The Laser Queen - Cindy Graf your medical spa consultant

Great article from PCA Skin: Myths about Skin

Myths abound about skin care, from recommendations on preventing stretch marks to the proper way to cleanse your face. These old wife’s tales have many experts shaking their heads in disbelief, but also have many believing them. Five common skin care myths are debunked here.

1.Tanning beds help prepare your skin for the summer sun. This is not only false, but dangerous. Even tanning booths that do not have UVB rays still generate concentrated UVA rays, which can lead to skin cancer and premature wrinkles and aging of the dermis. A base tan does not mean your body has produced more melanin, it just means the melanin you have has come closer to the surface. Getting a base tan does not protect you from further sun damage, and can be in and of itself quite harmful to your skin.

2. You can prevent stretch marks with olive oil. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can apply to your skin to prevent the appearance of stretch marks. A healthy diet, good hydration and regular exercise will improve the elasticity of your skin. Stretch marks occur when the sub-surface splits due to over-stretching, such as when you gain excessive weight or are pregnant.

3. Increasing the SPF means you can stay out in the sunshine much longer. This is truly an unsafe belief. A sunscreen with an SPF of 15 will block approximately 94% of UV rays. Increasing to an SPF of 40 will only block 97% of UV rays. Increasing the SPF does not significantly increase the protection. What’s more important is to ensure the sun block you purchase protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Another must is to apply the protection before you venture out in the sun and then reapply sun screen every couple of hours, regardless of whether you got wet or not.

4. You don’t need sunscreen if you have dark skin. A darker skin tone, whether a Mediterranean olive-toned complexion or the skin tone of a person of color, does not give the person extra protection from the sun. It only means that they have an increased level of melanin. Although this does decrease the risk of skin cancer from the harmful UVA and UVB rays of the sun, it is only a slight decrease, and people with darker skin tones must use sunscreen and take the same precautions as those with a fairer complexion.

5. You can get acne from eating chocolate. No one type of food will lead to acne, and while a healthy diet will promote a healthy skin, what you eat does not cause acne. Acne occurs when the dead cells that the skin sheds stick together and block the various gland openings in the skin. The natural oils in the skin then back up, and bacteria takes advantage of this situation, making matters even worse. So you can keep eating chocolate – in moderation of course!

Fall is coming…get your marketing plan ready now for your medical spa!

Fall and spring are great times to market to sell big packages and increase revenue stream in the medical spa. Hate to talk about it already with summer in full swing but now is the time. Plan Sept-Nov with Clean Up Summer Sun Damage ads, promotions. Get your skin care vendors involved. Host a back to school luncheon for moms on the first day of school to celebrate!

Thought I would share this jig zone puzzle with you all from our summer vacation….a great memory of my son and his girlfriend walking the beach! <a href=”http://www.jigzone.com/gallery/79250A5A18.800E560?z=0″> Jigsaw Puzzle Gallery – JigZone.com</a>

Let the Brooke Shields ads sell Latisse for You!

Although profit margins on Latisse and Botox Cosmetic aren’t great, the marketing dollars spent by these corporations does a great job of driving clients into our medical spa business for skin evaluation and consultations. TLQ says ride on the advertising and hone your consultation skills to cross sell to other procedures and products. Do a mineral make up makeover while theya re there and sell some product! Good selling

Happy 4th of July gear up with fall marketing now

As the fourth of July weekend begins, enjoy the beauty of summers bounty, the heart racing thrill of fireworks, the pride of living in a free county. It has always been on of my fav holidays. Gear up when you return, for planning Fall promotions that will make up for the slower summer months.

A Back to School brunch or salad bar seminar is always popular with baby boomer moms after their kids get back to high school or college and they can finally breathe a sigh of relief and plan time for themselves!

Aestheticians MVP of Medical Spa

I believe that medical aestheticians are the MVP of the aesthetic world! They have a solid understanding of skin, skin care products, the combining of skin care products, procedures and laser light treatment. If you are a Day Spa esthetician and want to become a medical aesthetician or a nurse, MD, etc …we can help see the attached flyer for our Medical Aesthetics course! Click here for more information! Basic Aesthetics course LQ

Botox an effective preventative treatment for migranes

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Botox shots, known for smoothing wrinkles, are an “effective” preventive treatment for patients with chronic migraine, conclude the authors of a new study funded by the drug’s makers.

