The Laser Skin Rejuvenation programme at Selston Cosmetic Clinic

After having performed numerous laser skin rejuvenation treatments with our state of the art Laser system, I thought I would reflect and share my thoughts with you.

Laser skin rejuvenation is a great treatment for everybody regardless of age, however it isn’t cheap, being at the top end of our treatment menu at £149 per treatment, but the rewards are impressive and we pride ourselves on the fact that this is a great price when compared to our competitor clinics.

Because of the budget implications I tend to recommend microdermabrasion or skin peels, priced at around £80 per treatment, whenever possible. However when it comes to people with mature skin, sun damaged skin or who have overdone it on the ‘trusty’ sun beds and at the beach, then laser skin rejuvenation is really the only way to go.

Not that microdemabrasion and skin peels don’t have a place with laser skin rejuvenation, as a matter of fact it can be combined with these treatments and both derma roller therapy (skin needling) and our new plasma-rich protein skin rejuvenation therapy.

In my opinion the skin looks fresher, tighter with an even skin tone and gives that extra special glow!

As Dr Bassi always remarks after seeing my clients on how good their skin looks
“They have a presence when they walk into a room.”

Stay tuned for more information on the up and coming Plasma Rich Protein Skin Rejuvenation therapy!

Roberta

Roberta James is a lead Cosmetic Nurse at Selston Cosmetic Clinic and runs the department for the Medical Microdermabrasion, Skin peels, Radiage, Laser Hair Removal and Laser Skin Rejuvenation

Laser Hair Removal for Traditionally Incompatible Hair?

I have noticed Laser Hair Removal is becoming very popular here at Selston Cosmetic Clinic and with our state of the art laser system, competitive prices and amazing results, we light to think that is rightly so!

When it comes to those fitting into the standard criteria for laser hair removal we have to say that the results our clients achieve are very impressive, and our clients are in agreement as with us on that.

However our cosmetic team receives numerous enquiries for laser hair removal from clients with blonde hair, fine downy and grey hair. Unfortunately laser hair removal is typically beyond the reach of these hair types and gives very poor results, thus we have no choice but to advise against this treatment... but wait!

Due to the sheer amount of clients whose hair falls into these traditionally untreatable hair types, here at Selston Cosmetic Clinic we have looked into how this issue can be addressed and we are glad to say that soon this will be a reality.

How? Well it is a new treatment called the Alkaline Hair Wash, which can be used as a stand alone treatment or combined with laser hair removal to give that smooth finished hair free look!

We will post more information as we get it so stay tuned for the next update on this amazing new treatment!

Roberta

Roberta James is a lead Cosmetic Nurse at Selston Cosmetic Clinic and runs the department for the Medical Microdermabrasion, Skin peels, Radiage, Laser Hair Removal and Laser Skin Rejuvenation

A New Addition to the Selston Cosmetic Team!

Hi all! - Roberta James here again,!

Due to increase in the volume of clients here at Selston Cosmetic Clinic, we now feel it is the time to bring somebody on board to help with the range of cosmetic treatments that we offer.

For the past few months Dr Bassi and myself have been training Helen (already a fully qualified nurse) who is going to work with me as a Cosmetic Technician.

It has been a lot of hard work to achieve the high standard necessary to get Helen fully trained, but it has certainly paid off and Helen is now ready to be join us as a valuable member of the team and provides us with another excellent asset.

Helen will be working on a Monday morning and every other Saturday morning, doing Medical microdermabrasion, Skin peels, laser hair removal and laser skin rejuvenation increasing our available treatment times.

Stay Tuned

Roberta

Roberta James is a lead Cosmetic Nurse at Selston Cosmetic Clinic and runs the department for the Medical Microdermabrasion, Skin peels, Radiage, Laser Hair Removal and Laser Skin Rejuvenation

Hair Restoration with Follicular Unit Extraction (Part 4)

With traditional Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) grafting, the hairs are pulled out (like a banana being pulled out of its skin from one end) and the grafts may be stripped of their outer root sheath (ORS). If that happens, the hairs may lose the dermal papillae and possibly the bulb as well. The good news is that the growth elements of the mature terminal hair shaft are multifocal (have more than one site controlling the growth) so hair bulbs and dermal papillae cells that may be damaged may still produce full terminal hair, albeit less thick.

