Meet Carey Lafferty, Our Newest Member of the Advanced Aesthetics Team!

A San Diego native and Colorado enthusiast since 2003, her warm and experienced touch are immediately noticeable. Her specialty is functional age management of the skin.

Carey has over eight years of Medical Aesthetics experience. With extensive training in multiple lasers and skin rejuvenation procedures, she has cultivated a deep knowledge of functional age management of the skin. Carey is committed to providing every client with a safe and peaceful place to unwind, relax and rejuvenate. Her goal is to deliver personalized, results-oriented treatments, while also providing each client with the knowledge they need to maintain optimal skin health at home.

A native of San Diego, California, Carey moved to Colorado in 2003. She loves spending time with her two teenage sons, nurturing their never-ending enthusiasm for music and the arts. She also enjoys yoga, walks with her dog, motorcycle riding, going to the movies, and visiting her large extended family back home.

Making meaningful connections with her clients is one of Carey’s favorite aspects of this work.

Welcome, Krissy Melvin to the Medical Aesthetics Team!

New Year and new options for you at our Studio: in keeping with our medically-advanced and natural results ethos, let us introduce our newest teammate to you. She has been integrating into our methods, systems and product lines, adding to her 6+ years of experience in the facial aesthetics field and is now an official part of our team.

A Boulder, Colorado native with medical and surgical background who has a focus on natural and subtle results. Her specialty is dermal fillers aligned with personal anatomy.

Krissy was born and raised in Boulder, Colorado and has always had a love for medicine and aesthetics. She graduated from the University of Colorado (Go Buffs!), Boulder in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology, and a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies in 2013 at Pacific University in Oregon. Krissy has been fortunate to have a well rounded medical and surgical background as a Physician Assistant, including experience and expertise in General/Trauma Surgery, Emergency Medicine and Plastic Surgery.

With several years of experience in Plastic Surgery, Krissy gained extensive knowledge of facial composition, anatomy, surgical procedures and techniques. Among many other continuing education opportunities focused on aesthetics, Krissy has attended the same specialty training and certification course focused on neuromodulators and dermal fillers as Dr. Julie Seaman. She has continued to refine her skills under the direct supervision of our medical director, Dr. Julie Seaman.

Krissy is extremely excited to be a part the Medical Team at Advanced Aesthetics. She strives to deliver the highest level of patient care and satisfaction while working collaboratively with patients to achieve beautiful, natural and subtle results based on their aesthetic goals.

Inside Beauty: Are Wellness Tonics Making You … Well? (Includes a recipe for a Turmeric Toddy)

The idea of a tonic to help you feel better isn’t new but what seems to be entering our collective conscience is a tighter connection between the products we use on, and in, our bodies and their effects on our outlook and appearance. As the year winds down many of us look to improve something or simplify a part of our lives. For us, that means looking at ways to slow down and nourish our skin and emotions from the inside out. A popular way to do that is to buy, or make, a “wellness tonic.”

Wellness tonics (sometimes also called health tonics, herbal tonics or immunity tonics) typically contain vitamins and minerals thought to protect cells and kick up the immune system. They’re also sometimes made with adaptogenic herbs — ingredients that can help optimize the body’s energy production and help the body adapt to stress. Herbalists in China, Egypt, Greece, and India have built their botanical knowledge over centuries, developing TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and the Ayurvedic principles still used today, and are often offered in the form of a customized tonic. They’re effective enough that you should check with your doctor about medication interactions before diving into a habitual tonic.

Popularity aside, focusing on what building blocks you’re offering your body to create the basis of great skin is always something we can get behind. So, yes, wellness tonics might just do something great for your skin, and better yet, your mind and body.

According to a Whole Foods blog post in 2017, popular and accessible wellness tonic ingredients might include:

Fresh or dried turmeric. Historically used in Ayurvedic medicine for a variety of conditions. Western studies show turmeric may help support heart, joint, and skin health. Probiotics. Studies show this “friendly” or “good” bacteria may support the immune system and digestive system. Apple cider vinegar. May support digestive health.

Fresh or dried ginger. Historically used in Asian medicine to settle the stomach. Western studies agree that ginger can help support digestive health.

