This new IPL incorporates hi-tech dual lamps technology with each lamp supplying 50 % of the power necessary during procedure. It brings about fantastic lamp life-times and infinite pulses during manufacturer’s warranty.

Its broad spectrum of wavelengths make it possible for targeted treatments for a lot of complexion factors without having the requirement for supplemental handpieces. A Finesse adapters help treatments for hard to reach areas, delivering evenly treated treatment areas. Using advanced attributes, superior effects, and no consumables, Sciton BBLs could be the thorough and versatile broadband light device you can get.

Listed here are simply a handful of the IPL and cosmetic laser treatments available at any dermatologists office with this fantastic new Sciton solution.

Laser Skin Resurfacing Applications

A laser beam will be sent via the device which instantly reads the region being treated. Doctors can easily control any ablation as well as coagulation for either light and serious treatments. As we age, the issues connected with sun damage and environmental toxins take a toll on your skin, causing it to crease, acquire sun spots and appear worn out. A new Sciton complexion fractional laser resurfacing treatment will often reverse these issues and even rebuild a normal feel to the skin. That there are two approaches to skin and total resurfacing: full field, and fractionated. During complete area resurfacing, the whole expanse of the epidermis is treated. The laser beam is simply scanned through the procedure region and thus removes the top part of dermis. You will exchange the previous, harmed dermis which was removed, with a new, healthy stratum. Procedures can range from short (that can be appropriate for reducing lines, age freckles together with the tired old skin) to strong, (that is frequently useful to improve epidermis tone and texture as well as remove deep wrinkles, in complicated regions such as lip as well as squinting lines). With Fraxel resurfacing, the laser creates sequential columns of the epidermis, leaving the encircling flesh intact. This specific system permits this fractional laser to pierce very deep to get effectual collagen remodeling while the immediate intact flesh encourages fast healing.

Sciton IPL Phototherapies

Your new BBL’s Broadband products works by using the effectiveness of ipl to offer superb results. By simply selecting the perfect wavelength and filter, your Doc from a medical center will take care of any wide range of epidermis conditions due to epidermis aging as well as sunlight publicity. All the light energy delivered with the BBL heats up the higher levels in the dermis. The heat soaked up through the treated spots energizes the dermis to build completely new collagen. This technique helps get back your facial skin to its healthy point. Additionally, this skin tightening power targets and minimizes many of the tiny blood vessels that bring about redness plus the unwanted melanin to blame for brown skin lesions.

Spots, Melanin & Pigment Solutions

Any energy used on the skin through the BBL will be soaked up by melanin accountable for pigmented lesions in the upper levels of the epidermis. Across the next 3 days any pigmented skin lesions can get darker and then slide off. Micro Laser Peels operates differently. It becomes an intra-epidermal peel which just cleans away the outermost layers of the dermis. Spots can be taken off with full-face or spot-treat shallow resurfacing. Any treatment lets subjects to experience swift recovery with softer, more healthy, more radiant skin, and also an immediate change in skin texture and tightening.

Permanent IPL & Laser Hair Reduction

Laser or light energy is selectively absorbed with the darker pigment throughout hair roots and transformed into heat, damaging stem cells in the bulb and bulge. Successful hair reduction can only be reached during the growth phase. Permanent reduction is recognized as permanent whenever a sizable amount of hair does not come back for a period of time longer than the entire growing cycle. After a series of procedures, nearly all hair is permanently removed. Even so, if hair does grow back will probably be smaller and lighter than before.

Around the world, clients treated with Sciton BBL and aesthetic laser treatments are unquestionably ecstatic with their medical benefits and are not afraid to let you know.

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Sciton BBL Cutting Edge Medical Spa Intense Pulsed Light & Laser Skin Treatments

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I see that Medical Spa MD used the ability to sit down with Deguara, a Sciton BBLs product manager today and hear about a Sciton BBL!

Sciton is genuinely pleased with the BBL and they are not afraid to discuss their newest IPL and laser technologies. “Sciton’s newest IPL comes with a number of incredibly striking elements that you will not notice in the BBL’s rivals” says Deguara. “Our clients get pleasure from the basic fact that you can use an unlimited amount of pulses when your Scition is within your warranty. Many Intense pulsed light (IPL) bulbs include a control. At the time you reach the control, it can be standard to switch your hand piece 3-4 times each year with a fee of up to $7,000 for each one. You will never ever encounter this premium with BBL.”

