FOCUS SKIN DEEP If the eyes are “the windows to the soul” then surely the skin is the front garden. THERE WAS A TIME, NOT TOO LONG AGO, WHEN BEAUTY WAS a fairly generic, narrow concept. All we saw staring back at us from billboards and magazine covers were tall, big-busted women with long blond hair, big blue eyes, and a huge perfect smile. Thankfully, over the past few decades, our ideas on beauty have expanded: there is no one ‘look’ that defines beauty. The women touted as ‘the most beautiful in the world’ now come in all shapes and sizes. Some are pale, some dark; some have long, angular features, others are more cherubic. And while the structure of beauty seems to be expanding and ever-changing, there is still one element that remains unchanged, one common feature that all beautiful women, regardless of age, share: fresh, radiant, glowing skin. There is a certain amount of mystery surrounding the impact our skin has on our overall look. Unless there is an obvious skin condition, it is rare that we consciously notice a person’s skin, yet it is our skin that determines how our face is perceived. If our skin is dull, wrinkled or blemished, we look tired and older than our years – no matter how striking our facial features may be. Renowned Gold Coast Plastic Surgeon Dr Terrence Scamp, of <strong>Esteem</strong> Beauty and <strong>Day</strong> <strong>Spa</strong>, understands the vital role our skin plays, and is pioneering the use of Portrait Plasma Skin Regeneration here on the Gold Coast, with remarkable results. “The Portrait device resembles a laser in many ways, but in fact is not a laser but a plasma device. It uses ionised gas to resurface the skin, reducing facial wrinkles, removing or reducing sun spots, benign skin lesions, acne scarring and pigmentation, and repairing sun damaged skin.” In simple terms, the Portrait system is a ‘one-step’ procedure that removes the top layer of skin and induces tightening and rejuvenation in the lower layers, in one procedure. Unlike Laser Resurfacing, the top layer of the skin is not immediately removed. The top layer of skin remains intact for about 4-6 days, then lifts or peels off (similar to a bad sunburn). By the time this lifting or peeling occurs, the new skin below has healed and - after a short period of redness - appears fresh, radiant “The great thing is, people don’t notice that you have had a skin treatment, they just notice how great you look.” and glowing. So in effect, your own top layer of skin is acting as a natural dressing while the lower layers heal. Not only does the procedure produce fantastic aesthetic results, the Portrait is less painful and does not carry the same risks associated with Laser Resurfacing. On top of this, there is only a week or 10 days down time. The effectiveness and high safety level of the Portrait treatment have been well documented (the procedure is FDA approved), and the results are truly spectacular. When Karen Look underwent the treatment late last year, she had no idea the results would be so dramatic. “I had had some surgical procedures done, and Dr Scamp advised me that the Portrait treatment would be the ‘icing on the cake’ because although he had changed the structure of my face, I still had ‘old skin’,” Karen says. “I didn’t find the procedure painful. Dr Scamp used a combination of local anaesthetic creams and nerve blocks before the procedure – no general anaesthesia. It took about four days for my skin to ‘peel’. The peeling isn’t painful at all but it isn’t pretty. There are a few days where, I’ll be honest, you look like you have had a really bad sunburn, but then, as the skin peels off and the new skin underneath is revealed, it is all worth it. “I couldn’t believe the difference it made, and neither could anyone else. And the great thing is, people don’t notice that you have had a skin treatment, they just notice how great you look. I can’t tell you the number of people who commented on how fresh and glowing my skin looked. Everyone asked if I had been on holidays. “Now, I truly wake up glowing. Even without makeup my skin looks incredible. Most of my wrinkles are gone, and my skin always looks clean and soft.” Looking at Karen’s before and after photos, it is easy to see why so many women are turning to Dr Scamp for the Portrait treatment. If you would like to discuss this or any of the other procedures available at <strong>Esteem</strong> Beauty and <strong>Day</strong> <strong>Spa</strong>, call 5539 1000. COAST 64
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