HOLIDAY SKIN PREP

Along the Gulf Coast, it’s safe to say November through the end of Mardi Gras season brings a bustling schedule of fun, festivities, and social soirees. And of course, we all want to look our best when we don our finest frocks this holiday season. But for those of us who are conscious about the lines and wrinkles on our faces, our holiday cheer can easily be swept away. Thankfully, Kimberly Donnellan, M.D., F.A.C.S., a Facial Plastic Surgeon at USA Health and their Skin and Laser Center, offers innovative skin laser treatments to help you feel and look your best this holiday season.

 By Caroline Edmondson

 There are doctors, and then there are those doctors patients keep coming back to year after year—and Dr. Kimberly Donnellan is one of them. A double board-certified facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, whose work ranges from facelifts and skin cancer reconstruction to chemical peels, microneedling, and laser treatments, Dr. Donnellan approaches each patient with one goal: to help them feel beautiful when they look in the mirror.

 Dr. Donnellan is well known for her innovative, cutting edge approach to a variety of treatments. Her newest offering is the DEKA SmartXide CO2 Laser—a device typically used to help treat burn victims by allowing doctors to provide a significant amount of energy in very small columns of the skin without generating heat to the surrounding tissue leaving their patients with less pain, more mobility, and a faster recovery time. In fact, to prove how groundbreaking this treatment really is, Dr. Donnellan recently traveled to Chicago for The American Burn Association’s annual meeting to present her work as one of the few surgeons in the country to offer this treatment in an outpatient setting. “After laser treatments are complete, patients are often able to return to work, write, hold a hammer or play basketball again,” she shares. “They find their pain is reduced, their range of motion is restored and often, the severe itching has improved. We have been elated over the outcomes and how quickly we see improvement.”

 But it isn’t just burn patients who find this treatment beneficial. The SmartXide CO2 Laser is the most sophisticated CO2 laser on the market. “With its unique setting know as the CoolPeel, this laser can deliver a tremendous amount of energy in a very short time therefore stimulating collagen in the skin without damaging a significant amount of the surrounding skin thus decreasing the healing time,” shares Dr. Donnellan. “This means better aesthetic results for those with fine lines, wrinkles, and sun damage by improving skin texture.”  And because this laser is addressing deeper layers of the skin, your results will be more long lasting than other lasers.

 But no two treatments are entirely like the other. “A CoolPeel laser is an ablative laser that offers a customizable treatment where I can select the precise power, density, and pulse duration to tailor each treatment to the patients concerns,” Dr. Donnellan tells us.

 If you’re planning to book an appointment in time for the holidays, there might be minor planning involved to ensure you are giving yourself ample time to enjoy the laser’s full benefits. Dr. Donnellan generally recommends three treatments spaced one month apart, each treatment lasting approximately 40 minutes. And as far as recovery time? “After your treatment, it’s recommended that you wait 24 hours prior to applying makeup,” says Dr. Donnellan. “There is usually some mild erythema or redness for 24-48 hours.  You will also feel a roughness to your skin for approximately 7 days, but that is easily camouflaged with makeup.”  After just one treatment, patients usually report a smoother complexion with the appearance of less pores and an improvement in sun damage!

 The CoolPeel is just one of the amazing treatments you can find at the Skin and Laser Center. Dr. Donnellan and the rest of her team provide a wealth of treatments to choose from to help you prep for the holiday season. “Neurotoxins like Botox and Dysport are frequently requested around the holiday season.  I recommend doing the injections two weeks prior to any important events,” she shares. They are also the only clinic in the area to offer Exact RF, a microneedling treatment designed to address the delicate under eye area by improving skin texture, under eye bags, and hollowing of the area.

 And if you’re looking to kick off your holiday shopping list, Dr. Donnellan wants to remind you that skin care products make great presents! You can visit them during their office hours where they will happily make the best recommendations, or during their Holiday Party on November 14th!

USA Health Facial Plastic Surgery | 2505 Old Shell Road, Mobile | 251.341.4094

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