Cosmetic Conditions

Acne is an inflammatory skin condition affecting the face, neck, chest, and back with red bumps, pustules, and/or clogged pores. While extremely common in teens, we see just as many cases in adult women due to hormones aka hormonal acne. As a full service medical and cosmetic dermatology clinic, we offer well-known medical therapies such as topical and oral medications. While not covered by insurance, we provide a variety of lasers including red light, blue light, photodynamic therapy, intense pulsed light (IPL), Candela VBeam Pulsed Dye Laser (PDL), and the Spectra laser to help improve your acne.

Many patients whom suffer from acne are left with unwanted acne scars which maybe flat, elevated, indented, red, brown, purple, or white. The treatment of acne scars depends on the type of acne scars, your skin tone, and the amount of downtime a patient may have. Our dermatologists can provide a customized approach to improve your acne scars using resurfacing lasers, LaseMD fractionated 1927 nm laser, ResurFX 1565 nm laser, Ultrapulse DeepFX and ActiveFX carbon dioxide laser, intense pulsed light (IPL), Candela VBeam Pulsed Dye Laser (PDL), SkinPen microneedling with PRP, Ulthera, Morpheus8 Microneedling with Radiofrequency, chemical peels, injections, or a combination approach.

Rosacea is characterized by sensitive, pink to red facial skin and occurs in men, women, and all skin tones. Some patients will also have broken blood vessels and/or acne lesions. Many patients find their rosacea is worsened with sun exposure, heat, harsh skin care products, spicy foods, and alcohol. Along with medical therapies for rosacea, we offer with cosmetic treatments to provide improvement of facial redness and broken blood vessels using intense pulsed light (IPL or photofacial) and/or Candela VBeam Pulsed Dye Laser (PDL).

Wrinkles and fine lines develop over the years due to intrinsic (naturally time and reducing collagen levels, fat, bone, and muscle) and extrinsic (sun, UV damage, smoking, etc) aging. While most patients will first begin to notice wrinkles on the facial skin, they also can occur on the hands, neck, and chest. The most effective way to improve fine lines and wrinkles is through a combination approach of physician dispensed skin care, resurfacing lasers, skin tightening devices, injectable fillers, and neuromodulators (Botox/Dysport). Our dermatologists will provide a customized plan to both improve the appearance of your fine lines and wrinkles and preserve your results.

Over time, the sun can cause flat brown spots to appear called lentigines. These can occur on sun exposed skin such as the face, neck, chest, arms, hands, and legs. They are noncancerous and can be removed for cosmetic purposes using IPL, LaseMD 1927nm thulium laser, Fraxel, ResurFX 1565 nm laser, Ultrapulse Active FX carbon dioxide laser, q-switched lasers, and picosecond lasers.

Cumulative sun exposure causes damage to the skin in the form of brown spots, broken blood vessels, sallow skin, wrinkles, and rough texture which are most prominent on the face, neck, chest, arms, and hands. We feel the most effective way to combat sun damage is through a combination approach of physician dispensed skin care, lasers, tightening devices, fillers, and neuromodulators (Botox/Dysport). Our dermatologists will provide a customized plan to both correct your sun damage and preserve your results.

Melasma is a skin condition where patients develop brown patches on the cheeks, forehead, and/or upper lip. It is worsened by sun exposure, female hormones (pregnancy, birth control pills, and hormone replacement therapies), light, and inflammation. There is no cure for melasma, but our dermatologists will develop a plan to help you manage your symptoms through safe sun techniques, sunscreen, skin care, and prescription skin brighteners. Some patients may also benefit from cosmetic procedures such as microneedling with PRP, Spectra (qswitched) laser, LaseMD 1927nm thulium laser with transexamic acid, and chemical peels.

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH is skin darkening due to inflammation, injury, or trauma, and is worsened with sun exposure. PIH may occur after acne, burn, abrasion or scratch, rash, insect bite, surgical incision, or a procedure. To improve your PIH, your dermatologists will develop a customized approach which may include prescription brightening creams, skin care, sunscreen, chemical peels, microneedling with PRP, or a variety of lasers.

As we age, not only do we lose fat, collagen and elastic tissue in our skin, but our bone structure changes as well. This bone recession along with poorer skin quality is what makes our skin look lax and droopy over time. Procedures, such as Ultherapy and Morpheus8, that stimulate collagen production in the deeper layers of our skin thicken it over time which helps with tightening. Ultherapy uses focused ultrasound to produce collagen deep all the way to the fibromuscular layer of skin to combat skin laxity. This can help skin laxity not only on the face and neck, but also chest, abdomen, arms, legs and buttocks.

Volume loss occurs slowly over time so that we may not realize how much volume we have lost in our face until we see an old photograph. Volume loss in the temples, cheeks and chin can age our appearance. Fillers that stimulate collagen such as Sculptra can add that volume back and help restore a more youthful contour to the face. Hyaluronic acid fillers restore volume as well but do not stimulate collagen.

Pokiloderma of Civatte (POC) occurs on the outer neck and the upper “V” of the chest. It results from long term sun exposure and has a characteristic appearance of red, brown, and light spots mixed together. POC spares the skin directly under the chin as this is an area that is more protected from direct sun exposure. Using intense pulsed light (IPL or photofacial) or the Candela VBeam Pulsed Dye Laser (PDL) a more even and uniform skin tone can be achieved.

Roughness and crepiness of the skin are some textural changes that can occur due to sun damage and other environmental factors. Treatments such as resurfacing lasers and microneedling stimulate collagen in the upper layers of skin are great at building new healthy creamier looking collagen.

