Acqua Blu Medical Spa and Skin Care Center Blog

Generations of men and women are finally coming to terms with the summers they have spent enjoying the outdoors and sunshine without proper skin protection and skin care. Pittsburgh is home to many folks that did not know warnings about skin cancer and sun damage even existed when they were younger and advances in medical science have completely changed the way they spend their time outdoors. But for many, old habits die hard. Once a sun worshipper, always a sun worshipper.

Thankfully, many of these men and women are dealing with a lot of the adverse effects of sun damage and the way it speeds up the aging process within our skin care. Pittsburgh residents often visit doctors for elective cosmetic procedures to help them look younger. Frequent visits to the doctor encourage evaluation of sun-exposed areas for common types of skin cancer. Early detection and treatment is one of the best treatments for skin cancer and advanced recognition is helping to delay the development of metastatic cancer or prevent it completely.

And yet, the U. S. Preventive Services Task Force still does not support whole body skin cancer screening in susceptible individuals. In turn, insurers do not often cover this type of screening because of the group’s recommendation that it may lead to more episodes of incorrect diagnoses and increase risks of side effects from biopsies or treatment.

In the end, only you know how much time you spend in the sun unprotected and should have every mole or suspicious skin lesion evaluated on a regular basis. Talk to your primary care physician about a referral to a dermatologist if you are at all concerned about skin cancer. And remember to wear sunscreen!

For most of us, the aging process can be unkind. This is particularly true for those individuals that engage in any number of activities or lifestyles that can expedite the aging process. Did you know that running was one of those activities; despite the fact that it is incredibly good for your cardiovascular health and a good way to stay in shape. Whether you are a long time runner yourself or you know someone who has been running for a while, you have probably begun to notice the wear and tear that running can cause on your body, including progressive aging due to excessive fat-burning. As a result, some runners are turning to plastic surgery in an effort to diminish the effects of running.

Whether you realize it or not, we all need a certain amount of fat on our bodies in order to maintain our health as well as a youthful appearance. While running will eliminate excessive fat in the body, it will also leave your skin looking weathered and inelastic (no bounce back when your skin is pinched) especially if you have been running for many years. Plastic surgery, specifically cosmetic procedures like Restylane and Juvederm, can restore a healthy and youthful appearance that is often lost in lifelong runners whose faces have become gaunt with sunken eyes and boney cheeks. In doing so, hyaluronic acid, which is a natural substance the body produces that gives your skin its volume, is injected into the desired area of the face; thus restoring a youthful appearance. Besides, who says you have to sacrifice your looks for your health; you can have both.

While it is often reported that women don’t age as gracefully as their male counterparts, men can still use help in the area of skin care. Pittsburgh is home to some severe weather that can wreak havoc on skin and cause it to look older, more quickly. Both men and women can benefit from a line of products designed to protect skin from weather damage and help it recuperate from damage. As we age, collagen naturally breaks down and is replaced less often. This promotes the creation of fine lines and wrinkles in common areas such as around eyes and mouths.

When it comes to skin care, Pittsburgh is also home to several dermatology clinics that can provide advanced techniques and technologies to help turn back the hands of time. Men should not feel vain or embarrassed to seek help with skin care. Pittsburgh is similar to many other places in the country that have severe weather. Other states often deal with more sun damage, but wind and snow in the winter can be equally traumatic to skin as you get older. For many men this means their skin loses the youthful glow much earlier. If you are looking for skin care in Pittsburgh, contact a clinic for a consultation appointment today. Many dermatologists in the city are able to help you develop a plan for skin care. Pittsburgh men can age gracefully!

If you’re looking for better skin care, Pittsburgh professionals can provide several options to meet your needs. Each of them is appropriate under different circumstances, depending on your particular problem or issue. By nipping problems in the bud before they grow worse, you can ensure that your skin stays young and healthy looking long past your natural limits.

Botox
A discussion of skin care wouldn’t be complete without mentioning one of the most popular procedures being done in America today: Botox. Pittsburgh men and women both use Botox to gain a youthful look. Under the right guiding hand, Botox can remove or reduce fine lines and wrinkles for months at a time. By coming back for regular treatments, these injections can often serve as a viable alternative to invasive plastic surgery.

