Doctor Phil Haeck
The Essence of Your Potential
Transformed With Experience
Overlake Medical Tower | 901 Boren Avenue, Suite 1650 | Seattle, Washington 98104 | Phone: (206) 464-0873 | Toll Free: (800) 328-1441
Overlake Medical Tower | 1135 116th Avenue NE, Suite 350 | Bellevue, Washington 98004 | Phone: (425) 454-3334 | Fax: (425) 450-8856
Skin Care
Have you ever looked at a baby's skin and wondered why it feels so soft? The answer is simple. It's water. Studies show that the water content in their skin is much higher than an adult's skin. In addition, they haven't been exposed to the elements like so many of us in the Northwest.
As we age, even if we've worked hard to protect our skin, several forces are at work to prevent us from having that soft and smooth look. Besides loosing the ability to retain moisture in our skin cells, the deeper layers of our skin, called the dermis, thins with age. This is the layer where new cells are born. As they mature these cells thin out and die, and are shed from the outer layers of our skin as flakes of epidermis. This process of cell maturation is controlled and altered by several processes. Hormones, our body's own hydration and disease processes can alter the timing of cell maturation and shedding. Aging itself causes us to retain these dead cells longer than when we were young. With the loss of elastic fibers in the fourth and fifth decades of life the skin wrinkles, both from thinning and the lost ability to remain stretched tight over our facial skeleton. Sounds horrible doesn't it?
The first real breakthrough in reversing this process occurred with Retin-A, released for use in the 1980's. Restoration of timing of the skin maturation process was the highlight of this prescriptive cream. However, excessive dryness was a by-product and many people found it hard to stay on Retin-A for this reason.
This concept of topical skin rejuvenation was born, however, and is now propagated through physician's officers because of the original power of Retin-A to provide real breakthroughs in skin care. As physicians looked for other ways to provide a return to healthy skin, an entire class of agents called Alpha Hydroxy Acids was born. These provide the same benefits as Retin-A of more rapid skin turnover and faster sloughing of the dead cells on the surface. But in addition, in higher strengths they also cause the dermis to retain water like a baby's skin. So without excessive irritation and dryness, these agents give the skin a smoother look with correction of minor wrinkles and even correction of red and brown spotting on the skin.
Unfortunately, as the cosmetics industry jumped on the band wagon, these fruit acids (AHA's) were added in small amounts to a multitude of over-the-counter products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has allowed small amounts of these AHA's to be used as non-prescriptive additives. Yet many women became disillusioned with the lack of response from these department store AHA containing products. Why? Naturally, there is a dose-response curve of the ability of AHA's to work. Only at higher strengths which require regulation by a physician does the real power of AHA's to rejuvenate the skin become useful. So products available in the store may contain only 10% or less of the more concentrated formulas allowed to be distributed through physicians.
At the office of Dr. Haeck, his skin care specialists have many years of experience in selecting the correct strength and formula of physician strength topical treatments to rejuvenate the skin. Which product to use depends on the skin type of the patient, amount of aging that has occurred and past skin care or procedures. Once the best home regime has been instituted, a series of booster peels with 70-90% AHA's can be performed in the office by one of the staff specialists. These speed the process of return to healthier skin, reduction in age and pigmentation spots and smoothing of fine wrinkles around the eyes, mouth and cheeks. When maintenance dosing is required, mail-order services from Dr. Haeck's office are available to his patients, wherever they may live.
Want to have smoother, healthier looking skin? Tired of department store formulas that cost a lot, but don't seem to make a difference? Make an appointment today to meet with Dr. Haeck and his skin specialist today. You can find out what's best for you, receive free starter samples on your first visit and begin the skin rejuvenation process you need.
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