Category Archives: Modesto

Skin Care Peptides and Vitamin C

Peptides in Obagi Hydrate Luxe

Peptides in Obagi Hydrate Luxe

Peptides in Skin Care

Peptides, another hot topic in skin care, signal cells to stimulate collagen and elastin. Peptides are short strings of amino acids which can act as signaling molecules to help slow down visible signs of aging. Obagi Hydrate Luxe is the first and currently the only product at Surgical Artistry which contains peptide technology. Obagi Hydrate Luxe containes two key peptides which reduce the appearance of fine lines and increases skin firmness: Chronoline and Kollaren. This was my attempt to teach and discuss within our Modesto office.

Vitamin C in Skin Care

Vitamin C is used by fibroblasts to make collagen and elastin. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant which has a photoprotective effect by reducing damage to cells and DNA which are caused by oxidation from UV light exposure. Oxidation is also caused by pollutants over time. The vitamin C also protects the sunscreen from oxidative changes caused by UV light. This allows the sunscreen to work with less degradation from ultraviolet light. 

Skin care is an integral part of plastic surgery.

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Thank you!  Enjoy!  Disclaimer: double check the facts, I’m just writing all this off the top of my head.  Facts can change over time too.

When to restart Tretinoin after an Obagi Blue Peel Radiance Peel

I got this question today, and it’s a question we address constantly.  I thought I’d write about restarting facial topical Tretinoin after a Blue Peel Radiance (Obagi) Peel treatment on the face.

Obagi Blue Peel Radiance in Modesto, CA

When should I re-start Tretinoin again after I receive a Blue Peel Radiance Peel (Obagi)?

The quick answer is about 6 days to restart your tretinoin, also known as Retin-A (among other names).  The range for most patients would be 4-8 days.  Some can restart sooner if there wasn’t too much irritation from the Obagi Blue Peel Radiance.

The problem of starting Tretioin too soon after a Blue Peel Radiance is that your skin may become too irritated and uncomfortable.

The same goes for restarting all the other Obagi Nu-Derm skin care products which may have been stopped – such as Exfoderm, Exfoderm Forte.

Everyone’s skin is a little different and every esthetician, doctor, dermatologist, surgeon, nurse has a different plan.  My guideline of about 6 days works for us at Surgical Artistry, Modesto.  But please consult your own practitioner for their own preferences.  Our plastic surgery office is directed by Dr. Tammy Wu, Plastic Surgeon and we are located in Modesto, California.  Different locations and different climates on the skin affect these recommendations on returning back to tretinoin use.

Other important aftercare instructions for Obagi Blue Peel Radiance Chemical Peel:

Download the Blue Peel RADIANCE After-care Card here or with the below link.

  • http://obagi.com/sites/default/files/bluepeel_ttearpad.pdf

The pdf file above will talk about the importance of applying Sunscreen.

When to consider another Blue Peel Radiance Chemical Peel.

One can consider another Blue Peel Radiance chemical peel about 1 month later.  Theoretically, one can consider a repeat Blue Peel Radiance as close as 2 weeks apart.  The purpose of “stacking” the peels closer together is to continue to get better results.  After about a series of 5 peels, the improvement is at it’s maximum, and then the goal is maintenance which may be achieved with continued peels every 2-3 months.

Why Modesto, California?

Some of the reasons for us ending up in Modesto, California

1. Tammy said that she would go anywhere I wanted to go.
2. I felt that I was really far behind financially at the time, and saw the Surgery/Trauma job offer in Modesto was one of the best opportunities I’ve seen.
3. I also felt that I would have the highest volume of all the surgery jobs if I came to Modesto because of Modesto’s relative shortage of surgeons. I knew that a high volume of surgeries would help me become even better at what I do with my skills. There were certainly also an abundance of trauma in this town – so it seemed to me.
4. I wanted to be somewhere in California. I liked the idea that in Modesto, we have so many places that we could visit (SF, Monterey, etc)
5. I have a distaste for traffic, and Modesto didn’t have too much vehicle traffic compared to some of the other cities.
6. I had the opportunity to live in the mid-west and I have grown to like a mid-west small town feel.
7. I saw that there was an opportunity to shape the town and watch it evolve and change for a possible improved future. There’s something that’s very satisfying about watching a town change for what I consider improvements.
8. Modesto had internet. Give me an internet connection and a fast computer with a keyboard and I could pretty much be happy anywhere.

My uses for Hypertonic Saline

Normal Saline was invented in 1896 by Mr. Hartog Hamburger in Holland. Yes, this was at one point called Hamburger’s solution. Normal saline is a close approximation to the osmolarity of blood – thus there are tons of uses for normal saline. So how about HYPERTONIC Saline? What are the uses of something that has a higher osmolarity of blood? There are multiple uses but in my career it has been used for reducing brain swelling in trauma patients (more specifically to lower intracranial pressure, where maintenance of cerebral perfusion is key as it relies on blood pressure being high enough above intracranial pressure.)

The other use of HYPERTONIC Saline is in the COSMETIC treatment of spider veins. Now it’s less popular for this indication because POLIDOCANOL has been shown to be a superior product for spider vein treatment (and more expensive), but safety and superiority trumps cost for the most part. We use Polidocanol at Surgical Artistry, in Modesto, CA.

New American Record for 100 miles set by Modesto’s Jon Olsen

Confucius says, “a journey of 100 miles begins with one step.”  Modesto Man shows how it’s done under 12 hours.

September 28, 2013

Teachers teach by imparting knowledge and they inspire by setting amazing examples.  There’s much to learn from Modesto’s Math teacher, Jon Olsen.

Did you know that some celebrated yesterday as Teacher’s day? Why? Because it was also a celebration of great teacher Confucius’ Birthday and now there’s another reason. It’s the day that a math teacher (Modesto’s Jon Olsen) set a new American 100 miler record averaging a 7:12 min/mile pace for 100 miles. I knew about this teacher’s day celebration because it was celebrated at Dr. Tammy Wu’s school yesterday (I went too).

Confucius says that a long journey (ie. 1000 miles or 100 miles, whatever) begins with one step.  Well, Mr. Olsen has run more than all of that.

Jon Olsen Modesto Runner in Canada

Jon Olsen’s photo on his FaceBook outside of the indoor track where he set the new American Record one day after the picture was taken.

Details of the 100 mile experience in Canada

11:59:28 was his time for 100 miles and he beat the previous American Record (12:12:19) by around 12 minutes.  He set a new American indoor track record.  The race was held in Ottawa, Canada, called the Self Transcendence Ultra Classic 6-12-24 Hour Races.  The previous record was set by Bernd Heinrich at 12:27:01 in 1984.

What’s next for Mr. Olsen?  Soochow Invitational 24 hour race in Taiwan

He says in 10 weeks he’ll be in TAIWAN running a 24 hour race. He’ll now have the challenge of running in TROPICAL weather. Congrats again.  Good luck at Taiwan’s Soochow Invitational Race.

My previous blog post about Jon Olsen winning the Gold Medal at the 24 h international race in Netherlands – he ran more than 167 miles in 24 hours.