I likely learned about structural proteins in high school, but (thankfully) I can now turn to an expert to find out why these matter as we age. Dr. Brothers, at Plastic Surgery Centre of Atlanta and Alchemy Aesthetics, helped explain why collagen and elastin are needed in tandem to preserve the health of your skin.
While collagen and elastin are both structural proteins, they bring different properties to the structure of tissues. Without collagen, skin would have minimal strength behind it and would be far too weak to withstand environmental stressors, even if it was highly flexible. Similarly, without elastin, the skin would lack elasticity and the ability to return to its previous shape, resulting in skin that sags and is easily damaged.
We caught up with Kitt Sawyer, Medical Aesthetician and Laser Practitioner at Alchemy Aesthetics, to find out more.
Of all the treatments available for rejuvenating the skin, one that continually earns patients’ praise is radiofrequency (RF) microneedling to produce new collagen and elastin and improve the skin’s overall tone, texture, and firmness. Your practice uses the Sylfirm X device for RF microneedling treatments. What are the top three things readers need to know about the Sylfirm X and RF microneedling?
1. Minimal downtime and discomfort. Our clients experience at most one day of redness!
2. The Dualwaved technology allows all skin types to experience results. The Continuous and pulse wave Radiofrequency allows deeper penetration targeting skin conditions such as pigmentation, wrinkles, and vascularity.
3. Microneedling can increase collagen production by 200%- 400% after a series.
For people who are nervous about needles and chemicals, what can you tell them?
There is nothing to be nervous about! We always numb the patient for 30 minutes prior to treatment and rarely hear complaints of pain from the needles. This device's tip has 24 Gold plated needles and most clients say it just feels like one. It's our most tolerated procedure as far as comfortability is concerned. No need to worry about chemicals here since there are none involved in this treatment.
This treats stubborn discoloration, vascular lesions, rosacea, and melasma. What is the recovery time and when are results visible?
Recovery time for this procedure is very quick. You can expect almost no downtime. Most patients leave with redness in the treated area but that goes away within 5-10 hrs. We recommend three treatments exactly four weeks apart to see the best results. Some results are seen after just one treatment, but most of my clients start seeing the results after the 2nd treatment.
It is also the world’s first FDA-approved pulsed and continuous wave RF microneedling device, meaning it can be used on different skin types to deliver multiple benefits. What benefits for men?
Most men are looking for the same results as women. Reduction of fine lines, wrinkles, and overall even skin texture. This treatment helps to tighten the skin which loses laxity in men's and women's skin.
There are two different modes used in the treatment, too: the pulsed wave mode creates selective coagulation to help regulate overactive melanocytes, strengthens the basement membrane to improve interactions between the epidermis and dermis, and eliminates abnormal blood vessels and senescent fibroblasts. The continuous wave mode helps stimulate collagen consult to bring about wound healing and dermal remodeling to rejuvenate, lift, and firm the skin. How long does the treatment take and are there follow-ups?
Treatment time length will depend on the area that we are treating at the time. Most treatments are over in an hour but adding areas extends the timeframe. Our most popular areas are the face and neck, which takes about 50 minutes to complete. Treatment time is only about 25 minutes.
Recovery time for this procedure is very quick. You can expect almost no downtime.