Greenspring Blog

Summertime and the Living is Easy
We love Tucson in the summer; things slow down, school is out, traffic is lighter, and once the monsoons arrive the nights have a tropical, romantic feel to them. 

We also realize that the days can be amazingly hot, and the sun can do a good amount of damage to unprotected skin.  So we'd like to share how we enjoy our Tucson summers while keeping our skin healthy.  Learn More >

Let's keep it simple for the upcoming holiday season! Here is your Age-Proofing Arsenal and some medical-grade products we particularly like.

• Cleanser:  Zap dullness and increase cell turnover with an exfoliating cleanser.  Small-grain exfoliating cleansers work well for most skin types and can brighten up your skin. Popular cleansers we sell - and use ourselves - are C-ESTA by Jan Marini (which is great not only to use daily but also excellent for use after chemical peels or laser treatments) and Obagi Foaming Gel, for normal to oily skin.

• Anti-Aging Serum: Serums and gels contain higher concentrations of therapeutic ingredients than creams, and that means faster results.  Look for Retinol, vitamin C or vitamin E. These vitamins stimulate collagen which strengthens the skin.  Here at Greenspring we love VI Derm Vitamin C 20% Gel or Luksus BioGel which contains Retinol.    Learn More >

20s:  UVA rays, which age our skin, start to break down collagen (the protein that keeps skin firm)  and tiny lines will start appearing around the eyes.  We recommend that you apply a sunscreen first thing in the morning every day of the year.  Besides your face, apply some to your arms, neck and chest.  Your skin will thank you for it!    Learn More >

MedicalDaily.com just put out an article touting Botox as the new way to combat acne.  We suggest you give it a read! Click to read article, written by Nikki Tucker, was extremely well written and caught our attention as the relationship between Botox and acne has been lightly discussed in the Medical Aesthetic field for a few years. Some doctors have claimed that Botox caused acne in their patients, but according to Tucker, Dr. Anil Shah, a plastic surgeon in Chicago, is convinced that it helps to clear it.  Learn More >

A new Huffington Post article is bringing a lot of attention to the illegal operation of medical spas across the country. The article discusses the new proposed legislature in California, AB 1548,  which would change the fine for illegal operation of medical spas from $1,200 to $50,000.  Since the early July publication of the Huffington Post article, the legislation has since been passed into law. The legislation was created in response to the thousands of medical spas that opened in the last decade attempting to sell procedures at a cheaper price but without proper medical supervision. Most professionals in the field agree that the cheaper price can often result in a higher cost when it comes to customer safety. Procedures are being performed in illegal medical spas by individuals who are not sufficiently trained to insure the safety of their patients. California law states that all medical spa’s must be owned and supervised by a physician. There have been many documented cases of illegal practice resulting in burn victims from laser procedures and droopy facial features from misapplied Botox or injectables.   Learn More >

It’s hard not to love the term “Manscaping.” It’s a little like “Brotox” in that it makes just a little bit of fun of men doing procedures that our society pegs as designated for women. We, however, happen to have the inside scoop. As we were the first in Tucson to offer Laser Hair Removal almost 20 years ago, we have had sufficient time to watch trends in hair removal come and go. Hair removal concerns for men, however, have proven to be far more consistent than a come-and-go trend! Don’t be fooled! There is nothing “new” about manscaping! You may be shocked to hear that men have made up around 50% or more of our laser hair removal clientele since the mid 90’s. The difference between now and then, is that men no longer have to keep the fact that they want groomed body hair a secret.   Learn More >

It’s hard to believe that though it is close to 110 degrees in Tucson today, summer has yet to begin. Thursday officially marks the beginning of summer and we can’t wait to ring in the season with a full schedule and a load of happy patients. We look forward to the summer season all year. It seems that as soon as the weather heats up, all of our customers renew their dedication to beauty and health. Our rooms are filled with Microdermabrasions, Laser Hair Removal treatments, Depigmenting Photofacials and lately loads of people trying our new body contouring system- Venus Freeze.  Learn More >

Board certified physician and cosmetic surgeon Alex Cadoux, MD is pleased to announce being the first in Tucson, AZ to offer Venus Freeze™, the latest FDA cleared technology for Non-Surgical Fat Reduction, Cellulite Reduction and Skin Tightening for the Face, Neck and Body

Venus Freeze employs a patented new technology which combines Multi-Polar RF and Pulsed Magnetic Fields. The Multi-Polar RF delivers fast, pain free, homogeneous heating to multiple tissue depths resulting in superior outcomes for body shaping and skin tightening. Pulsed Magnetic Fields technology has been used in traditional medicine for decades and is scientifically proven with regard to its regenerative properties.   Learn More >

So your skin tone is uneven. It happens. In fact, in sunny Tucson, it happens often. But we can't blame it all on the sun. Skin pigmentation issues often come from aging and hormonal changes. Melasma, which is commonly called "the pregnancy mask" is a common hormonally-induced change in the melanin of the skin which most often produces a splotchy darkening of the skin during pregnancy or other times of significant hormonal change (including the use of birth control pills or estrogen replacement therapy.) Solar lentingo, commonly referred to as liver spots is a similar darkening of the skin that can occur from aging and prolonged sun exposure.  Learn More >

Life leaves it's mark on us. This is true no matter how old you are, what your ethnicity is, how much money you have, or how happy you are. We all carry the signs- be it scars from an accident, stretch marks from pregnancy, sun freckles on your shoulders, frown wrinkles from excessive time spent studying in graduate school, or extra weight that you gained when you were injured or just having fun. Life is a beautiful journey and we hope you feel the same way about it that we do- we wouldn't have it any other way.

However, every journey is also marked by choice. It is now the year 2012 and technology has made it so that we have choice about which marks we want to carry with us forever, and which ones we want to change. Choosing a cosmetic procedure is not about undoing what has been done, but about making a new mark of your choice.  Learn More >