Microdermabrasion
Microdermabrasion is a technique used to remove the very top layer of the skin, revealing the healthy, glowing layer underneath. It is minimally invasive and recovery rarely lasts longer than a day or two. Many patients have found all the results they need from this remarkable procedure. If you are wanting that rejuvenated skin in Pittsburgh, microdermabrasion might be your answer.

Laser Hair Removal
Looking for the smooth, silky legs in Pittsburgh? Laser hair removal is your solution. Tired of shaving and dealing with those pesky razor burns and bumps that decorate your legs? You’re not alone, which is why laser treatments have become so popular in recent years. Lasers aren’t just used for removing hair, though. Vein removal is often performed to take care of spider veins and broken capillaries, while Thermage and other ST lasers are used extensively to tighten skin that has started to sag.

Restylane
Products using hyaluronic acid—a substance created naturally by the body in limited amounts—have grown in popularity as people look for solutions to the reduction of skin volume and fullness. These dermal fillers can improve the appearance of wrinkles, sunken cheeks, and thin lips. By improving your face with Restylane, Pittsburgh women can begin to enhance their look.

The double punch of going to a day spa and getting laser skin care can boost the health of your skin. Seek out these options to ensure you have healthy skin.

Skin care is not something to think twice about. Each person needs to consider his or her current condition and then take steps to ensure skin has all the protection it needs to look younger and stay healthier longer. There are a number of options available to you to achieve that young, vibrant looking look you want. A day spa in Pittsburgh can help, as can the right laser skin care treatment.

How a Day Spa Heals Your Skin

A day spa can be the perfect place to rejuvenate your skin. Consider getting a complexion analysis to find out what conditions are affecting your skin right now. Then, the right overall treatment solution is put into place. That could be a facial or a rose coral facial designed for sensitive skin. A hydrating facial is another good option to improve your skin’s color, texture and youthful look.

Laser Skin Treatment

In some cases, you need treatments that are more advanced, like laser skin. Pittsburgh patients can use this to boost the look of their skin. Use it to treat acne scaring, fine lines and wrinkles, remove moles and even remove unwanted skin lesions. Beyond a doubt, laser skin care treatments can solve a variety of skin problems.
Breathe life back into your skin starting with a day spa visit. Try to do this at least one time every few weeks. Then, treat any area that poses a specific risk using laser skin care. These two things together can help create the beautiful skin you want and are craving.

removal is the best way to go about it.There are a number of benefits to getting laser hair removal at a medical spa in Pittsburgh, particularly with summer upon us. No one wants to go back for wax after wax, and it’s best not even to think about the fatigue and irritation that can set in while trying to get every square inch of follicle growth with a razor. You’ll want to be free of unwanted hair heading into the bikini season and Pittsburgh laser hair

The benefits to seeing a good medical spa in Pittsburgh cannot be overstated. For one thing, it is the only medical treatment that can ensure the permanent removal of unwanted hair growth. Permanent! That means that once the treatment sessions are done, you won’t have to worry about it again. You can throw out your razors and say goodbye to painful waxing sessions. Best of all, you can wear that skimpy bikini without wondering if you are at your smoothest.

One of the best benefits to getting Pittsburgh laser hair removal is that there is no downtime required. The procedure is non-invasive and non-surgical. That means recovery time is insignificant and won’t stop you from going about your daily activities. No work loss means you don’t have to jump through hoops to schedule an appointment. If you’ve dreamed of the day you can live your life without unwanted hair, Pittsburgh laser hair removal could be the answer you’ve been looking for.

Spring is slipping away and summer is racing upon us. Many of us have spent dreary hours indoors and are unprepared to bare skin on the beach. If you are looking for a way to get relaxed and ready for the summer, you may be looking for a medical spa. Pittsburgh men and women are visiting Acqua Blu Medical Spa and Plastic Surgery Center for all of their aesthetic, surgical, or minimally-invasive elective cosmetic procedures.

One of the most popular elective cosmetic procedures chosen by men and women that like to spend a lot of time in the sun is botox. Pittsburgh may not get as much sun as other places in the country, but it can wreak similar havoc on facial lines. Acqua Blu botox treatments can help you look younger and feel more refreshed.

Perhaps one of the most important procedures that you can have done to get truly ready for your beach-best summer body is Pittsburgh laser hair removal. Virtually painless and relatively permanent, laser hair removal leaves your skin looking silky smooth and ready to absorb a summer’s worth of rays in a deep dark tan.