The two strongest growth areas of the mature terminal hair include (a) the dermal papillae and (b) the area near the insertion of the tiny muscle attached to the hair in the vicinity of the sebaceous gland. Any damage to the growing hair will produce a weaker and thinner hair. The research to show the damage to a follicular unit stripped of its dermal papillae and its ORS has not been well documented, but the conclusions drawn here are logically based upon the science of hair growth as we know it.

In a landmark study on hair transplant surgery, Dr. Kim, a noted Korean researcher, demonstrated that attempts to cut one hair into two parts to grow more than one hair from parts of a single hair, failed to grow more than one hair. When the (a) transected lower half of the hair was placed in a patient, it often grew a finer, weaker hair and (b) transected upper half of hair was placed in a patient, no hair grew.

Potential issues of using FUE for hair restoration.

• Loss of hairs inside the grafts from amputation/transection of the hairs; i.e. some of the amputated hairs die.

• Stripping of the critical growth centres of the hairs within the graft during the extraction process.

• Loss of the hair bulb or dermal papillae (the dermal papillae, which is located at the very bottom of the hair bulb, is responsible for hair re-growth after hair cycling from the telogen phase into the anagen phase).

• Buried grafts (grafts that are pushed below the skin becoming foreign bodies with potential cyst formation or even abscesses producing possible infections) thus wasting valuable hair resources.

• Necrosis (gangrene) of the donor area in large FUE sessions has been recently reported at the September 2008 ISHRS meeting in Montreal. It is not clear why this has occurred, since so little information on this potential complication has been presented.

For more information on FUE and hair transplant surgery visit our website prior to making your free consultation regarding hair restoration .

by Dr S R Bassi

Hair Restoration with Follicular Unit Extraction (Part 3)

The best follicular unit extractions (FUE) come when the entire follicular unit, the bulb with the dermal papillae and the capsule are removed intact and there is no amputation/transection of hairs within the graft.

In theory, the more the follicular unit is stripped of its surrounding tissue, the lower the growth potential. If the outer root sheath (ORS) is not violated and some fat remains below the bulb, one can assume that the follicular unit was removed without damage. If the lower ends of the hairs of the excised follicular unit contain a glistening covering and the bulb is intact, then it can be assumed that the follicular unit came out wholly intact. If the outer root sheath is violated and stripped from its covering, one should expect some negative impact on the growth. This could result in a thinner, less robust hair from one or more of the hair follicles within the extracted follicular unit. In summary, the best preserved follicular unit is one where the ORS is intact, the hairs are covered with a glistening covering, there is fat at the bottom of the bulb where the dermal papilla is located, and there is no amputation/transection of the hairs within the graft.

The follicular unit is surrounded by a capsule that isolates the hairs from the surrounding dermis and fat. This capsule is called the outer root sheath (ORS) and extends to the surface of the skin to produce the pore the hair exists from. When we extract a follicular unit from the scalp using the strip harvesting method, for example, this outer root sheath is included in the graft. All of the vital structures of the follicular unit lie encased in this ORS.

At the bottom of the bulb of the hair, lies a structure called the dermal papillae (DP). The hair bulb looks like a catcher's mitt from the bottom, and the DP is the ball inside the mitt. The DP contains the master switch that controls the hair growth genetically. Cells inside the DP express the genetics that initiates the hair growth process and is integrally involved in the various stages of the hair cycle. In the photo below (at right), we see two hairs, one fully developed (terminal) hair and one small hair that is growing out of its telogen (resting) phase into its anagen (growth) phase, evolving into a mature terminal hair.

Note that the telogen hair produces a finer hair while the hair is growing. This hair will get thicker as the hair matures into its 'terminal' status. The bulb at the bottom of the telogen hair stands out prominently as it does in the mature terminal hair but the DP cannot be seen without special stains or equipment.

