Photo Genesis and Photofacials help even your skin tone and make you look younger.

After three months of chasing the kids through water parks, lake outings, afternoons lounging by the pool and daily outdoor exposure, sun damage is inevitable for many of us in the Valley. And with the holidays nearing, this means having to endure family portraits and family reunions — times when looking your best is important, especially when you are being captured in photographs that will be around for years to come.

Plus, the amount of sun damage present in one’s skin has a direct effect on “skin age,” says Dr. Suneil Jain, NMD, of Rejuvena Health & Aesthetics in Scottsdale. “The more sun damage a person has, the older he or she looks.”

Instead of using Photoshop to correct the damage after the photo is taken, you zap away the imperfections with skin rejuvenation treatments before the photo is taken.

Two types of treatments that can make your skin look younger are Photo Genesis and Photofacials. But how are they different, and how do you know which treatment is right for you?

Photo Genesis – which costs between $150 and $700, depending on the area treated – reduces uneven pigmentation in your skin, including brown spots, sun damage and redness or rosacea. It uses a series of gentle pulses of light that are delivered deep into the skin. The light is selectively absorbed only by those areas that are pigmented spots, evening out the tone of the skin. Photo Genesis is considered when patients are “looking for a quick, safe and effective way to have a beautiful radiant complexion,” Jain says.

However, Photo Genesis does more than just clear complexion and even skin tone. According to Jain, it can help to repair and remove small blood vessels, treat acne, reduce the redness of rosacea, improve skin tone and texture, and even stimulate collagen growth.

“The fall and winter are the best times of the year to do Photo Genesis treatments because sun exposure is at its most minimal level,” Jain says. “The holidays are also a time when patients desire to look their best.”

Another type of skin rejuvenation treatment is a Photofacial. Jain says the difference between the two treatments is comfort level.

“The Photo Genesis is a safe and easier procedure,” Jain says.

Photofacials, which cost between $250 and $750, also consist of short pulses of visible light — Intense Pulse Light — that are focused on “hyper pigmented areas and red pigmented areas to break up and remove it,” says Dannielli Marcelino, senior
medical laser technician and esthetician of Suddenly Slimmer Medical Spa.

While Photofacials also treat discoloration and evens out and tones the skin, the procedure also rids skin of sun spots, fine lines, wrinkles, liver spots, freckles, melasma, rosacea and
spider veins.

However, Marcelino says patients need to know the procedure is not for all skin types. It is only recommended for light- skinned individuals.

“(With) darker-skinned individuals, there is less of a contrast between overall skin color and pigmented spots,” Marcelino says. “So (Photofacials) can increase the risk of having an adverse reaction.”

Both Photo Genesis and Photofacial procedures have a shared benefit, though. Both treatments only take 20 to 30 minutes, and patients can resume their normal activities after the procedure is completed.

Marcelino says Suddenly Slimmer’s patients include not only women, but men. The number of men receiving Photofacials is “without a doubt increasing,” including many golfers, Marcelino says.

Photofacial is one of the most popular treatments in Scottsdale for correcting sun damage,
according to Marcelino, considering the city of one of the top in the nation for sun damage and pre-mature aging.

“Although Photofacial is a popular treatment used to correct the skin on the face, it is also great for removing sun spots all over the body,” Marcelino says. “When you even out the skin tone on the neck, chest, shoulders, back, arms, hands and legs, you can look 10 years younger!”

For more information about Photo Genesis or Photofacials, contact Rejuvena or Suddenly Slimmer.

Rejuvena Health & Aesthetics
9977 N. 95th St., Ste. 101
(480) 551-9000
werejuvenate.com Suddenly Slimmer Medical Spa
3313 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix
(602) 952-8446
suddenlyslimmer.com