I asked Cheryl just what exactly she wishes our members to realize regarding their product. “Sciton’s BBLs has got 2 lights rather than the a single ordinary bulb found in different Intense pulsed light (IPL) models. It not just indicates a greater life time yet additionally extends lamp degradation found after brief periods with several other competitive IPLs. In that respect there are no Intense pulsed light (IPL) that you can buy which is normally as sturdy, effective and useful as the BBL.”

Some Other Fantastic Attributes You Can Get With The Sciton BBL

Similar Intense pulsed light (IPL) systems demand all sorts of different hand pieces to switch between wavelengths or spot size. BBLs employs a single hand piece yet still includes fantastic adaptability and convenience:

Rapidly compatible filter allow transitioning the light frequency within a matter of secs. Individuals won’t be waiting and doctors cut back on time without having to power off the IPL to change filters.

New magnetic size adapters help make adjusting the spot size easy and convenient. There is no need to invest in a distinct hand piece just to modify the sizing and treat varying regions. A massive 15X 45 millimeter size is easily converted to 7 millimeter , 11 millimeter circular or 15 mm square almost instantly.

Sciton’s BBLs might be the only product where you may influence the dermis through 0 – 30 degrees centigrade. This allows for better handled treatments through boosting basic safety while capitalizing on medical outcomes.

For everybody who is fascinated with figuring out exactly what cosmetic dermatologists and various physicians running medical spas think of the new IPL and cosmetic laser reviews of Syneron, Sciton, Alma, Cutera, Solta, Palomar, Candela, Cynosure, Lumenis and others, or procedures such as Thermage skin tightening, Smartlipo, Restylane, mesotherapy and laser treatments, be sure you see the cosmetic laser skin reviews forums of Medical Day spa MD, a network of physicians inside aesthetic medicine.

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Laser Clinic MD: Sciton BBLs

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If you are new to “link building”, it really isn’t as hard as it seems.

Basically, link building is just a link from another website back to your own medical spa or laser clinic. The more back links your site has, the higher it will rank on the major search engines.

Link building can be very time consuming, but the FrontDesk SEO tool can really help you go out there and find the sites you should be listed on. This saves you a tremendous amount of time.

Because you will be resubmitting the same text over and over again, make yourself a document that you can keep all of your submission text on. This should include your Page Title, your website’s URL address, a brief description of your practice, and important keywords. Website submissions also ask for a name of the submitter and email address. I would suggest setting up a email address with Google or Yahoo, one that you only use for submissions, this way your personal email won’t become inundated with confirmation and/or spam emails as a result of your submissions.

View: 5 minute video introduction to linkbuilding and SEO

There are several types of link building methods you can do. Some are just basic data submissions, and some are blog and article submissions. I will describe the differences amongst the major link building methods:

Article Submission

There are directories on the web designed just for submitting articles and some for writing blogs. When you submit something you wrote about your practice or even a particular therapy you offer, you can attach hyperlinks to keywords in your article that direct the reader back to your website. Some quality sites are Squidoo, Hubpages, Blogger, and Wordpress.com. Let me show you how this works with just one line taken from a blog I wrote on my own blogpost:

“It’s your body and you do have to be careful of who you choose to perform your laser lipo procedure. While no physician can have a 100% satisfaction rate, don’t be afraid to ask questions about how long a physician has been performing these procedures, who they trained with, how many procedures do they perform a month, and also if they have any satisfied patients you can chat with. Also, it’s important to ask to see a before and after photo book with their patients, and not someone else’s.”

By choosing a keyword you think your reader would be interested in, you can immediately direct them right to that page on your website with the hyperlinks.

Google considers a “Yahoo Directory” link as a quality back link. Unfortunately, they charge an annual fee of $300. It may be worth submitting to; however, there is no guarantee from Yahoo Directory that your site will be accepted.