More information on FUE will follow in further articles, alternately visit our website to learn more about hair restoration .

by Dr S R Bassi

Hair Restoration with Follicular Unit Extraction (Part 2)

There are several advantages of FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction). With moderately sized procedures, it leaves virtually imperceptible punctuate scars in the donor area once healed. During the post operative period, there are only a few limitations placed upon the patient for the first week or so. Patients rarely report any donor area pain from the excision area. The donor area can be washed as vigorously as necessary to obtain a clean wound. Hair grows out from the donor area fairly quickly so by one week after an FUE procedure most donor wounds will be covered by a short beard-like growth of the hair making the donor excisions nearly undetectable.

The FUE hair transplant surgery technique is difficult and tedious to perform on the part of the physician and staff. FUE is not for everyone and it takes a skilled, trained doctor to differentiate who is a candidate for this hair transplant procedure and who is not. Over the years, more and more doctors began offering the procedure, but few have shown real expertise in this field. At the onset, patient successes were few and many were highly suspect. Widespread failures of FUE were not uncommon. As difficult as it was for the doctor to master the FUE surgery, it was equally difficult for the patient to comprehend what FUE procedures could and could not accomplish.

FUE is a minimally invasive, precise, technically demanding hair transplant surgery procedure that is influenced by the technical skills of the doctors, and is hindered by the absence of uniform surgical tools. Transection rates should be tracked and you should ask to see that documentation at the end of your procedure. Finally, to be sure you procedure will go as planned; the doctor's technique must be replicable from one patient to another.



More information on FUE will follow in further articles, alternately visit our website to learn more about hair restoration .

by Dr S R Bassi

Hair Restoration with Follicular Unit Extraction (Part 1)

Hair restoration has come a long way since the days of hair plugs and gruesome scalp reductions. Nowadays using follicular unit extraction and follicular unit transplantation very natural results can be achieved with minimal scarring at the donor site.

What is Follicular Unit Extraction?

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is a technique, in which hair is transplanted from the permanent zone in the back of the scalp into areas affected by genetic balding, using only the naturally occurring, individual follicular units.

The removal of Follicular Units from the back of the scalp without damaging them, involves considerable skill on the part of the surgeon. This technique, called Single Strip Harvesting, is an essential component of follicular unit transplantation as it not only preserves the follicular units, but it prevents damage (transection) to the individual hair follicles. The Follicular Unit Extraction, allows the surgeon to remove individual follicular units without a linear donor incision.

Another essential component of Follicular Unit Transplantation is Stereo-Microscopic Dissection. In this technique, all of the follicular units are removed from the donor tissue under microscopic control to avoid damage. Complete stereo-microscopic dissection has been shown to produce an increased yield of both the absolute number of follicular units, as well as the total amount of hair, (upwards of 25%). (This procedure differs from mini-micrografting in which the grafts are cut with minimal or no magnification.)

A major advantage of follicular unit extraction, (besides preserving follicular units and maximizing growth) is the ability to use small recipient sites. Grafts comprised of individual follicular units are small because Follicular Units are themselves small, but also because the surrounding non-hair bearing tissue is removed under the microscope and doesn't need to be transplanted. Follicular unit grafts can be inserted into tiny needle-sized sites in the recipient area, which heal in just a few days without leaving any marks.

When performed by a skilled surgical team, Follicular Unit Extraction can provide totally natural looking hair transplants that make the full use of the patient's donor supply to give the best possible cosmetic results in the fewest possible sessions.

More information on FUE will follow in further articles, alternately visit our website to learn more about hair restoration .


By Dr S R Bassi

Vaser Lipo Masterclass at Selston Cosmetic Clinic

In late July we held a Vaserlipo masterclass. This was attended by all the national Vaser Liposuction trainers and included Dr Singh, the ever colourful Dr Berkowitz and our Dr Bassi. Dr Bhodalia graced us with his presence as well.

These doctors were the first to use Vaser Lipo in the country and thus have built up considerable experience.

The masterclass involved the doctors performing Vaser Lipo on three different patients' inner thighs and knees. Needless to say these came in different shapes and sizes, and it was fascinating to watch the debate and different techniques each doctor has mastered for the same body areas to achieve smooth aesthetic results.

