supple and glowing appearance. In fact, hyaluronic acid can hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water. When used in dermal fillers and added beneath the skin in areas like the cheeks and lips, HA can provide noticeable volume and reduce the depth of wrinkles. Want to know more? Hyaluronic acid fillers at our Los Angeles-based practice have the following benefits:

They Volumize the Skin

When fillers are injected beneath the surface, they add volume to areas where collagen, fat, or moisture may be depleted. This can make a rapid improvement in the appearance of signs of aging such as nasolabial folds, gaunt cheeks, marionette lines, or thinning lips. The filler also helps to maintain firm and youthful-looking skin.

They Minimize Fine Lines and Wrinkles

Many of the wrinkles and lines on your face are static wrinkles, which become increasingly pronounced due to damage to the skin fibers or decreased production of collagen and elastin. HA fillers smooth out wrinkles that form around the nose, mouth, and cheeks by making the skin plumper.

They Can Be Reversed

If a patient isn’t completely happy with their results, hyaluronic acid fillers can be reversed with the injection an enzyme.

They Provide Long-Lasting Results

The effects from hyaluronic acid facial fillers typically last anywhere from six months to one year on average, with some formulations providing contouring benefits that last for two years.

Get more advice about the benefits of hyaluronic acid fillers from our team at Skin Care and Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills. Submit a contact form online or call us at 310-246-0495 to set up an appointment if you’re curious about aesthetic skin treatments.

When a new mark appears on your skin, it can sometimes be difficult to tell whether it’s a sunspot, freckle, birthmark—or something more serious, such as skin cancer. If you’re worried about a spot on your skin, the best thing to do is have it checked out by a board-certified dermatologist. There are certain characteristics that differentiate non-cancerous spots from cancerous ones. Solar lentigines (also called liver spots, sunspots, or age spots) are blemishes on the skin that are typically flat, small, oval-shaped, and darker than the surrounding skin tone. They are forms of skin discoloration that can be different shades of tan or brown and appear on sun-exposed areas. These lesions are caused when pigment cells in the skin become overactive due to exposure to UV radiation from the sun, which causes large amounts of pigment to clump together. Although they are harmless and won’t become cancerous, you can choose to have them removed if you don’t like the way they look. Intense pulsed light is what our Los Angeles-based team of dermatologists often recommends for reducing these hyperpigmented spots, but you can also try other remedies or a combination of different techniques.

At-Home Treatments

Patients can use over-the-counter products containing vitamins C and E to lighten unwanted pigmentation on the skin. There are also creams that are specifically designed to lighten hyperpigmentation, such as products containing hydroxy acid, glycolic acid, kojic acid, or deoxyarbutin.

Professional Treatments

Intense pulsed light (IPL) and certain types of laser resurfacing treatments make skin clearer by selectively targeting and heating the pigment that causes sunspots, freckles, or other types of irregular pigmentation without harming the rest of the skin. The skin then gradually gets rid of the unwanted pigment from the surface on its own. Microneedling can also decrease the visibility of sunspots by promoting collagen production.

Discover more about treatments for sunspots, including intense pulsed light, at our Los Angeles-based Skin Care and Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills. Submit a contact form online or call us at 310-246-0495 to request a consultation if you want to learn more about the benefits of minimally invasive aesthetic procedures.

Is your skin looking blotchy and uneven after spending too much time outside this summer? Unprotected exposure to sunlight accelerates premature aging by weakening fibers in the skin and causing excess pigment production. As collagen and elastin are two of the main building blocks of healthy, supple skin, it follows that if we can use aesthetic treatments to rebuild these two proteins, our overall skin quality will improve. One of the most effective techniques for reversing the damage caused by cumulative exposure to sunlight is laser skin resurfacing. Our Los Angeles-based Skin Care and Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills team of board-certified and fellowship-trained physicians recommends fractionated laser resurfacing with Fraxel^® DUAL laser for patients who want to reduce the appearance of signs of sun damage such as wrinkles, rough texture, hyperpigmentation, and actinic keratoses.

However, the process doesn’t end after you’ve been to our office for a laser treatment session. Patients still need about a week of a recovery time. The way patients care for their skin at home will have an impact on how quickly they heal and how satisfied they are with their results. Laser treated skin is very fragile and more susceptible to sun damage, inflammatory reactions, and infections. Follow these dermatologist-approved tips to avoid complications and optimize results from this procedure:

Less is More

Since skin is sensitive and could become easily irritated after having a laser treatment, patients should aim to keep their skincare routine as simple as possible. The goal is to soothe the skin, so you should avoid using harsh active ingredients and exfoliants.

Protect Your Skin

To shield their skin from UV rays as much as possible, patients can cover up with a hat and scarf as soon as they leave the office, as well as continue applying a physical sunscreen several times during the day even if they’re staying indoors. Ultraviolet radiation can come through windshields and windows alike.

Keep Skin Moisturized

You need to keep your skin hydrated, as moisture will be more prone to leak through the skin barrier after a treatment. Use a moisturizer that contains powerful ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, petrolatum, vitamin E, vitamin C, ceramides, or aloe to protect the barrier.

Learn more about how laser skin resurfacing from Skin Care and Laser Physicians of Beverly Hills team can reduce sun damage and restore smoother, clearer skin. Fill out a contact form or call us at 310-246-0495.