Directory Submission

DMOZ is a directory worth submitting your site to. DMOZ is an Open Directory Project (ODP) mainly known as DMOZ which stands for “directory.mozilla.org” and is owned by Netscape. While DMOZ can substantially increase your SEO ranking, it’s tough to receive their approval and the entire process could take months. If you are fortunate enough to receive their approval, many smaller directories use the DMOZ directory categories so if you can become listed with DMOZ this would mean you would also become listed on many other web directories as well.
There are other major directories you can submit to such as the BOTW (Best Of The Web) directory ($99/year or $299/permanent).

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking is changing in it’s effectiveness all the time. In social bookmarking websites, users save links publicly (not personally on their own computers) to web pages that they want to store and/or share with others. Usually, these bookmarks are shared within an individual “group” someone may subscribe to (such as “Laser Hair Removal”). You can add descriptions to your bookmarks in the form of metadata, or meta tags, so that other users can understand what the content is of your bookmark without having to download it beforehand. Different types of “descriptions” can include comments or even reader’s votes (favorable or not – like on YouTube or Digg). Again, FrontDesk SEO makes this process relatively easy.

Blog Commenting

MedicalSpaMD is a blog and, like most blogs, it is highly susceptible to spammers like we have all seen and Jeff so diligently tries to eliminate on a daily basis as it can be a true nuisance for people like us who use this site as a valuable tool for your practices.

If you want to find blogs to participate in and comment on, try to find quality blogs that are related to what you do as a profession. Again, FrontDesk SEO can help with this. And when you add your comments, try to make them content-relative because not only do your comments add value to the blogpost in general, they also have greater chance of staying on the blogpost with a link back to your website.

Press Releases

Press Releases have worked well for me, and I’m not too proud to say that I didn’t write the ones that really worked. There are a lot of good and bad example press releases out there and I am no exception. Writing a quality press release is an art and, frankly, I don’t have the talent for them and pay someone else to do it. Let me give you an example of my own good and bad press release experiences.

While this press release still continues to give my website hits, all it is is words: Paula’s Bad Example

Now look at the one I paid Fran Acunzo from Acara Partners to do for us. It includes a photo, links and even video: Paula’s Good Example

If writing a good press release including videos and back links is not your forte, then it’s worth it to farm it out. Just writing a good press release is half the battle. Submitting it to the right press release agencies that will index it effectively for you is the other half.

Social Media Sites

Social Media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube work very well by providing quality and relevant back links to your site that all the major search engines love.

So, this is back linking in a nutshell and we can really go deeper into the categories, but I fear you will become bored or even glassy-eyed if you’re not a geek like me. So if you don’t have someone out there performing these activities for you and you really are serious about your web presence, you really might want to take a look at FrontDesk SEO and see what it can do for you. Just remember, building links doesn’t increase your website’s internet presence overnight. It does take some time, like my good friend Jeff keeps reminding me! In a world of available “instant results”, it’s hard to be patient sometimes!

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Laser Clinic SEO Software

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laser clinic, ALC, American Laser Clinic

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The rejuvenating effects of oxygen can also be put to use as a form of skin rejuvenation, designed to help make skin more radiant and to reduce fine lines and wrinkles.

How It Works

Therapeutic oxygen has long been used to aid in healing and to prevent infection after surgery or a wound. In traditional oxygen therapy for medical conditions, patients are placed inside an oxygen chamber in which they breathe concentrated oxygen to help stimulate their body to heal.

When oxygen is used as a skin-rejuvenating tool, this same therapeutic oxygen is used. However, as a cosmetic procedure, the concentrated therapeutic oxygen is applied to the face using hyperbaric pressure. Often, other supplements are also added to the oxygen infusion in the form of a binding agent called hyaluronic acid. These supplements include vitamin C or amino acid complexes, which also serve to improve the appearance of the skin.

Application

Doctors administering oxygen therapy typically use on oxygen infuser that releases this concentrated oxygen. The infuser is held at a 90-degree angle approximately 1 millimeter from the skin’s surface and oxygen is applied to the face.

When the infuser is held at the appropriate angle, a pressure bubble forms, causing more oxygen to enter into the epidermis of the skin. This outer epidermal layer is stimulated by the increased presence of oxygen. Collagen formation is also encouraged by the presence of the oxygen and other compounds. The overall result is healthier skin that is plumper, smoother and fresher looking.

