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"The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes. If you foolishly ignore beauty, you will soon find yourself without it. Your life will be impoverished. But if you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life."

-Frank Lloyd Wright

I love this.

Autumn Skin Brightening

Now that Summer is officially over, it is time to assess the damage. After frolicking in the beautiful Colorado sunshine all Summer, our skin is certainly worse for the wear. Even with proper sunscreen, we can still find ourselves with age spots, dark or brown spots, or any other sign of sun damage. 

For this, and any other hyper-pigmentation (including melasma), we recommend NeoCutis Blanche and the Clarisonic Brush.

NeoCutis Blanche has been featured in SKIN & ALLERGY NEWS as well as recently in both the medical spa section of the September issue of AMERICAN SPA magazine as well as receiving the “The Best of Beauty Award” in the Breakthrough Product Category  in the upcoming October issue of ALLURE magazine! It is a prescription-grade product and will lighten skin in as little as 4 weeks!

According to NeoCutis, Blanche helps to:

• Visibly lighten dark (brownish) skin discolorations such as freckles, age and liver spots or pigment in the skin that may occur during pregnancy or from the use of oral contraceptives. 
• brighten and restore the look of skin tone and clarity for a more even complexion. 
• Deeply hydrate with natural ingredients of Shea Butter and Jojoba Oil to help counteract dryness for smooth, supple skin. 
• Continue improvement in brightness and radiance.
• Formulated with antioxidants C and E to help restore the appearance of youthful skin. 
• Suitable for all skin types. 

To amplify your results, we recommend the Clarisonic Brush, which was also recently featured in Elle Magazine. Here's what they had to say,

When Sonicare learned that people were using their toothbrushes to exfoliate their faces, they developed Clarisonic, a vibrating face polisher based on the same technology.

Four years later, Clarsonic gets an upgrade for those fans who’ve been using the device from head to toe: The new Plus boasts stiffer bristles,

 three intensity levels, and a larger scrubbing surface, making it the perfect body buffer. And just as it does for the face, this model “lifts dead skin cells, improving texture,” says New York City derm Jody Alpert Levine, MD. But the real buzz isn’t so much about what the gadget reveals as what it could hide. According to Levine, “Smoother, shinier skin makes cellulite less evident.”

In addition to youthful, clear, healthy skin- the Clarisonic Brush is also a great tool to assist you in your SmoothShapes treatment. 

But that's a whole other blog post....

{and as always, call or stop in today on more information about any of our products, services, or beauty secrets}

Isagenix Cleanse- New at Refresh!

Here at Refresh Laser Spa, we are always trying to stay up-to-date on the best, newest, and most innovative ways to help you achieve the best results possible and reach your goals.

Our most recent addition to the spa is the Isagenix 9-Day Cleanse, a healthy, nutritious, and safe way to lose weight, boost energy, balance digestion, and rid your body of toxins.

We decided to carry this cleanse after we noticed some our clients getting drastically better results with their SmoothShapes treatments than others. When we asked what they had done differently, the answer was unanimous: Detox Cleanse.

After much research, including both owners doing the cleanse themselves, we felt that the Isagenix 9-Day Cleanse would be the most beneficial to our clients. We like the Isagenix Cleanse because unlike other cleanses or fasts, the Isagenix allows you one meal a day of a lean protein and greens, making it safe for people with hypoglycemia and diabetes. In fact, Kimberly is hypoglycemic and did the cleanse with ease.

Some of the benefits they highlight are:

• Strengthen the Immune System: Cleansing impurities and flooding the body with high-grade essential nutrients supports the immune system. Some studies indicate that a healthy dose of high-grade, absorbable protein may strengthen your immune system by as much as 500%.
• Restore Antioxidants: Toxic compounds create "free radicals" that have the potential to damage cellular DNA. Antioxidants are substances that block free radical formation and destroy already formed free radicals. 
• Support Your Vital Organs: If your body is overwhelmed with impurities, gentle cleansing herbs and essential nutrients can allow it to eliminate impurities through the liver (the major detoxifying organ of the body), colon, urinary tract, sweat glands, skin pores, and the lymphatic system much more effectively. 
• Beautify the Skin: Our skin is the largest organ of our body. Cleansing and replenishing rejuvenates our skin, making it appear younger and more supple. 
• Slow the Effects of Aging: Toxins and nutritional deficiency can lead to premature aging on an internal and external level. Cleansing and replenishing helps our cells attack the affects of aging head on. A younger appearance along with incredible energy is often the result!