In my opinion the results were impressive and we should have three satisfied clients and four even more knowledgeable and experienced doctors!

Stay tuned

Mags

Lead Vaser Lipo Technician

Selston Cosmetic Clinic

Selston Cosmetic Clinic Takes Vaser Lipo International

Who would have thought that when roughly 18 months ago, Vaser Lipo arrived at Selston Cosmetic Clinic we would generate so much attention!

We continue to strive to perfect our Vaser liposuction technique to advanced levels, are achieving amazing results and Dr Bassi is now a national trainer for Vaser.

Along this journey we have gathered lots of lovely reviews from satisfied clients on the web.

We initially envisaged that we would be a regional centre servicing clients from in and around the Midlands area. We now find that we have a national following, clients travel to us from the south..London, Wales, Exeter and even Devon. Clients also regularly come from the north...Newcastle, Leeds and Cumbria.

We are getting enquiries for this amazing form of liposuction from Europe, and people are flying in from Scotland, Dublin and amazingly Abu Dabi and Oman!

This geographically distributed attention is truly phenomenal, and whilst we get to meet lots of interesting and funny characters, we also get to help people get the bodies they have always longed for.

Stay tuned

Mags

Lead Vaser Lipo Technician

Selston Cosmetic Clinic

Radiage Skin Tightening – Common Questions

What is Radiage?
Radiage works by using radio frequency to generate heat, which passes through the epidermis (outer layer of the skin) and into the dermis (deeper layer of the skin) to cause some degree of thermal or heat injury. The body then reacts to this "injury" and regenerates, thereby tightening the skin.

How long does the treatment take?
Depending on the areas you have treated, it averages around 20 minutes.

What improvements to my skin may expect with Radiage?
It tightens the skin and can give somewhere between 20-30% skin tightening improvements in most patients, this may seem small but even this amount of tightening gives dramatic results.

Which areas can Radiage be used on?
It can be used for under the eyes and also cheek neck and jowl areas.

Is Radiage safe?
Yes it is safe; Ellman has marked its RF energy devices since 1969.

Is it painful?
Radiage can be performed without anestethic, we recommend local anaestethic cream(EMLA) to be applied 1 hour before hand as Radiage gives a mild to intense heat over the area. To achieve optimum results we have to reach a certain skin tempertures.

How long do the results last?
Treatment results last from 10 to 12 months. Your skin will continue to age and eventually you may wish to have a single top up procedure near the end of this time period.

Recovery time?
Basically there is no recovery time, it is a lunch time procedure. Slight redness may be seen for less than an hour after and no more than 24 hours following the procedure.

How popular is it?
In my experiance, the eye area and jowls are a very popular. With Radiage skin tightening treatment, I have noticed alot of my clients are reporting back to me saying their skin also feels softer and smooth!!

Benefits of Radiage:
Highly versatile
Perfect to combine with microdermabrasion and skin peels
Immediate results and no down time, can be used before a big night out or special occasion.

I’ll keep you posted on Radiage and other treatments we offer at Selston Cosmetic Clinic.

Roberta

Roberta James is a lead Cosmetic Nurse at Selston Cosmetic Clinic and runs the department for the Medical Microdermabrasion, Skin peels, Radiage, Laser Hair Removal and Laser Skin Rejuvenation

Tighter Skin Without Surgery With Radiage

At Selston Cometic Clinic we introduced Radiage skin tightening over 12 months ago. So, what can I tell you about this super treatment?

Well, the device is called Radiage. I was sceptical at first, like all treatments you want to see results. I have been using it on clients over the last year and seeing lasting results for months. The results have been very impressive.

Radiage is one of the latest non-ablative procedures for skin rejuvenation. It is not a laser. It is a Patented Radio Frequency System.

The Radiage heats and modifies the collagen in the skin to tighten and contract it. Fine wrinkles are almost completely obliterated, loose skin in the neck is lifted, and those with no wrinkles walk away with ‘baby smooth skin’.