Results

Many patients report an instant improvement in the appearance of their skin. Results improve with repeated applications. Most doctors recommend a series of six treatments in order to achieve maximum benefit.

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Laser Clinic MD: The air we breathe

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From Health magazine

Watch for these red-flag phrases that suggest your “skin-care specialist” is subpar, says San Francisco ophthalmologist Krista Ramonas, MD, who has treated medical and aesthetic patients for six years.

“You’ll look 20 years younger.”
Beware the cosmetic doctor who overpromises, Ramonas says. Instead of flattering you, he should be discussing what you can reasonably expect from the procedure and addressing possible side effects.

“I’m an artist.”
The prima donna who tosses this phrase around may value her vision over standard operating procedures. “There is a little bit of art to it,” Ramonas points out, “but there’s a lot more science. We have certain parameters we all have to follow.”

“I’m so good, I’ve never seen complications.”
That may be code for “not very experienced,” Ramonas says. “Medicine is always about being prepared for complications.” You need a doctor who can handle the unexpected.

Of these, the greatest is the ‘Artist’.

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How to Tell if Your Doctor Knows Jack.

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Medical Spas a new resort for day spas.

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Restylane, Juverderm and filler injections tips for physicians running medical spas and laser clinics.

The following is from a string of emails that were circulating among some of Medical Spa MDs Members. I’ve edited this somewhat to make it readable and get rid of all the extraneous copies. I’m also not displaying the identity or email addresses of the physicians in this thread.

Note: Some of the comments below might be out of order from the original thread. Emails’ somewhat difficult to follow as a thread but you’ll get the gist.

Filler Injection Discussion & Tips: Restylane | Juevederm | Evolence

1.  When I use the “push ahead” technique, I feel that I get better “plumping” per cc of filler.  I learned this from Kevin (thanks Kevin).

2.  When I use the “push ahead” technique, the filler fills a few millimeters in front of the needle tip.  You need to realize this to be able to put the material exactly where you want it.  Sometimes you have to “feel” the injection because you can’t “see” the plumping.

3.  I mix 0.1 cc of lidocaine with epinephrine with my Juvederm.  This helps with bruising (epinephrine) and when the lidocaine goes away and the Juvederm attracts water, the two effects cancel each other and there is not as much enhancement after the injection due to the hydrophilic nature of the Juvederm.

4.  I use Juvederm Ultra under the eye and above the lip.  I use Juvederm UltraPlus everywhere else.

5.  I constantly complain to my Juvederm Rep about the 0.8 cc syringes.  I use lots of Radiesse because you get almost twice as much material for the same price.  Volume, volume, volume.  Please complain to your rep, maybe we can get them to change. 

6.  I hear the Evolence is very good.  We will be getting trained and start using it next month.

Thanks for the filler tips.Can you explain how you get the Lido with epi mixed into the Juvederm syringe? –PD

Fluid Dispensing Connector from Braun Medical Inc (you can get from PSS)

BD 1 ml Luer-Lok Syringe

This syringe allows you to get very precise amount of lidocaine (swish back and forth 20 times).

I use this syringe to put exaclty 1 cc of saline in my Botox Bottle. When I reconstitute the Botox (this gives it full strength per unit). The chances of intravascular injection might be lower with push ahead because the material will push the vessels out of the way as you advance –  Jeff

Hi Jeff,–I agree w/ #6.  I seem to get good augmentation, less redness, swelling and bruising with Evolence.  I use it for deeper fills in cheeks, NLF, etc.  Don’t use it for lips or under eyes.  I do same with Lido w/ epi.  I tend to use Juvederm in lips.  Perlane / Restylane for other areas.  I agree w/ why Allergan uses 0.8 cc syringes. I’ve moved away from Radiesse.  I feel that the duration is not that much longer than a good correction with the HA’s.  Besides, I believe a fair amount of the volume of Radiesse is a gel carrier, thus needing touch-ups at 2-3 months.  Perhaps that’s why the went to the larger syringes? — Don

The push ahead technique also moves small blood vessels out of the way, so you may notice less ecchymosis is overall pts. — Greg

Jeff: –”Push ahead” has a higher risk of vessel cannulation & potential for vascular effects – skin necrosis in glabella, even potential for retro-grade flow to eye (causing visual loss).  I wouldn’t recommend that technique for the periorbital area.

