Wondering where all that collagen went? As we age, our skin’s ability to produce collagen and hyaluronic acid diminishes and the elasticity declines. And depending on our lifestyle and activities, from too much sunning to unhealthy habits like smoking or poor diet, collagen breakdown can leave us weathered, wrinkled and sagging.

Four Pillars offers professional grade products, serums, and luxurious treatments for boosting collagen and restoring the hydration and elasticity in the skin creating the youthful, firm skin once again. 

Many collagen creams are unable to penetrate the many layers of skin without assistance due to the simple fact is that collagen is a huge molecule.  Remember, the single most important function of the skin is to separate the inside of you from the outside world.  Simply stated, your skin is engineered with many barriers that are designed to keep things from getting in, and with the exception of a few elements like sweat, your skin is also designed to keep your insides from getting out.

Here at Four Pillars, handheld tools like Rezenerate and Microneedling open channels in the pores so that hydrating and collagen stimulating products and serums can penetrate deeper layers of the skin where collagen is found.  We have also added the Elite MD HydraFacial machine to our skincare toolbox this summer.  The Elite MD HydraFacial utilizes the gentle power of water and specially formulated solutions for deep cleansing, exfoliating, and deep penetration of nourishing serums that hydrate, boost collagen and result in smoother, younger, more firm, glowing skin.

The Rezenerate Nanofacial is a professional grade, state of the art precision wand featuring a silicon chip that creates millions of microscopic channels in the uppermost layer of the skin making it ultra-absorbent for product penetration as well as stimulating collagen production.

Benefits:

• Reduces fine lines & softens wrinkles
• Improves sun damage & blemishes
• Gives a delayed, yet gentle micro peel
• Can be safely used around the eyes & even on the lips
• Deeply exfoliating
• Nourishing dry skin
• Increases product absorption and efficacy

There is “no downtime” with this treatment. It is often referred to as “Microneedling Light.” In fact, Rezenerate is a great maintenance treatment to receive after a series of Microneedling treatments. The rezenerate treatment takes approximately 30 minutes. Our Rezenerate facial begins with a microdermabrasion to exfoliate the skin and prepare for the rezenerate treatment. Professional grade serums are custom chosen for your skin’s needs and applied for maximum absorption. All Four Pillars facials include relaxing massage therapy with organic lotions as well as acupressure on facial points to release stress and encourage relaxation.  The price is $140 for a Rezenerate Facial and $120 in a package of 3.

Microneedling (also known as Collagen Induction Therapy) involves utilizing tiny acupuncture needles to create controlled micro-injuries to the skin, which prompts skin to stimulate collagen and elastin production. The skin’s repair process results in a firmer dermis that also allows topical serums to be absorbed more effectively into the deeper layers of the skin.

A sterile onetime-use tip containing micro needles is used to penetrate the skin along with clinical grade hyaluronic acid and other custom chosen serums for your skin. The process takes less than 30 minutes. Following the treatment, your skin will be red, similar to a sunburn that one to two days depending on the number of passes and how deep the treatment penetrates the skin. A total of 3 to 6 treatments are recommended 21 days apart based on individual needs.

Benefit include:

• Improves skin tone and texture
• Softens crow’s feet
• Lightens Hyperpigmentation
• Improves appearance, texture & size of scars
• Softens stretch marks
• Can be used on face, back, arms, legs, buttocks and abdomen
• Benefits can be seen for up to a year

To achieve maximal microneedling results, the needles should be inserted vertically into the middle layers of the dermis. The actual depth of penetration will vary as the thickness of the dermis also varies in different areas of the body.  A variety of surgical instrument have been developed that control the rate and depth of the needle insertions.  Some of these are manually administered, while devices that are actuated with reciprocating electric motors generate high rates of insertion, similar to tattoo devices.  Our microneedling machine goes from depths of .25 mm to 1 mm deep. In general, we start with .25 depth on the first treatment and increase to .5 and then to .75 over the course of three treatments spaced 21 days apart.  After 3 treatments, we can determine if more are needed for your desired results.

What makes micro-needling doubly interesting and effective, is the fact that when an acupuncture needle is inserted into the dermal collagen matrix, the fibroblast cells that generate collagen are stimulated to release a cascade of essential Growth Factors and boosts ADP energy in the cell.  The needle insertions cause this even when stimulating compounds are not used. 

Microneedling stimulates the fibroblast cells to release growth factors

We recommend microdermabrasion or Dermaplane before treatments to exfoliate the skin. During the microneedling treatment, 100% pure Hyaluronic Acid is put onto the skin to deeply hydrate the skin and the Pro Heal Serum from iS Clinical is also applied to calm the skin and assist the healing. This treatment is $165 or $140 in a package of 3.  This package can also be used for Deluxe HydraFacials as well as any other Four Pillars massage therapy or energy treatment at a 15% discount. 

HydraFacial with the Growth Factors Booster is another treatment that specifically helps boost collagen production in the deep layers of the skin. 

HydraFacial ReGen GF Booster benefits:

• Designed to boost collagen and elastin production
• Diminish the appearance of fine lines.
• Captures and removes toxins and irritants

Key Ingredients:

• M-007 Fulvate Complex
• A wide range of proteins

HydraFacial DermaBuilder benefits:

• Helps smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and enhances skin elasticity.

Key Ingredients:

• Palmitoyl Dipeptide-5 Diaminobutyroyl: Peptide
• Hydroxythreonine: Peptide
• Palmitoyl Dipeptide-5 Diamionhydroxybutyrate: Peptide

HydraFacial also has LED light therapy wands that shine blue light to treat acne, or red light to build collagen and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. LED light therapy is included along with facial Lymphatic Drainage in the Elite Hydrafacial treatment for $195.  LED light therapy can be added to any treatment for $25.

At Four Pillars we take your skin care very seriously. We are excited to stay on the forefront of medical aesthetics. Our advanced and medical aestheticians provide custom facials for every skin type and budget. Our product lines include the PCA Skin and iS Clinical professional lines as well as the luxurious and effective organic line, Naturopathica.

** The information for this article was found on The American Medical Aesthetics webpage. www.amaskincare.com Additional information also obtained from the Rezenerate.com and the Hydrafacial.com webpages.

Four Pillars is located in San Marco Plaza at 8209 Natures Way, Suite 221, Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202.  Learn more about our aestheticians, services and product lines at www.fourpillarsflorida.com/facial-services. You can schedule online, on the MindBody app, or call 941-373.3955.