Most patients see results immediately on the skin’s outer surface while the RF energy slightly heats and modifies the soft tissues beneath the skin. The eventual outcome is that the collagen contracts and tightens thus smoothing the skin.
This is an office procedure that is quick with virtually no down time. You can go back to work immediately!

To get the achieved look, I would recommend 6-8 treatments every 2 weeks, which will significantly tighten the skin and can make a difference to how you look!

However, not everyone responds to the Radiage, so at Selston Cosmetic Clinic, we make a policy to have a complimentary trial test to see if Radiage works for you; As we can tell straight away! Give it a try.

Roberta James is a lead Cosmetic Nurse, that runs the department for the Medical Microdermabrasion, Skin peels, Radiage, Laser Hair Removal and Laser Skin Rejuvenation

Liposuction and Liposculpture with Vaser Lipo

Vaser Liposelection, the most advanced form of liposuction available at the moment has become more and more available in leading aesthetic and cosmetic clinics in the UK over the last several months.

With Vaser Lipo being so new in the UK, it had to be understood, learned, perfected and utilised again and again to provide the desired results that the treatment is capable of, and providing them to a consistent level.

This required someone to pioneer this new procedure in the UK and that challenge was taken up by a handful of leading cosmetic practitioners, including Dr Bassi at Selston Cosmetic Clinic. Years of experience and knowledge of related procedure helped these aestheticians quickly learn and utilise Vaser Lipo to its potential.

Vaser Lipo provides body contouring for larger areas, something other liposuction procedures, such as Smartlipo, Advanced Smartlipo and XP Lipo Laser are all unable to achieve, as they are all suited to smaller areas. Thus is you require or desire liposuction and/or liposculpture of areas including the abdomen, inner thigh, outer thigh, large flanks or male breasts then Vaser Lipo is the treatment you need for the right results.

The Vaser Lipo procedure uses advanced ultrasound technology to emulsify the fat which is subsequently aspirated (gently vacuumed; all of this is done under local anaesthetic. The results are instantaneous and along with this there is subsequent improvements on body contouring and skin tightening over the next 5 or 6 months.

So if you are after the latest and best liposuction treatment for the optimal results, then Vaser Lipo is the way to go.

By Dr S.R Bassi

Dr S.R. Bassi is the lead cosmetic physician in North Nottingham premier medical cosmetic and laser clinic, Selston Cosmetic Clinic. Visit our website or give us a call to find out more about Advanced SmartLipo and Vaser Lipo.

From Russia with Love - Vaser Lipo

Recently myself and our dedicated cosmetic vaser assistant Mags travelled over to Moscow. I was acting as the lead Vaser Lipo cosmetic physician for CMG (Cosmetic Medical Group).


CMG is an international cosmetic group who are opening up cosmetic clinics in all the major international capital cities such as New York, London, Monte Carlo, Dubai and Moscow.

I was assessing high value Russian clients who would be flying over to Europe to receive their treatment with Vaser lipo or Vibro lipo. The group enlisted the support of our experience and expertise in Vaser Lipo and we are proud that our team are becoming international!

During our visit we had some time for sight seeing, but as you can see from the pictures that Red Square and the Kremlin are breathtaking . It was a very enjoyable trip, whilst taking our Vaser Lipo skills across the seas!
Stay tuned......

Dr S.R Bassi

Dr S.R. Bassi is the lead cosmetic physician in North Nottingham premier medical cosmetic and laser clinic, Selston Cosmetic Clinic. Visit our website or give us a call to find out more about Advanced SmartLipo and Vaser Lipo.

The Miracle of Macrolane - Breast Augmentation without the Knife

Many women are dissatisfied with the shape, size or positioning of their breasts, this is especially true for many women after breast feeding a child, this is when the breasts have a tendency to drop and droop, just what you don't need along with the stretch marks!

For quite a few years the only way for a woman to regain her original shaped breasts or increase their size was to undergo full breast surgery, this could often leave the patient sore, bruised and very tender for weeks, not to mention the scar from the surgical incision.

I am happy to say that there is a non surgical alternative, Macrolane.

