A More Picture Perfect Skin, With Pelleve (1st report from Alison Blackman) @PelleveSkin #Pelleve #skin

 

In the old days, there was little-to-nothing you could do about your wrinkles or skin imperfections, other than to slather creams on your skin. But today, lasers, fillers and other invasive and semi-invasive treatments have revolutionized the world of beauty.  Technology is really a miracle!

Some of these procedures are, in a word, pricey, and not all of them are perfectly painless, but the benefits can be simply, astounding.  Anyone who yearns to look younger, now can easily take advantage of modern technology’s offerings

Short of a face lift,  no procedure will completely rid your skin of sagging and bags,  but a procedure called Pelleve™ .  is touted as a revolutionary skin tightening technology and wrinkle reduction system. Astoundinly,  in less than an hour (actually more like 45 minutes), this lunchtime “lift” can tighten your skin and reverse at least some of the signs of facial aging, without surgery, fillers or any type of needles.  The treatment offers immediate results, with longer term improvement for up to six months.  Pellevé™ treatments typically range from $500 – $1,500 depending upon where you live (*you might need more than one–the average course of treatment is up to 3 treatments, so consult your doctor first), but the results are worth their weight in facials, creams and other potions.

Pelleve may sound too good to be true, but I personally tried Pelleve and you can see the results in the hideous but truthful photos of me, at the top of this page. Pelleve softens facial wrinkles by slowly heating the deep layers of the skin with a warming device powered by advanced radio-wave technology. The Pellevé technology precisely delivers energy to the dermal tissue (underlying layers of loose skin) to induce collagen contraction (tighten) without damaging the surface layer of the skin. As collagen synthesis (regeneration of collagen) begins, the skin will look and feel younger. Collagen remodeling occurs within two to six weeks, and the final effect is a noticeable improvement in skin texture, quality and appearance.  Another thing that is good about “Pellevé™is that the practitioner can tailor the treatment to areas of specific concern to a patient such as more attention to the eye area or around the mouth, or even the eyelids. These treatments can also be performed on the abdomen, backs of the hands, and even the knees.

As a beauty reviewer who has tried several different types of laser treatments including Fraxel. the Zerona Laser, and the DIY PaloVia Skin Renewing Laser, I  truly believe that a person’s satisfaction level with these types of treatments depends first upon the quality of the person administering the treatment, the condition of your skin, your genetic make-up, and lastly, how realistic your expectations are.  All of the laser treatments I tried work, to some degree, and some astoundingly well. Some of the results are temporary, some are permanent. All are pretty amazing.  So, when I check the experience of other’s, I always see mixed reviews.  If you read my reviews at the links I’ve included above, keep in mind that my experience with these high tech treatments may not be the same as yours. But my experiences with hundreds of products and dozens of treatments has taught me that regardless of cost, good treatments and potions, correctly administered, can make a little to quite a bit of difference in how someone of any age can look and feel. No treatment, not even a face lift, is  going to tone your skin to what it was in your twenties, if you are over a certain age, or if your skin has a lot of damage, or if your genetics simply dealt you a wicked hand. That being said, as a lunchtime procedure that offers little to no downtime and if you’re prepping for a big event, Pelleve is a great option.

That being said, it’s good to hear from someone who has had the treatment about what to expect, and how they feel about the results. If you don’t know anyone personally, now you do. I just had one of these treatments specifically so that I could share the experience with you.  My treatment was administered by in the Manhattan practice of Dr Z Paul Lorenc by the skilled and personable Aesthetician, Carissa McCormack. We chatted quite a bit about the procedure and the types of people who love it.  According to Carissa, Dr. Lorenc has plenty of patients who love Pelleve and keep coming back for more because they’re very satisfied with the results.

So what can you expect?  Carissa first did a facial scan of my face ( as she would for any patient), and discussed some of my skin issues. Then she took photos, and she took some of me, for me, with my Samsung Galaxy S3 . I had to remove my makeup (ugh!) but other than that, it was completely relaxing. I was worried that Pelleve would be painful, and to be sure, everyone’s threshold for pain is different, but other than around the jawline  (where there isn’t a lot of fat and tissue), the hand-held wand massaging my face made me feel like I was at a tropical resort lying in the sun (albeit without the pina colada) . Even my jawline felt only a tiny bit “hot.”  For me at least, there wasn’t any pain or discomfort. In fact, the treatment was actually, relaxing. When I got up and looked in the mirror, there was no redness, and my skin did look refreshed, with some of my major lines immediately softened. More results should start to show up in a couple of months.   The improvements can last up to six years. The photos above are from my camera phone and totally unretouched. I put these unflattering but honest photos up so you could see for yourself that Pelleve has made a difference.

When I had Fraxel I admit, it was astounding, but moderately painful.  Painkillers were a must pre-treatment.  Another, older technology than Pelleve called Thermage essentially works like the  Pellevé. Both of them help to enhance collagen by delivering gradual heat to the skin, but Pelleve does this at a lower level so it doesn’t hurt.  The collagen fibers in the skin contract and start stimulating the growth of new collagen in a process called “Denaturation.” According to Carissa McCormack, with Pelleve, the denaturation takes place at about 41°C . Ten years ago when Thermage first arrived, the accepted wisdom was that 65 degrees was required.  Thermage is more painful due to much higher levels of heat, but the advances in Pellevé accomplish the same tightening results without the higher temperatures.

In summary:   I was very satisfied. I was offered a follow up and I plan to go back for another treatment. If the Pelleve treatment improves my skin even more over time, I’ll be elated (and I’ll be writing about it, so bookmark advicesisters.net or subscribe to our feed, or follow me on Twitter @advicesisters. While it won’t turn back the clock dramatically, it can definitely make a difference. If the results after one (or a few) treatments is continual, even better.  Used with fillers, it might be even better that that!  Stay tuned for my next report!   Like many if not all high tech treatments, Pelleve may crunch your beauty budget, but not as much as some other treatments, and you can do it in less time than it takes to eat lunch!   For those who can afford it, Pelleve is priceless!

FYI:  Pelleve received FDA clearance for the treatment of mild to moderate facial wrinkles back in 2009, and has held a CE Mark since 2005. It is currently available in the US, Canada, UK, Europe, Asia and Latin America only through dermatologists, plastic surgeons, medspas and other cosmetic practitioners. To learn more about Pellevé, visit www.pellevé.com or call 1-800-KNOW-PELLEVE.