Skin Deep MedSpa: An Oasis of Skin Care
As seen in Pasadena Weekly, News and Entertainment
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At the oasis
The Skin Deep Laser & Med Spa located on South Fair Oaks Avenue in a small business park beckons visitors with its neutral toned interiors, plush furniture and soft lighting. There is a comfortable hush that keeps the sounds and stresses of the outside world from intruding.
At the large, wooden reception area sits Marianne Fannon, assistant client manager.
She greets people with a smile. "I love coming to work," said the 25-year-old Fannon, who’s been working in customer service for the last seven years. She sees a lot of care taken here; "warm, friendly staff and the family atmosphere that makes people want to come back."
The company’s mission is simple: "We consider ourselves guardians of the skin. We bring out a radiant and youthful glow," said Colin D. Hurren, owner and CEO of Skin Deep.
His medical director monitors the consistency of the non-invasive medical treatments. The spa offers thelatest technology in skin care.
Luminis One, a machine that gives off intense pulsed light energy, stimulates the growth of collagen and is used to soften the appearance of aging skin and reduce fine wrinkles, remove brown spots, fade sun spots, reduce red blotchiness from Rosacea and decrease pore size. The treatment is called a photofacial.
The spa offers Botox injections, as well as the use of wrinkle fillers such as Cosmoderm, Cosmoplast and the recently FDA-approved Restylane. Injections are used to smooth out wrinkles on the forehead, between the eyes and crow’s feet areas. The effect lasts four months. Trained registered nurses on staff give injections.
Photodynamic Therapy with Levulan is a new and very safe and effective treatment for acne. Levulan, a clear liquid, is painted onto the face and is left for 45 minutes to set. The product, which kills the bacteria causing the acne, is activated by sitting under a blue light for 15 minutes. This therapy can replace the use of antibiotics and Accutane, which has caused harmful side effects for some people. The company knows how traumatic acne can be for some teenagers, Hurren said. There are plans in the works to give back to the community and offer complimentary services to teenagers living at group homes in the area.
The spa uses lasers for permanent hair removal from just about any part of the body. A laser heats up hair follicles and kills them in the growth stage, Hurren said. Electrolysis, apparently, is a thing of the past.
Smooth as silk
Complimentary consultations help a client decide what treatment would give them the best results. Suzanne Peters, a Pasadena-based product and marketing photographer, could feel her "skin being happy" after undergoing a c-serum photofacial.
"My skin felt like it had been given new life. I was glowing," said the fiftysomething Peters. Friends, she said, told her "Oh, you’re looking great. You look radiant."
What impressed Peters about the spa was the staff ’s attention to detail. At her consultation, she was counseled about the most effective way to achieve her aesthetic goals while staff members made themselves aware of any lifestyle choices or medications that she was taking that would interfere with the treatments and make them less effective.
Peters was able to achieve a healthful glow to her skin while removing discoloration, red veins and sun damage from her neck and chest. Another aspect of the med spa that Peters finds appealing is its glamour. And while the atmosphere works for her, it’s not reflected in the prices, as is the case with so many other places offering skin treatments. You get "good value" and "better prices," she said.
The photofacials are effective for all types of skin except African American, said Liza Papadopoulos, a staff registered nurse. The treatment can be done during a lunch hour and since the technology was FDAapproved just a few years back, it has taken off in Southern California, a place where people have active life styles and frequently suffer sun damage, Papadopoulos said. "You can look great for your age without the downtime of surgery," the nurse said.
Botox is another treatment that she says is one of the "most popular" done at the spa. "Over the years, its become more purified. It’s very safe if used properly. There’s no chance of nerve damage. A trained person has to know how to place the injection. If it’s not well done, Botox can migrate and affect surrounding muscles," she said. But doctors said that side effect is temporary.
Since baby boomers have a longer life expectancy, "now is the time to have good skin care," Fannon said.