Ultimately, we have found that completion of the cleanse before beginning the SmoothShapes treatment will greatly improve results, including a greater reduction of visible cellulite as well as a greater loss of circumference.

The logistics behind it are simple; the SmoothShapes treatment is itself a cleanse, of sorts. Since the laser is liquifying the fat cells and then draining them through the lymphatic system- it makes absolute sense that internally cleansing beforehand will improve drainage, giving you much better results. Without the cleanse, it is as if you are trying to flush out your system with clogged pipes; it is bound to give you poorer results.

So do your body a favor and restore your health and vitality. We did!

If you would like more information on the Isagenix Cleanse and/or SmoothShapes treatment, please call or email us today!

Summer Sun Damage

As the Summer of 2009 rounds to a close, it is important that we address the dangers of Sun Damage, as well as what can be done to not only reverse the damage but instill better habits for the future.

Living in Colorado, we have countless excuses to spend excessive amounts of time in the sun {biking, camping, gardening, pedestrian malls, the kids' ball game, etc}. Unfortunately, with all of these glorious distractions it is far too easy to forget your sunscreen! And although we are further from the Equator than, say- Florida, we are still at very high risk because of our altitude. Shockingly, it is estimated that there is an 8-10% increase in UV intensity to be had for each 1,000 ft. of altitude- and we're a mile-high here at 5,280 ft. So, although there is no beach, us mountain-friendly folk are still at serious risk.

Considering the prevalence of Skin Cancer in America {1 in 5 will develop it in their lifetime}, I feel there is an amazing amount of awareness on the issue. We all know that if we go without sunscreen we have an excellent chance of joining that statistic.

What you may not know is how much sun damage plays a role in our aging process. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, 90% of visible changes commonly attributed to aging are caused by the sun. Just imagine how gracefully you could age with proper skin care and sun damage prevention!

Not all of us are {or were} so lucky to have been taught these good habits at a young age. And many of us were taught, but insist on being sun-worshipers and tanning-booth addicts anyway. To that, the Skin Cancer Foundation says there is no such thing as a healthy tan- any change in skin color is a sign of skin damage.

Fortunately, {as always} we can help! Here at Refresh Laser Spa, we have numerous options to help reverse the signs of aging and assist you in your new sun damage-prevention routine!

Our newest product in our sun-damage reversal artillery is the VI Peel, a revolutionary chemical peel that is safe and effective for ALL skin types. The VI Peel helps to reduce or eliminate age spots, reverse sun damage (works on neck, chest, and hands, too!!), reduce freckles and wrinkles, and bonus- clears acne! The peel itself takes only 20 minutes, and within 7 days you will have glowing, beautiful, clear, toned, and firmer skin. About two weeks ago, one of our estheticians gave herself the peel and seven days later her skin looked great. However, speaking with her yesterday, I noticed that her skin is looking even better! The VI Peel stimulates collagen and elastin production, meaning your skin will actually look better as time passes!

Another wonderful option is the MediDerm dry peel. The MediDerm Laser is a customized skin rejuvenation treatment that reduces wrinkling and skin imperfections, ultimately giving you a smoother, younger look. It is virtually painless and requires no downtime, unlike other chemical peels or invasive surgeries. The MediDerm dry peel literally allows a new layer of skin to regenerate, giving you a more uniform texture and younger looking skin- immediately.

Lastly, is the Rolls Royce of sun-damage repair, our SmartSkin CO2 Microablative laser, which can take 10 years off the appearance of your skin. The SmartSkin CO2 laser treats skin one micro portion at a time- repeated thousands of times. Each micro column receives just enough laser energy to vaporize the aged skin while also stimulating new collagen growth of surrounding tissue. Similar to, but even more so than the VI Peel, your results from the CO2 treatment will only get better over time. And here at Refresh, will not only pre-condition your skin before the treatment, we will equip you with all of the best products to maintain your amazing results for years to come. 

And for those not ready to take the jump into reversing your damage, we carry ColoreScience products, that are the only mineral cosmetics/sunscreens recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation. We carry everything you could need, from mineral sunscreen powder for a day hiking in the mountains, to everyday coverage primers (with SPF 30), red hot lipstick, and beautiful pearlized blush for a wine-lunch with your girlfriends on the 16th St. Mall.

So please, take care of your skin in these remaining weeks of Summer (hello, Labor Day Weekend!) and call today to get on the right track of reversing a lifetime's worth of sun damage.