A Spring Lift May Be Just What You Need

With the chill in the air subsiding and the signs of new life emerging, do you feel you need a spring in your step and a lift in your jowls? Well then, treatment with Profound may be just what you need. After a long winter of dark days and cold nights, we emerge in spring with a new sense of beginning and a desire to improve how we look. That new short bob? Sign me up. Choppy bangs? Yes, please. Blonde highlights? La La Luxe salon here I come. A new flowy, flower print dress? A must have from fashion BNKR. A cosmetic consult to learn what can be done with that post-winter frown and those more noticeably heavy jowls? Let’s go!

I see patients all the time in March and April seeking a pick me up after winter. Whether it's a peel to brighten the skin, Botox to relax the frown lines or a device to lift the jowls, spring is a busy time of year for me. Spring 2017 was also a busy time of year for me personally - I was on the hunt for a new device to tighten or lift what I was calling my pooch (not of the canine variety) or my blob (not of the 80’s horror film variety). My pooch was a blob of skin jutting down from my jawline, the start of a full-fledged jowl, that was just enough to make me position my neck ever so carefully in photos. (Photo below.)

There are definitely benefits to being a dermatologist. One is I that  get to try new things and see what works. So there I was in February 2017 reaching out to laser companies looking for an ultrasound or radio frequency device to take care of my pooch. I scheduled a few demo sessions and I was ready. Ultherapy here I come, until I heard from a fellow dermatologist how much it hurt. I cancelled that demo in fear, and scheduled one with a device called the Infini RF.  The Infini RF is a radiofrequency micro needling device. On demo day, I was the model subject as I had planned. It was definitely a bit painful. I had grid marks on my jawline and neck for weeks  and my skin was noticeably softer but alas the pooch was fully intact. Then I received a call from a laser sales rep I have known for over 15 years. I told him I demo’d the Infini and he said, never mind that, do you want to demo the Profound?

Profound??? "What’s that?" I asked. Only the best new firming-lifting-fractionated-radiofrequency- micro-needling device on the market that’s being touted as the next best thing to a day spent in a plastic surgery operating room, he replied. Profound is unique in that it's the 1st radiofrequency device to stimulate production of 3 skin fundamentals of structure - collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid. And the best part? You only need one treatment! I asked if it would take care of my pooch. He said, try it. So I set up demo day.

Of course as a physician, I did not really abide by all the rules, so when the day finally arrived and the Profound was in front of us, the nurse trainer asked if I had stopped all blood thinners that I take. Um well, I took some ibuprofen the past few days for my sore knee, and I forgot to stop my fish oil, does that count? Sigh. I knew better. Anyway, into the chair I went. After 45 minutes of topical numbing cream, I was ready for the local anesthetic. As my colleague administered lidocaine with a multi-headed injector beast, it hurt, but I wanted my pooch gone.

After the lidocaine injections I was numb, so the procedure began. Five pairs of microneedles on a tip were inserted into the middle layer of my skin and were then heated to 67 C for 3 seconds. I felt nothing. Forty-five minutes later, the lower one-third of my face, jawline, and upper neck were treated. Pinpoint bleeding was dabbed and ice packs were applied. I went home exhilarated.

When the anesthetic wore off, I was sore but not in pain. I had to wear healing balm for the next five days - I was pretty bruised but that was solely my fault. I had to wear cover makeup to the office but patients were curious as to what I had done. Fast forward 2 weeks. My skin was healed, but I still had some bumps under the skin and the surface felt a bit dull, all normal findings. After four weeks, everything was back to normal, but now came the waiting period.

The company, Syneron-Candela states that you can see results from Profound as early as one month, but I was unsure if I saw much and I was still a bit skeptical. After 3 months, my side view pictures were a bit better! Five months later and the pooch was almost gone! By that time, I was convinced and my practice bought the Profound.

Since July 2017, my colleagues in the practice and I have treated over 50 patients. Many are still seeing the results of their procedure as it can take a full year to see the final result, but many are very happy. 

As the technology is somewhat new, it is hard to say how long it will last, but if I had to have an answer, I would say in the 4-5 year range. While the results do not equal what can be accomplished by a plastic surgeon performing a lower third of the face and neck lift, I would agree that it is as close as we can come to a surgical procedure with a non-invasive device.

My pooch is now almost imperceptible and I take pictures without all the jawline/neck fanfare. Now that spring is here, are you ready for the new haircut, the new dress and a bit of a lift?

**Please remember that with all cosmetic procedures, seek out specialty board-certified doctors trained in the core aesthetic specialities of dermatology, plastic surgery, ophthalmology, and otorhinolaryngology.**

More About Dr Paula Moskowitz

Paula Moskowitz is a Board Certified Dermatologist, Partner/Owner of Dermatology Professionals, mom, and a lover of fashion, food, fragrance, and the outdoors.