With time, most patients will begin to see their pores have enlarged. Options to improve pore size include microneedling with PRP, intense pulsed light (IPL), or laser resurfacing. There is no permanent treatment to shrink your pores, so routine treatments are needed to help preserve your results.

Spider veins are broken blood vessels which occur on the legs due to a combination of factors including family history, prolonged sitting, prolonged standing, trauma, and/or pregnancy. While not dangerous to your health, many patients desire reduction in their spider veins to improve the overall appearance of their legs. Sclerotherapy is an injection treatment used to improve the appearance of unsightly leg veins. In order to get the best result from sclerotherapy, most patients require a series of treatments with anywhere from three to six treatments.

Cellulite is a dimpling of the skin due to fibrous connective tissue that pulls down making fat appear as if it is poking through the skin. Cellulite can have a genetic component to it and tends to be more or less prominent in certain ethnicities. Improvements in the appearance of cellulite can be achieved with a combination of tightening the skin over and injecting filler just under the dimple.

Non-invasive unwanted fat reduction and body contouring can be achieved through multiple modalities. Kybella is an injectable treatment that breaks up fat cells and removes them from our body while Cool Sculpting utilizes cryotechnology to freeze fat cells and destroy them. Once a fat cell has been destroyed it cannot grow back therefore the results are permanent. While Kybella is FDA approved for treatment of submental (double chin) fat, it can be used in other areas such as the arms, abdomen, thighs, and more.

Scars develop after trauma to the skin has occurred. There are many types of scars including surgical, traumatic, post-inflammatory such as acne scars, burns, hypertrophic scars and keloids. Genetics play a big role in the way our individual skin develops scars. There are multiple single and combined treatment modalities to improve the appearance of scars including steroid injections into raised portions, intense pulsed light (IPL), Candela VBeam Pulsed Dye Laser (PDL), laser resurfacing (LaseMD, Ultrapulse DeepFX and SCAARFX, Fraxel, ResurFX), microneedling and filler injections. Often multiple types and multiple sessions are required to achieve the best cosmetic outcome.

Just like the skin on our faces, the skin on our hands ages due to sun exposure and age. Patients may notice their hands have more brown spots, freckles, fine lines, prominent tendons, and/or prominent blood vessels. Depending upon the type(s), number, and severity of the brown spots your dermatologist may recommend topical skin brighteners, IPL, lasers, or liquid nitrogen therapy. To improve fine lines, resurfacing lasers can be used. Finally, to lessen the appearance of tendons, blood vessels, and volume loss, injectable Restylane Lyft is FDA cleared for hand rejuvenation.

Just like the skin on our faces, the skin on our neck and chest ages due to sun exposure and age. Patients may notice more brown spots, freckles, fine and coarse lines, wrinkles, and skin laxity. Many of our patients will notice a disparity between the skin on their face and that of the neck and chest. This is partially due to routine daily usage of makeup with sunscreen has offered our facial skin more protection over time. Depending upon the type(s), location, and severity of your skin aging, your dermatologist may recommend IPL, Candela VBeam Pulsed Dye Laser (PDL), resurfacing lasers (lResurFx, Photofractional laser, LaseMD thulium laser, or Fraxel laser), liquid nitrogen therapy, injecatable fillers, Morpheus8, Ultherapy, and/or a combination approach.

PRP is now widely accepted as a stand-alone or in-combination treatment for hair loss in men and women. PRP is mostly used to treat classic male pattern baldness and female pattern hair loss, but further studies may find it helpful in other hair loss conditions. Treatments are performed once a month for three months and then every six months after that indefinitely. If you choose to stop getting PRP injections, eventually your hair will revert back to the thickness it was prior to starting the treatments. This is true for ANY hair loss treatment as there is no cure for hair loss, just treatment, which requires maintenance. Your dermatologist may also advise you to take a specific hair growth vitamin or use a topical treatment in addition to PRP. Men may be advised to take oral finasteride (Propecia), as the more you do for your hair, the better your result will be.

At The Pearl Dermatology we can surgically repair torn ear lobes through a small outpatient surgery performed in our office. Some patients have loss of volume in their earlobes overtime. This can easily be corrected with injectable hyaluronic acid fillers.

Hemangiomas are small, benign vascular skin lesions. Cherry hemangiomas are common in adults and typically bright red to purple. Spider hemangiomas have a central red spot with fine vessels radiating outward. Spider hemangiomas are more common in children and young adults. Venous Lakes are soft, squishable, purple vascular lesions that appear on the skin or lips of adults. All of these vascular lesions can easily be improved with a series of treatments with the Candela VBeam Pulsed Dye Laser (PDL).

Vascular birthmarks and port wine stains are benign changes that can occur on any surface of the skin and appear at the time of birth to the first few weeks of life. They can appear as purple, pink, or red. Purple birthmarks are called port wine stains, while pale pink birthmarks are known as salmon patches. A series of laser treatments with the Candela VBeam Pulse Dye Laser can be used to fade the appearance of port wine stains and salmon patches.

A bright red birthmark which appears in the first weeks of life is called an infantile hemangioma. Infantile hemangiomas grow within the first few weeks of life and then gradually resolve by age 10 years. Medical therapy with B-blockers +/- vascular laser treatments are available to treat infantile hemangiomas in higher risk areas, ulcerating, or bleeding by a pediatric dermatologist. After the infantile hemangioma has resolved, it may leave behind a wrinkled skin texture, scar, redundant skin, or fibrofatty tissue. Fractionated lasers have been shown to improve the appearance of infantile hemangiomas after their resolution.