Questions About FotoFacial RF
Plastic surgery and skin care to help you look and feel your best
Dr. Paul Angelchik is a Phoenix plastic surgeon who is board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. He is also a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Dr. Angelchik is well-trained and experienced in all forms of plastic surgery, namely breast enhancement and facial rejuvenation. He has been serving patients for over 20 years. Dr. Angelchik brings his surgical experience, expertise, and quality care to patients in and around Phoenix, Arizona.
How does the FotoFacial RF™ differ from other photo-rejuvenation procedures?
In combining Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and RadioFrequency (RF) energy into one treatment, FotoFacial RF™ treatments offer the most effective high-tech form of non-invasive skin enhancement. Many other lasers and devices, such as N-lite® , Cooltouch® , SmoothBeam® , and V-Beam® can deliver photorejuvenation and you may notice improvement in some aspects of your skin, particularly in vascular and melanin discolorations. However, by combining RF and IPL into one treatment, FotoFacial RF™ gives you optimal enhancement to all skin components. You will see wrinkle improvements and significant improvement in redness, rosacea, pinkness, spider veins, pores and texture. There is also no downtime.
How are the FotoFacial RF™ treatments performed?
FotoFacial RF™ treatments are simple, office-based treatments. The area to be treated is first covered with a thin layer of non-gel, aqueous RF conductive medium. This will conduct the RF current into the skin efficiently. Then the entire face, chest, hands, arms or affected body part is treated with a gentle pulse of light and RF energy. The hand piece of the FotoFacial RF™ device is dynamically cooled to help protect the skin. Each treatment takes about 30 minutes. You can see the light pulses but not the RF energy. Because each FotoFacial RF™ treatment is gentle, most people require five or six treatments to see their desired results and treatments are performed every 3 weeks. For certain skin types, a microdermabrasion is performed between FotoFacial RF™ treatments to enhance the penetration of the light and RFenergy.
How does the FotoFacial RF™ work to improve the appearance of the skin?
Each pulse of the FotoFacial™ RF device, eLight or eMax sends two types of energy into your skin, Intense Pulsed Visible Light and RadioFrequency energy. They act synergistically to enhance the skin. Energy is applied to brown spots, blood vessels, and redness to gradually and gently lessen or eliminate these blemishes. The RF energy also causes the skin to produce significant amounts of collagen, elastin and ground substances in the dermis. The dermis is like a thick undercarpet below the skin surface and contains many supportive structures such as sweat glands, blood vessels, hair follicles, and oil glands. It also contains a matrix of collagen and elastin that supports the skin surface, keeping it smooth. As we age, the body produces less collagen and elastin, leaving gaps in the matrix, and this is a contributing cause of wrinkles. By stimulating more collagen in the dermis, your FotoFacial™ RF treatment gives a noticeable smoothening of fine to moderate wrinkles and textural irregularities.
Will the FotoFacial RF™ treatment hurt and will I have to miss work?
The FotoFacial RF™ treatments have a mild level of discomfort. We will apply a topical anesthetic cream 30 minutes before your FotoFacial RF™, which will greatly reduce and perhaps eliminate any discomfort. The SynerCool™ system of forced air for cooling the skin can provide an additional degree of comfort. After each treatment, you can apply makeup and return to normal activities. The FotoFacial RF™ treatments have proven to be low risk, cause few complications and rarely require downtime. Typically, you will not have to miss work or regular activities.
How long will the skin enhancement effects of the FotoFacial RF™ last?
After your FotoFacial RF™ program, your skin will have a noticeable improvement that over 90% of patients are very happy with. Occasionally, some people want an even greater degree of improvement and will sign up for additional procedures. Most FotoFacial RF™ patients will just want to maintain the nice skin enhancements they achieved from the program and for these satisfied patients, a single maintenance FotoFacial RF™ treatment is recommended every two to four months to keep the skin looking vital, even, smooth and youthful. Please see our main page on FotoFacial RF™ treatments for more information. If you would like to schedule a personal consultation and learn more about how this remarkable procedure could rejuvenate your face, please contact our Glendale, Arizona office today.