Restylane is recommended for the tear troughs;  it’s less hydrophilic than juvederm – which means less post-treatment swelling.–Tom  –  [note from Jeff:  Tom is a plastic surgeon]

I would not use push ahead around the eye, I agree with Tom’s comments. It works great for NLF. I was actually taught this by a PS — Greg

Thanks Jeff for your kind comments. However I must make a few points in regards to fillers:

1) There are some areas that one has to still do the retrograde injection either b/c the purpose was to make a straight line (eyebrow lift and vermillion border and the bow-tie (the vertical lines connecting the base of nose and the upper lip border) AND when injecting the most inner 1/3 of the tear-trough to avoid risk of filler getting into the orbital space due to its close proximity to the orbital rim.

2) On the glabellar injection, it is best to first push and pull the needle thru the space underneath to break up the tissue before actually injecting the filler both in an anterograde and retrograde pattern

3) I ONLY use the 1/2 inch needles in all my injections

4) One can inject even Radiesse and/or Perlane via an 1/2 inch 30 gage needle. Why is this noteworthy to mention?? When I work on the lips and Marrionette’s lines, I ususally first build the Vermillion border with Radiesse or Perlane (I get the best “lifting outcome” with heavier filler). I push the 1/2inch needle all the way forward then slowly and steadily inject while withdrawing (retrograde method). Then I re-evaluate how much of a correction I already get of the Marrionette’ line and lifting up of the lip body. My next step is to inject into the most lateral lip section (about 1 cm distance) starting at the corner (using Perlane or Restylane or Juverderm). This time I inject slowly as I push forward (anterograde). Often I ended up correcting about 50% of the marrionette’s line by going after the lip’s border and most lateral body. Besides, the patient loveto see that they now could see their lip body all the way to the corner and more “smiley shape”. The last step is the trickiest one, I use either Radiesse or Perlane on an 1/2 inch 27 gage needle. First placing my left thumb at the patient’s lower half NLF’s I retract the skin upward (about 2-3cm upward) then I approach my needle in an upward (vertical) position at about one centimeter lateral and one cm below the mouth corner of that same side. Then I aim diagonally toward the corner and start injecting anterograde just 1-2 mm below the imaginary horizontal line of the mouth corner (about 0.2 cc), then I withdraw the needle and reaim straight up and inject just below the horizonal line (0.2cc) then I do it one more time aiming diagonally outward (0.2cc). What was I attempting to do?? I was laying down a new flooring along the imaginary horizontal line. After the injection, release the left thumb. You will be surprised to see the retracted portion just rest right along this new floor, thus the Marrionette’line has been corrected. This is different from the common fanning technique of using the filler to “blow up” around the Marrionette’s line. If you look carefully at those company’s issued photos, the area around the Marrionette’s line now appeared very swollen and puffed up. It is aesthetically unpleasant. It looked like the patient was beat up below the mouth. It reduced the profile of the chin.

5) For those of you that use fillers on the highly vascularized and shallow areas such as the temporal, crow’s feet, undereye area lateral to the submalar area and along the lateral border of the cheek prominence (especially in those older skinny Caucasian ladies with much excessive very thin skin) I now emulate the same technique used in the hand. I would pinch to levitate the skin itself above the bony structure, then I bolus Restylane into the empty space. Then I massage it down. This elimates the risks of injecting into the vessels and nodules.

Interesting discussion.  So Kevin, how do you account for the difference in that anterograde injection you need less filler than in retrograde injections, assuming all else being equal?

Second, I am understanding one group claims anterograde injection carries a higher risk of vessel cannulation and possible intravascular injection, while another group claims that anterograde injection “pushes away” blood vessels, thus decreasing the risk. Not sure how anterograde increases risk of intravascular injection any more than retrograde.  If you push the needle ahead, transfixing a vessel, then begin injection, you can still conceivably deposit some material intravascularly, can you not?  Am I missing something here?

