Love. Laughter. Loyalty. Lasers. These are my partners in this passion project, Lalaine and Lara (@dermnurselara). We have merged all our collective skills and efforts and buzzed our way to opening SKin Phi! It's been just over one month, and the support from our friends, family, and most importantly, our TRIBE has been like an embarrassment of riches. Gratitude for all of YOU.
Someone came in for her appointment last week and said "I'm overwhelmed with the beauty in this place." I was deeply touched by that comment, because all we ever intended to do was to have you feel that certain warmth and welcome. The way that we invite our beloveds to the table and feed them something handmade with LOVE.
Finding art in simple and everyday moments and movements, and sharing them with you is a JOY for us! Lalaine is a literal artist, her paintings have adorned walls at Laserderm and some patients have been lucky enough to get a commissioned piece from her. We are laser nerds at heart, and delight in the elegance of a new piece of technology that strikes perfect balance between laser physics genius and beautiful clinical outcomes. We want only the very best for you: searching for the BEST in safe and effective therapies, and creating the greatest value treatment programs for skin wellness. You should think after your treatment "Boy, that was WORTH it!" Some products we endorse are not even sold in our clinic, we just like to evangelize evidence based and winning products that we believe would improve the quality of your skin and life. These days I am so excited and genuinely impressed with Moxi Laser that I am mocked for being an Oprah... "You get a Moxi, and YOU get a Moxi...and YOU get a Moxi!" But seriously, that's how universally good it is for all ages, all skintypes, basically anyone who wants a brighter and more evenly toned complexion. Like a "pretty filter"!
I have complained a LOT lately about my melasma. Getting the Moxi laser was sort of a personal vendetta against melasma and how difficult it is to "win" the battle against these hyperpigmentation patches. It is constant vigilance and a change in lifestyle (zinc was a daily habit anyway, but more hats all the time and a fullface sunshield when SUPing became the new normal in the past couple years), but it wasn't until I tried the Moxi laser that I felt I was "winning" against my melasma. THIS is why I brought the Moxi to SKin Phi (and we are the first and only clinic in Ottawa to offer the Moxi laser treatment!)
Here's a bit about my personal melasma and Moxi journey...
I had already "failed" baby-Halo, Fraxel, and other therapies typically used to help fade melasma patches, which were somewhat effective for me in the past. But I couldn't fit in the downtime or wasn't willing to accept the risk of possible rebound pigment I usually faced with any laser procedure that produced a little too much heat or inflammation. I was trying to keep up with maintenance Q-Sw YAG laser toning treatments but it was not fading the melasma this time, just keeping it stable by not allowing it to worsen in the sun from outdoor activities. Not good enough! I wanted to get back to having skin that didn't need camouflage or concealer on a daily basis, I really only like wearing fullface foundation on special occasions.
BEFORE MOXI
I applied topical numbing cream, the same way I would have for a BBL or other light laser treatment. Painscale was around 3/10 for me, and it took about 20 mins from start to finish. I was already doing all the usual skincare: Retin-A 1-2 x/weekly, Vit C, rotated through a bunch of pigment suppressing potions (kojic acid, tranexamic acid, azelaic acid, lactic acid, niacinamide, and alpha-arbutin) and ALWAYS zinc based sunscreen.
(Titanium and zinc will NOT protect you enough from UVA, so if you have any degree of melasma you must use an all-zinc mineral, not a Ti/Zinc mineral mix. Check your ingredients list on the sunscreen)
AFTER 1 MOXI, 4 days post treatment
I was red for several hours after treatment but it was almost gone by the time I went to sleep that night. I had no swelling (but some patients do experience mild swelling depending on how much pigment is near the eyes, or higher energy levels used for patients with sun damage pigmentation, as opposed to melasma)
I wore tinted sunscreen and a bit of foundation to cover the darkening sand-paper bits; looked very "bronzed" underneath the makeup. The skin started sloughing for me on day 4 (having all the sandpapery bits literally pill off in a steamy shower on day 4-5 is SO gratifying you will do a happy dance).The neck and chest (and any body areas) will slough more slowly than the face, it is important to be patient and not "force" the exfoliation prematurely.
The remarkably short period of mild inflammation post treatment is the reason why Moxi is in class all it's own. And this post treatment shot taken in my bathroom right after a shower says it all!
The last "L" in this message is about our mentor, our honorary muse, Dr. Laughlin. She was a laser pioneer in the 80's and was part of an elite gang of avant-guard dermatologists, starting the sub-specialty of laser medicine and surgery in Canada. She didn't just teach us knowledge or skill, she was the kind of leader that stood shoulder to shoulder with her team, and showed us how to care for patients like they were her family. She is probably the only physician I know who spent more time saying "no" to patients when she believed something was not worth the risk or the cost, or was simply "not needed in this case". Not in YOUR best-interest. That's a laser super-hero if you ask me.
YOU are special, what is right for your friend or partner is not necessarily what you need, and just as important as your unique health history and individual anatomy, is how you feel. What concerns YOU? How much downtime can you have, how nervous are you to do something like this, what are your risk factors, and who can know about this treatment, how discrete do you need to be...? How much improvement do you want to see, this one is important. There is no on/off switch when it comes to aesthetic medicine, true art is knowing how to modulate it (how much, how high or low, how subtle or impactful, does this make the outside look as pretty and vibrant as the inside?) and customize it for each canvas.
It's what we mean when we say, Experience. Care. Trust.
Handmade with LOVE...your SKin Phi journey planned with you and for you.
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