Reishi mushrooms. Known as the “mushroom of immortality” in Chinese medicine, the fungus may help support aging cells.

Baobab. A fruit native to Africa, the dried powder is often added to drinks and is packed with vitamin C.

Elderberry. Researchers funded by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health are currently studying Elderberry’s antioxidant effects.

Adaptogenic herbs like tulsi and ashwagandha. May help the body bounce back from stress. All of that aside, we’re proponents of things that naturally make you feel better, which of course affects your skin.

An article about tonics in The New York Times from a few years ago included this from Chef Jessica Koslow and it is indeed warming and lovely -- especially when it’s cold outside. “Ask your body what it needs and know when it’s satisfied,” says Jessica Koslow, the chef-owner of the wildly popular Sqirl restaurant in Los Angeles. “That’s the mantra.”

When she broke her ankle a few years ago, Koslow says she went looking for “anything to help this lady who stands in the kitchen all day.”

She found turmeric, a native rhizome of India known for its anti-inflammatory properties, and incorporated it into a healing elixir.

“I enjoyed it so much that I played around with a recipe for it that I could serve daily at the restaurant.” For the new year, she created a new tonic — a take on the traditional hot toddy, and what she calls a “healthy, digestive sleep aid.” Others might just call it delicious.

Chef Koslow’s Healthy Digestive Sleep-Aid Elixir aka The Turmeric Toddy Tonic

6 cloves

2 cups apple juice

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon ground turmeric ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon cardamom ghee, optional (recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the cloves on a baking sheet, and bake for 5-7 minutes to release essential oils. Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, warm the apple juice over medium-high heat.
4. Add the cloves and ground spices to the juice and let come to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat to low and let the mixture steep for 5 minutes.
5. Strain out the spices before serving.
6. Stir in the cardamom ghee, if using, and enjoy.

Cardamom Ghee

¼ cup ghee

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the ghee.
2. Once the ghee liquefies, add the cardamom. Turn heat to low and let steep for 3-5 minutes.

Cheers!

Microblading: What You Need to Know, Including the Only Person We Refer People to in Colorado

Microblading is the semi-permanent way to filling in your brows and perfecting their shape -- similar to tattooing but not as deep and definitely not as permanent.

The more we looked into this trend, the more we realized there was not a lot of medical guidance to help you make safe choices when selecting a practitioner to do the work for you.

Here’s what you need to know.

What you need to know in general:

• Microblading is a way to perfect your eyebrow architecture and is the secret to faking fuller brows sans the use of brow pencils on the daily
• It should be bespoke for you, your face shape, your age, your hair color -- not a simple stencil
• The process is very precise thanks to the tool that is used which is effectively like a pen with the nib being a sloped blade with 10-12 little needles at the end - needles that don’t penetrate the skin but just delicately scratch the surface, much like a paper cut.
• Microblading, unlike tattooing, is not in the deep layer of skin, but more on the surface. It’s not permanent, and the color fades within 12-18 months.
• The needle very finely implants featherweight strokes with a medical grade pigment on the epidermis layer for the skin, creating fine, realistic and natural hair strokes.
• It can cost $300-$800 and has to be repeated ~15 months
• Nanoblading used an even finer needle and a highly skilled hand and is apparently only available in Europe at the time this post was written.
• Someone can offer microblading (illegally) with only a weekend’s worth of certification (eek!)

What you must ask for before selecting a microblading artist:

1. Ask if they have the THREE (3) required certifications for the State of Colorado:
1. Base level certification: Esthetician or Cosmetologist License
2. Must also have a Permanent Makeup certification, which is 132 hours of training plus licensure, and may include microblading instruction
3. Additionally, they must register with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as tattoo artists
2. Ask to see before/after pictures that include clients who have healed fully after the main session and all touch-ups. Usually 2-3 months post.

The only person in Colorado that we recommend:

Lea Curry  (720) 252 3182 or email, leacurry@thebrowbarandco.com

(no affiliation, not a paid post -- we have seen her work and know her certifications; she’s outstanding)

Don’t want to get microbladed?

Other options for fuller brows:

• Tint and shape
• Tinted Brow mousse
• Brow pencil
• All of the above together!