I also found an interesting idea of sub q bolus technique in areas of thin skin, ie crowsfeet, etc.  Anyone else try this method? ~ Don

Tom:

I do agree with you about those risks with anterograde injection. The key is always the skills in doing it, be it retrograde or anterograde. One always has to be very carefully doing anything around the eyes. However, the anterograde techinique has been advocated some of the best known experts such as Arnold Klein, MD and Kent Remington, MD. I also believed that the filler amount used was critical. It takes much more amount to get the same result with the often taught retrograde technique compared with the anterograde one. For example, I almost never required more than one full syringe in correcting bilateral NLF’s vs what was typically used ( 2 syringes) by most others. I attached the before and after of a case wherein I used Readiesse to correct her NLF’s and Marrionette’s lines with anterograde technique. The after photo was taken right after. You can still see some of needle marks. I used one full 1.3 cc syringe, 1/2inch 30g for the Vermillion border and 1/2inch for NLF’s and Marrionette’s line. Notice also there was no “puffy/swollen look” medial to the Marrionette’s line often seen with retrograde and fanning technique used by most others. ~ Kevin

All interesting comments.  The only place, I use “push ahead” is in the cheeks when doing them via the intra-oral route. (Apparently Radiesse is no longer teaching this method because may practitioners couldn’t get the hang of it but it works for me.)  I might try it in the “safe” areas such as NL folds.  We use only Radiesse and Juvederm and  I find that neither filler lasts as long as advertised in “first-timers”.  I’ve also had disappointing longevity in my older patients (>65) with both types fillers despite using numerous syringes.  I’m sure this has to do with their inability to generate collagen around the filler once the carrier gel is gone.  Does anyone know the age range of patients done in the filler studies? ~ SD

I came across this old thread way down in my inbox and read it again.  I’m not sure who wrote #4 below.  It sounds interesting but I’m having a hard time visualizing it.  Do you steadily move the needle forward  toward the lip edge as you are injecting or do you hold it in place while the area fills?  I’d love to see a drawing on where you start.  ~ SD

SD: I wrote those threads. The techniques that I described were similar to what you could see watching the video instruction on www.thederm.org by Kent Remington and his colleagues (lower face injection portion) THe only thing new from my thread was when fixing the Marrionette’s line, his doctor (Nowell Solish) injection upward and anterograde from the lower part toward the lip corner only one time vs what I now do is I do the same thing but with a fanning pattern where (with the skin lifted about 1-2cm upward with the other thumb) I laid down “three such “anchoring points” along an imaginary horizontal floor starting from the lip corner going laterally for about 3-5cm long. Here I used something firmer such as Radiesse or Perlane. Having done this, you would release the thumb letting the skin go back down. Often you will see the Marrionetter’s line is much improved because “part of that Marrionette’s line” now is positioned along the horizontal flooring that you just created. ~ Kevin

PS: It is hard for me to send over some graphic illustration but I will attempt to do this in the future

Something worth knowing. How is your plastic surgeon or dermatologist communicating with other physicians to keep abreast of the latest information about treatments?

Post from: Laser Clinic MD

Medical Spa MD – Plastic Surgeon, Dermatologist, Cosmetic Surgeon, Laser Clinic & Laser Treatment Forums

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In this article, I will give you several tips and tools to evaluate your laser centers culture and operations, so you can successfully navigate any economic downturn… And live to sell another day when the inevitable upturn comes around.

What is the Passion and Purpose of Your Medical Spa?

You reap what you sew. When you engage proactively and passionately in your business you will undoubtedly be successful and see your practice expand. It helps to articulate your passion for your medical spa.

At Assara Laser, our passion is to “help clients look and feel great, not fake.”

Why the Recession Drastically Affects Your Laser Clinics Bottom Line

You’ve probably noticed that generating revenue is not as easy as it once was. There are myriad reasons for this; from the decline in disposable income, to unemployment hitting record highs and tanking real estate valuations. As if these facts were not bleak enough, credit markets are virtually frozen so business owners are finding it nearly impossible to obtain small business loans and lines of credit. Refinancing current loans has become difficult for small businesses.

In short, we’re operating in the perfect storm.