Acqua Blu Medical Spa offers a number of facial and body treatments as well as Visia Digital Complexion Analysis, radiance pearl therapy, waxing, tinting, microdermabrasion, permanent makeup, dermaplanning, laser and light treatments, Botox, Dysport, lipolysis, and more. Each of these treatments can help supplement your natural beauty and get you ready to show almost every inch of your body in that new bikini.

When it comes to skin care in Pittsburgh, options available to today’s patients are more varied than they have ever been before. From Botox to laser hair removal and hyaluronic acid products, cosmetic medicine offers options to fit most needs and budgets. Achieving beautiful skin can be just a phone call away.

One reason people seek cosmetic treatment is to deal with unwanted hair. Laser hair removal offers a nearly permanent solution to unwanted hair on just about any area of the body. Acqua Blu Medical Spa treats the legs, face, and back on a regular basis.

But lasers are not just used to treat unwanted hair. ST laser technology can renew the contours of the face and tighten baggy skin without surgery, making patients look more youthful. They can also remove or diminish the look of broken capillaries, spider veins, and lesions on the skin.

Wrinkles and fine lines can make a patient look years older than he or she really is. Botox/Dysport and other dermal fillers offer a long-lasting solution to deal with these problems, without the invasiveness and risks of a face lift of other cosmetic surgery. Injections of fillers, like Botox/Dysport, have less of a risk than surgery as well.

Acne scars, large pores, and very fine lines will not respond to injectable fillers. For these types of problems, microdermabrasion is one option for skin care in Pittsburgh. Acqua Blu Medical Spa offers several chemical peel options that can even out the appearance of the skin, leaving it younger looking and less damaged.

If you are considering a professional medical option for skin care in Pittsburgh, give us a call. We are ready to help you realize your dream of healthy, younger looking skin.

Tattoo removal in Pittsburgh can be accomplished at Acqua Blu Medical Spa.  Body art has been all the rage in some circles but sometimes individuals have ink on their bodies that doesn’t suit them anymore.  As people go through various life stages, certain symbols and adornments that were perfect for one era might not work for their current lifestyle. Examples are words, names or images reminiscent of a past love or obsession. Someone in awe of a specific rock band might tattoo flaming guitars or skulls on their shoulder. While this might be cool and attractive when a person is in his or her twenties, a decade later this look might not work for job interviews or PTA meetings. If a woman tattoos “John” on her arm but ends up marrying “Harold,” she will likely want to get the inked name removed. Luckily, there are effective methods for erasure.

At Acqua Blue Medical Spa, a MedLite c6 laser has been found to be a highly effective removal device. The MedLite laser has surpassed other processes and is now considered as the “gold standard.” In the medical world, “gold standard” labels refer to highly respected and top-of-the-line procedures. This tool is able to address a multitude of colored inks such as blue, green, browns and blacks. The laser disintegrates the lines within the image without injuring the skin and underlying tissue.

After lasering, a patient will need to take precautions during the healing process. Applying antibacterial topical ointments and giving the site TLC as far as not touching or scratching will allow the area to heal more quickly.

Acqua Blu Medical Spa and Plastic Surgery offers Pittsburgh laser hair removal to their patients. Many individuals have an excess of body hair on specific body regions. This excess can be eliminated with this technique. Common areas to have Pittsburgh laser hair removal performed include the face, back, legs, underarms, and bikini line. No more shaving, waxing or embarrassing hairiness after a series of treatments by Acqua Blu physician assistants and laser specialists.

The way that this treatment works is with a beam of intense light which is pressed against skin where hair removal is desired. The light only needs to be placed against the skin for a moment for the process to take place. This beam of energy causes the follicles to be destroyed. A follicle is where hair growth originates and without it, the region will become hairless and smooth. Because growth occurs in cycles, it will take approximately four to six months of treatments before a near permanent and complete removal will be achieved.

Patients must be careful to protect the treated area from the sun. A broad-spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreen of SPF 30 is required during the course of treatments and thereafter. Results and time frame will vary somewhat depending on a person’s complexion, hair texture and re-growth patterns. Following each Pittsburgh laser hair removal appointment, the patient will may experience mild redness, some swelling and a bit of discomfort in the region, but these side effects are temporary and last a few hours following treatment.