We all have wrinkles, whether from laughing or crying too much, too much fun in the sun or sometimes just plain old age. Sagging skin and discoloration tend to increase as one ages.
Thermage is a nonsurgical skin tightening procedure that is performed in the doctor’s office. Thermage uses radio frequency energy (radio waves) to lift and tighten the skin. Here is how it works.Our skin is comprised of several layers, the surface or 1st layer of the skin is called the epidermis. This is the skin layer that burns or freckles when we are in the sun.Below the epidermis is the second layer, the dermal layer, which consists of many proteins that give our skin structural support.The two main proteins are collagen which provides tensile strength, and elastin which lets the skin bounce back by giving it elastic pull, hence the name.Below the dermal layer is the layer that contains fat, blood vessels, and sensory nerves. When we are younger, the collagen in our skin is abundant and is in a tight rope-like meshwork. As we get older, the sun exposure, our personal genetics, smoking, and good old gravity makes the collagen less abundant losing its organized network, and the rope per say begins to fray. This is what causes our skin and the supporting soft tissues in the face to become saggy. Thermage works like a shrink wrap if you will. The Thermage tips have pre-programmed computer chips with a pre-set number of heat pulses.
Now that you understand how Thermage works it is easy for you to understand how we determine who will be a good candidate for the Thermage procedure. The results that one can expect from Thermage depend entirely upon how much collagen exists in the skin at the time that the candidate is being considered.The more collagen that you have, the better your initial result will be, and within two or three months you can expect more profound results once the collagen remodeling begins.
The procedure itself is not painful. I know that there are a lot of blog sites out there, and everybody has a friend of a friend who said that Thermage hurts. Believe me, 99% of my patients have the procedure performed without the need for pain medication.The only time medication will be suggested is when the neck is being treated, which can be a bit uncomfortable, but nothing that one little pain pill fifteen minutes prior to the procedure can’t cure.
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