Accepting Reality and Responsibility Today

The easy way out is to close up shop and blame the recession. This will not help you going forward, it will not pay your devoted employees their wages, and most of all, it will not help your clients “look and feel great, not fake.” So, accept responsibility.

The hardships of the recession create a fact-pattern, problem to be solved; not a reason for failure. To paraphrase Michael Jackson, start, first, with the man in the mirror. Think about the following questions. And pay attention – there will be homework at the end of this article!

Finding Your Medspas Winning Competitive Difference?

Let’s be honest. The quality of your laser clinc’s treatments are probably not drastically better than that of your competitors. The proprietary equipment and IPL or laser systems (Thermage, Fraxel, Titan) that you use are, for the most part, available to the competitive skin clinic market at large.

You may believe (and tell clients) that your microdermabrasion treatments are better because you use a diamond-tipped wand or aluminum oxide crystals. You may think that your IPLs or laser hair removal treatments are better because you use cryo-cooling or because you use chilled air cooling, or because you use a diode laser or because you use alexandrite lasers . . .

BUT . . .

Step in to your clients’ shoes. To them, the bells and whistles of your Thermage or Fraxel device don’t matter. Your clients already expect expert advice and cutting edge cosmetic lasers, IPLs and skin tighening equipment, so merely meeting this fundamental requirement is not a winning competitive difference.

What does matter to your clients are presentation, client interaction, customer service, reliability and consistency. Consider this carefully.

What is each of your medspas clients worth?

At Assara Laser, one of the most popular packages is our $449 per month Unlimited Laser Hair Removal Program. On average, a client that signs up for this program will remain a member of the Program for 7 months, depending on the results they wish to achieve. How much is a single unlimited client worth to us?  A client in the program for 7 months, making a monthly payment of $449 is worth $3,143. For many laser clinic owners, a single laser hair removal client is worth more than a home mortgage payment!

Do you treat every single potential laser treatment client that contacts your laser clinic as if they’re worth $3,000?

What is your time and effort worth?

Before my partners and I built Assara Laser, I was an attorney. I still practice corporate law as a labor of love, when a friend or business contact has an exciting deal. I normally discount my rate to about $400 per hour, as law isn’t my primary source of income.

Assume an hour of your time is worth $400.  Assume further that, every time your customers complain, you are willing to give a discount, or a free treatment and that, collectively, free and discounted treatments account for a 20% loss in your revenue. To make up for this lost revenue, how much more work do you have to do?

Well, let’s add 20% to your 10 hour day, which now makes it a 12 hour day. If annual sales are $1,000,000 per year, you’ve lost $200,000. This translates into 500 hours more of work you must do to bring your revenue back to status quo!

Is there a big difference between a day that starts at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 7:00 p.m. versus ending at 9:00 p.m.  You betcha there is!  Is there a big difference between a loss of $200,000 and a loss of zero. You betcha there is!  And these differences drastically affect your quality of life.

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Cosmetic surgery can carry risks as well as benefits

Several newspapers have reported the dangers associated with cosmetic surgery, including a lack of regulation in some areas of the industry. The reports also feature warnings from Nigel Mercer, the president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, who voiced his views as part of a series of medical articles on cosmetic surgery.  Mr Mercer called for tighter regulation and testing of drugs, procedures and implants to offer more protection to patients.

The Times reported that the number of cosmetic surgical operations conducted by “audited members of the profession” has more than tripled to 34,000 since 2003, but that many additional procedures are being carried out on the black market. The newspaper says that these are “fuelled by internet promotions, magazine advertising and aggressive discounting”.

What is the basis for these news reports?

The reports were based on a special edition of the journal Clinical Risk, which featured several articles on the issues surrounding cosmetic surgery. These issues include the potential for physical and psychological harm, and the need for tighter regulation of the industry, better training programms for surgeons and measures to improve patient experience.

Nigel Mercer, president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, wrote an accompanying editorial arguing that the availability of consumer credit and a change in public attitudes has led to an explosion in cosmetic surgery in recent years. According to Mercer, this growth, combined with increasing public expectation and media hype, has resulted in “the perfect storm in the cosmetic surgical market”.

What is cosmetic surgery?