Macrolane breast enhancement injections are made from the same substances that your body uses to maintain skin turgor – hyalauronic acid, so you can easily achieve a firmer fuller breast.

The beauty of these injections is not only the wonderfully natural looking results, but they do not affect mammograms so you can still attend any routine breast screenings without any problems.

For those ladies who do not wish for the world to know they have had to have a breast augmentation, macrolane is a solution. The actual procedure takes about 45 minutes, after this you are back to your normal daily routine, so it's ideal, you can arrange an appointment and have the treatment, then spend the afternoon shopping, there is no need to book weeks off work while you recover, unlike the surgical options.

The only thing you need to worry about is what size bra to take with you to the clinic, after all you will be coming out with larger, firmer breasts than when you went in, so your old bra won't fit!

Vaser Lipo - The Leading Liposuction Treatment

If you are thinking of having liposuction then you may need to think again. Now we aren’t saying don’t have any form of liposuction, but you should be having the BEST type of lipo available, and using that as a basis standard liposuction really doesn’t cut it anymore.

So what are the alternatives and wants so good about them? Well the best methods available today are Advanced SmartLipo or even better Vaser LipoSelection.

So what is the difference between these treatments and normal lipo? Well standard liposuction is a time consuming and quite painful process, not especially painful during, but the bruising and recovery time after can be very uncomfortable and arduous.

Now Advanced SmartLipo is an improvement on Smart Lipo (which in turn was an improvement on liposuction) and uses laser technology to deliver energy that melts away the body’s fat cells and unlike previous lipo procedures, the meted fat is vacuumed (or aspirated) away. Recovery time is much shorter, as is any bruising and it is a non-surgical procedure, unlike standard liposuction which requires time in hospital.

However Advanced SmartLipo still has a few downsides, mainly that it is only useful for removing small areas of fat, around 500mls, or the size of a fist and the other issue is patient selection; the ideal patient should be slim and toned with localized areas of stubborn fat, with a Body Mass Index of roughly 25.

Now this doesn’t mean that Advanced Smart Lipo isn’t a very good form of liposuction - it is good, very good, but only for those in that demographic (in which case it is one of the best treatments you can choose).

So what to do if you don’t fit that bill? Well that’s Where Vaser LipoSelection, or Vaser Lipo, comes into play.

Vaser Lipo is a new technology which, like Advanced Smart Lipo, is performed under local anaesthetic and uses ultrasound energy to emulsify and breakdown the fat cells, which again is followed by gentle aspiration of this liquefied fat.

The Vaser Lipo procedure can remove various volumes of fat, from small amounts to much larger measurements. Under local anaesthetic and day case surgery up to 2 litres of fat can be removed, this is well within, Vaser Lipo’s capability.

Many leading cosmetic clinics are already starting to offer this treatment and it is set to become the top tiered standard in walk-in/walk-out liposuction treatments allowing the removal of larger volumes of fat compared with other technologies and treatments and gives the ability to enhance and reshape your curves.

By Dr S.R Bassi

Dr S.R. Bassi is the lead cosmetic physician in North Nottingham premier medical cosmetic and laser clinic, Selston Cosmetic Clinic. Visit our website or give us a call to find out more about Advanced SmartLipo and Vaser Lipo.

Dermal Fillers - Putting the Smile Back on Your Face

It is fascinating to see the transformation of a person who is having Dermal Fillers; it is also quite amazing to see this transformation happen instantly before your eyes.

Recently I observed Dr Bassi carrying out a cosmetic filler treatment on a client from Derby. The area being treated was the Nasolabial Folds (or "smile grooves"); these are the deep folds running down from the nose to the mouth that become more and more prominent as we age.

After a small anesthetic block, Dr Bassi injected the Juvederm Ultra dermal filler into the folds. As he worked you could see the years fading away and a more youthful face emerging.

At the end of this anti-aging procedure, the client was offered a mirror to see the result and their face lit up with delight as they saw the younger looking reflection staring back at them. As the doctor continued to give the client advice for the coming couple of weeks, their smile broadened with the knowledge that the final result would be even smoother.