Patients given Botox had about eight fewer headache days a month after receiving the shots, compared to about seven fewer days for patients given placebo, the researchers found. (Before treatment, both groups averaged about 20 headache days per month).

But both groups had the same reduction in migraines or headaches: about 5 percent.

People with chronic migraine suffer headaches at least 15 days a month, and have typically not been included in studies of standard migraine prevention treatments such as painkillers and drugs called triptans ”because they were considered to be too highly disabled and treatment resistant,” Dr. David W. Dodick of the Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale in Arizona and colleagues note in the journal Headache.

Botox injections have been tested in patients with less frequent migraines, as well as in chronic headache patients, and weren’t any better than placebo, but other research found some chronic migraine patients did benefit from the shots.

To investigate further, Dodick and colleagues at 66 sites in the US and Europe conducted two studies investigating Botox for chronic migraine patients. In the current report, the researchers describe the results of a pooled analysis of the studies, which included nearly 1,400 patients.

Patients were randomly assigned to placebo injections or Botox, and received at least 31 injections in seven specific areas in muscles of the head and neck at the study’s outset and again at 12 and 24 weeks. They received at least 155 units of the medication per treatment, and the investigators could give patients up to 40 more units at their discretion.

Before treatment, patients in both groups averaged about 20 “headache days” a month, and about two-thirds of people in each group used headache pain medications at least twice a week, which the researchers defined as overuse.

After 24 weeks, patients on placebo had 6.6 fewer headache days each month, compared to 8.4 fewer days for the patients given Botox.

Side effects occurred in 63 percent of the patients in the Botox group and 52 percent of patients on placebo. Five percent of the Botox patients had serious side effects, compared to two percent of the placebo patients.

Nearly nine percent of patients given Botox complained of neck pain and nearly 6 percent reported muscle weakness; colds were the most common adverse events in the placebo group, reported by about five percent.

Botox is not Food and Drug Administration approved for treating migraine. The cost of Botox treatment varies, both by geographic area and from provider to provider; patients may be charged per unit ($10 to $15 is typical). This would translate to $1,550 to $2,325 for the minimum amount used in the current study.

Allergan, Inc., the maker of Botox, funded the research. Dodick has received speaking fees from Allergan and several other pharmaceutical companies, while three of the current study’s authors are Allergan employees and own stock in the company.

SOURCE:http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123424920/abstractHeadache, online May 7, 2010.

Service Contracts may be a forgotten expense in the Medical Spa!

Service contracts are many times a forgotten $surprise$ in the

medical spa industry. Most manufacturers charge 10%

per year for both IPL and laser. There is sometimes a

savings for platform technologies that have one box

(platform) with add as you desire handpieces for hair

removal, photorejuvenation, wrinkles, tightening.

Check it out!

Here is a link to an article I did for Healthy Aging Magazine regarding Fine Lines: Evaluating Laser Service Contracts. http://healthy-aging.advanceweb.com/ebook/magazine.aspx?EBK=HA052410#/27/

Frequent visits in the medspa treatment room keep protocols in check

If you are a physician or manager trying to maintain high standards of care in your medical spa, make frequent, unannounced stops to say hello to patients during treatments. This will assure that your staff is always on their toes and impress patients of your involvement in their care. For more information on these medical spa management tips visit www.cindygrafconsulting.com.

Fun in the Sun Sunscreen is a must

Sending your clients out into the summer sun after facial procedures is like putting a new born baby in the sun to bake. IPL, laser, chemical peels, microdermabrasion all make the skin a ready target to absorb UVA- UVB rays at a faster rate than non treated skin. SPF 30+ sunscreens protect against UVB rays but do not forget to protect yourself against the harmful UVA rays with products containing titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, parasol or helioplex. The UVA are the most aging and cancer causing rays. Many women and men feel that having SPF 15 in your make up or lotion is adequate…it is not.

Sunny Scottsdale Spa Finder is a good source of clients

I received a Spa Finder gift certificate from a client and find them to be a good source of client prospecting. The day spa industry is getting it…the medical spa group not so much…get it! www.spafinder.com