Cosmetic surgery, sometimes called aesthetic surgery, was described by a doctor in the journal Clinical Risk as being “purely elective, a lifestyle choice undertaken to enhance physical appearance, improve self-esteem and boost confidence”. Another doctor says that it differs from all other forms of surgery in that it is a treatment for “want” rather than for “need”.

In the 2005 Regulation of Cosmetic Surgery report, published by the Department of Health, cosmetic surgeries are defined as “operations and other procedures that revise or change the appearance, color, texture, structure or position of bodily features, which most would consider otherwise to be within the broad range of ‘normal’ for that person”.

Cosmetic surgery differs from plastic surgery, which is generally surgery to repair or reconstruct tissue or skin damaged by congenital (inherited) disease, injuries or burns. The primary role of plastic surgery is to restore function, and aesthetic improvement is secondary.

How is cosmetic surgery currently regulated in the UK?

At present, there are measures and standards to help regulate the industry but some cosmetic surgeons operate outside these regulations. Some treatments and procedures are unlicensed for cosmetic use, but can be given the discretion of doctors, or “off license”, by some clinics.

Surgical practice in the UK is regulated by the General Medical Council (GMC) and practicing surgeons should be enrolled on its specialist register. However, some concessions are made for private cosmetic surgeons who have been practicing since before April 2002. By satisfying certain criteria, these doctors can practice without the need to be on the specialist register.

Invasive cosmetic surgery and laser treatments are also regulated under the Care Standards Act 2000. The Healthcare Commission inspects all registered establishments that carry out invasive procedures and laser surgery in the UK, and has the power to revoke practice licenses and to take enforcement action.

Some cosmetic surgical procedures are not covered by current regulations, such as Botox injections and injections of aesthetic fillers. Botox is not licensed for cosmetic use, but it can be prescribed “off license”, in which circumstances the doctor assumes liability for its use. Most fillers are tested in the UK as “devices” rather than as drugs. This means that they are regulated based on the standard of their production and not on whether the treatment works.

The Department of Health report concluded that the regulatory situation for cosmetic surgery was not satisfactory because of the group of doctors who can practise without being on the GMC specialist register and the lack of clarity around the definition of “fillers”. Although practitioners of cosmetic surgery must demonstrate certain competencies, these may not be the equivalent standard of NHS consultants.

What do these journal articles say about cosmetic surgery?

The authors of these articles have argued several opinions, including that:

• Patient psychology should be considered by clinical staff as issues of mental health and body image may be behind the desire for cosmetic changes. These could also arise in people who feel disappointed or upset by the results of their surgery.
• Surgeons should keep records detailing their patients’ expectations and provide them with guidance on whether these are realistic.
• There are risks associated with any type of surgery and patients should be informed of these and their surgeon’s success rates when considering procedures.
• It is important that patients are given time to consider their options. Doctors should also inform patients about alternative treatments that may be available.
• Before procedures are carried out, it should be clear who will be financially liable for the correction of any complications.
• There may be some merits to adopting a regulation system similar to that in France. Under this system, patients must be given information on costs, risks and the surgeon’s qualifications to perform their selected procedures.
• The way that cosmetic surgery is marketed should also be regulated.

What is the problem with plastic surgery marketing?

Mercer says that cosmetic procedures are often marketed using special offers, including vouchers, two-for-one deals and surgery holidays, and that these practices contribute to an “unregulated mess”.

The articles also feature a call to ban advertising of cosmetic procedures, stating that, like tobacco, there should perhaps be a Europe-wide ban on advertising all cosmetic surgical procedures, including on internet search engines. While advertising can be powerful, says Mercer, it is often misused by the cosmetic surgery industry and misinterpreted by those it is aimed at.

Where can I find more information on reputable plastic surgeons?

The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery is a not-for-profit organization based at the Royal College of Surgeons. It was established to advance the education and practice of cosmetic surgery for public benefit. While it is not a regulatory body, it has long been involved in giving the public information on the safety of cosmetic surgery.

Its research into cosmetic surgery tourism was discussed at a recent conference and its press releases highlight a number of dangers associated with unregulated procedures, including DIY injectable treatments available over the internet.

Post from: Laser Clinic MD

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