New Cosmetic Technologies | As Featured in Dermasphere Podcast

Are you curious about the latest and greatest cosmetic technologies? Dr. Alexandra Bowles shares her picks for the best new technologies, how they work, and the amazing results they provide! For more information, listen to the full Dermasphere podcast interview.

What is your new favorite cosmetic technology that you think more people should know about?

Ellacor. Ellacor is a minimally invasive technique to improve fine lines and wrinkles, approved for around the mouth. The way it works is by micro coring. Think of it as tiny little punch biopsies that core out columns of skin. This stimulates the body’s natural response to injury, which builds collagen and improves fine lines and wrinkles and gives a lifted appearance. There is minimal downtime and most people are back to normal in around 2 weeks. But not everyone heals the same way, especially depending on your skin type.

It’s been a very popular procedure because we’re one of the only offices in the state offer it and have people coming from all over the country to try it. Recently, we’ve noticed it helps in other parts of medicine like foreign body granulomas from things like Sculptra or acne scarring. It can even help crepey skin on the neck, arms, tops of legs and knees.

What have your patients’ results been like after the procedure?

We have had great results when it comes to both scarring and tissue laxity. I haven’t had any patients with long term issues with scarring or anything else from the procedure. One of my first patients of this treatments says it’s been one of the most efficacious treatments she’s done, and she’s done every laser under the sun. Because it’s not heat based, it doesn’t cause discomfort later on that people tend to complain about. She said she felt totally comfortable after the treatment, versus other treatments which have made her very swollen and uncomfortable. People are loving to so much they’re coming back for 2nd and 3rd treatments.

Could this be used to help scarred areas from other skin issues?

I think this would be amazing to look further into and definitely could be possible. I think there is so much potential for how Ellacor can help, we just haven’t figured out all the ways yet.

Is there a variety of treatment styles for Ellacor? 

You can do the treatment on the skin in any order you’d like. I’ve been testing different methods for what works best. Using it for stretch marks is a great example of different treatment styles because the movement pattern is different than on the face. We’ve done this on the the back of the arms and legs and have seen great improvements. One of the only issues patients have encountered is that if you are prone to hyperpigmentation, your skin may take 4-6 weeks to look completely healed instead of the standard two weeks.  This can also depend on the intensity of the treatment. But good news is that studies are showing the increased intensity of the treatment doesn’t necessarily equate to a better result.

What is the device you use most in your practice?

What I use all day, everyday is the BroadBand Light, also known as a BBL Hero. We use this for acne and have had fantastic results. The patients love to low to no downtime and how they come home with their skin glowing. Their pores are decreased without having to do a full resurfacing or fractionally ablative device.

How does the BroadBand Light technology work?

It uses Hero passes, which stands for high energy rapid output. With the first pass, you’re laying down a lot of heat and energy. Depending on the patient, you choose various wave lengths. For example, for somebody with a of redness, I’ll chose the 560 wave length because we know this absorbs hemoglobin, so it targets redness. Then I’ll lay down a base pass of a 560 heat, basically prepping the skin for corrective passes. This is where I increase the energy and decrease the pulse width. I stamp higher energy to try to target things like vessels and angiomas, diffuse rosacea or even bruises.

After, I usually follow up with a pigment setting, which is a different wavelength. I use the 515 wavelength which absorbs melanin, so is good for targeting pigment, freckles, and antigenes. The last we pass we do what we call a photo finish. That’s with a 640 wavelength and is a little deeper, so you get a little bit more collagen production. With this whole treatment, you get improvement in redness, pigment, and fine lines.

With the acne protocol treatment, that is a different wavelength. It’s a 420 wavelength and is known to help kill the bacteria that causes acnes. It’s a great option for those who don’t want to go on Accutane® or have lots of inflammatory redness from acne.