Sources:

https://www.elle.com/uk/beauty/a31566/microblading-eyebrows/

https://www.allure.com/story/eyebrow-microblading-before-and-after-photos

https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/beauty/make-up/microblading-eyebrows-8123

Fall is Synonymous with Resurfacing (at least in our world!)

In the world of aesthetics, Fall and Winter are the best times to do deeper work on your skin since people tend to stay out of the sun more and they have more down time to heal and reveal.

So this is the time we typically schedule out a series of resurfacing treatments customized to your needs. While resurfacing can sound major, there are multiple ways to smooth out wrinkles, address hyperpigmentation and scars, and refresh your skin.

Excerpted from: The American Society of Plastic Surgery

The following are some examples of skin rejuvenation and resurfacing treatment methods:

• Laser And Intense Pulse Light (IPL) Treatments – used to remove discoloration and/or tighten sagging skin
• Chemical Peels – various acid peels used in different combinations to remove damaged outer skin layers
• Ablative Laser Treatments (Fractional, CO2 Lasers) – remove outer layers of skin to smooth lines and wrinkles
• Mechanical Ablation (Dermabrasion, Dermaplaning) – surgical scraping methods to soften skin surface irregularities
• Non-Ablative Treatments (Microdermabrasion, Microneedling, Light Acid Peels) – minimally invasive sanding methods to treat light scarring and discolorations
• Dermal Fillers – injectable compounds to improve skin contouring
• Botulinum Toxin Type A Treatments – blocks nerve contraction to relax wrinkles
• Spider Vein Treatment (Sclerotherapy) – injections to collapse unsightly surface veins

Every patient is unique and will exhibit different combinations of genetic and environmental signs of aging that impact their skin. There are multiple ways to treat many of these issues, and those treatment methods should be planned and discussed with a licensed and experienced esthetician or a board-certified plastic surgeon based on your specific situation and desires.

The following are some of the conditions that different skin rejuvenation approaches can address:

• Static wrinkles: These wrinkles are visible at all times and do not change in appearance with facial movements
• Dynamic wrinkles: These are expression lines that may appear as folds when the skin is not moving, and deepen with facial movements or expressions
• Pigmentation: Freckles, sun spots, or other darkened patches of skin result mainly from sun exposure
• Scars: As the result of acne or injury to the skin, scars may be rolling (a wavy appearance to the skin), pitted, discolored, or have raised borders
• Vascular conditions: Blood vessels visible on the surface of the skin, vascular lesions that appear as tiny blood-filled blisters or even a constant flush of facial redness
• Loss of skin tone: Weakening of the supportive skin structures (collagen and elastin fibers) that result in a loss of skin firmness or the development of cellulite
• Dull skin: Skin that has lost the vibrant glow from a buildup of dead skin cells and clogged pores

We offer many of these treatments here at our Studio and can refer to you to trusted sources for the ones we don’t offer, such as sclerotherapy.

The Definitive Way to Moisturize Your Skin Properly for Maximum Results

Think of moisturizing your skin as architecting skin support and an environmental shield -- which is even more critical during travel or when visiting places that are typically more polluted than Colorado. 

1. What do you really want to accomplish and focus on? Dryness, Wrinkles, Rosacea? If you need help, this is one of our favorite topics -- schedule a consult with us.
2. Cleansers can be the culprit of quite a few skin concerns -- mild is better, and use enough of it, meaning at least a dime size, and if you wear foundation and waterproof eye makeup, you probably need to double cleanse.
3. Apply your skincare and sunscreen from light to dense formulation and let it soak in at least five minutes before applying any makeup. Do your teeth, toss the dishes in the dishwasher, but give it time to soak in and set.
4. Do not neglect your neck and chest areas when applying moisturizers and facial oils. Is there extra product left on your hands? Apply to tops of ears and cuticles, backs of hands.
5. Wash your hands frequently and be aware of how often you touch your face.

That’s it. I know people who line their products up in order or use a sharpie to number them, so it’s super simple every AM/PM. Once you get into a routine, it’s effortless to stick with a healthy regimen that addresses your needs, and the results are always there after a few months -- just stick with it! 

Also, consider a consultation with your facialist seasonally, (in person or via email) because shifts in weather can mean you might need to swap to either a lighter or heavier moisturizer.