Are you tired of the hassle of waxing or shaving unwanted hair? Laser hair removal for men could be the solution you’ve been looking for! At our professional medical aesthetics clinic in Lichfield city centre, we offer advanced laser hair removal treatments that provide lasting results and unparalleled comfort.
One of the key benefits of laser hair removal for men is the elimination of the need to grow out your hair between laser sessions, unlike waxing where hair needs to be a certain length for effective removal. All you need to do is shave before a session, and if you want you can shave as often as you want between sessions. This means you can say goodbye to the awkward in-between stages and enjoy smooth, hair-free skin year-round.
Another advantage of laser hair removal is its ability to reduce common issues associated with traditional hair removal methods, such as rashes and ingrown hairs. By targeting the hair follicles directly, laser hair removal effectively reduces the likelihood of irritation and inflammation, leaving your skin looking and feeling its best.
Men commonly seek laser hair removal for a variety of body areas, including the back, chest, shoulders, and buttocks. One area that often surprises men is the patch of hair in the middle of the lower back, which can be particularly bothersome when the rest of the back is smooth. Laser hair removal can effectively target and eliminate hair in this area, providing a seamlessly groomed appearance.
At our clinic, we use the state-of-the-art Soprano Ice laser hair removal platform, renowned for its comfort and effectiveness. Unlike traditional lasers, the Soprano Ice system utilises advanced cooling technology to ensure a virtually pain-free experience, even in sensitive areas. Yes, you read that right – even intimate areas can be treated comfortably and safely with the Soprano Ice laser.
One of the best parts about starting laser hair removal treatments now is that you can achieve smooth, hair-free skin just in time for summer and your holidays. With our flexible scheduling options, you can easily fit in at least 2-3 treatments over the summer months, allowing you to enjoy the season with confidence.
Whether you have fair skin or a darker complexion, and regardless of your hair colour, our laser hair removal treatments can be tailored to suit your needs. During a consultation with our experienced team, we’ll assess your skin and hair type to determine the most appropriate treatment plan for you.
Don’t let unwanted hair hold you back any longer – book your laser hair removal consultation with us today and take the first step towards smoother, hair-free skin!
It’s official – we have had some sun, so surely – please! – we must be heading towards summer?!
I have to be honest, I am a huge sunshine fan. We have been scared to death of the sun over the last 20 years, and I think we are all a bit confused as to what is safe and what isn’t. The truth is, we are a bit like sunflowers – we respond and react to the sun, it causes crucial physiological reactions in our bodies that are essential to our wellbeing – both mental and physical.
But isn’t sun dangerous? Shouldn’t we slather on spf and hide in the shade as soon as Mr Sun peeps out from behind the clouds?
No, I fundamentally believe not – actually pretty much the opposite.
There are huge benefits to sun exposure – the best and most efficient way for us to get vitamin D is from the sun – and do you know what the body makes it from? Cholesterol. The body actively needs and uses cholesterol (an excess of which can indicate inflammation), to make Vitamin D which is actively inflammatory! Win win!
Our eyes also have photosensitive cells in the back, which control a variety of things in our brains and bodies – the sun can help brain function, which can improve the nervous system, hormonal regulation, muscle function, immune health, and carries many other benefits, so putting on thick dark UV blocking sunglasses every time you leave the house is also not a great idea. (I actually recently stopped wearing contact lenses, in part because they are UV blocking, so I never had any sun exposure through my eyes). Sunlight stimulates the production of both serotonin and endorphins (happy hormones!) suggesting an ‘addictive or natural reward mechanism’ – which encourages sunlight exposure, which to me, suggests that we are supposed to do it! I don’t think it is any accident that when the sun comes out we all turn up our faces, and put out our arms to get as much of it as possible – just like sunflowers!
It has been shown that sunlight leads to long life expectancy, improved recovery from illness, improved mental health, reduced inflammation, which in turn can reduce incidence of cancers, reduces blood pressure and increases energy levels. All of these sound pretty important to me!
So do we just throw caution to the wind, and strip off and burn to a crisp as soon as the sun comes out?! Well, no actually!
Morning sun has been shown to be extremely beneficial to mood, energy, circadian rhythms and as we know, the sun is not as aggressive early in the day, so it is a great time to get out and get some quality sun exposure. Roll your sleeves up, walk the dog (walking also being excellent, low impact health-giving exercise!), and soak up some health giving sun.
However – there is obviously a ‘but’ coming here! As a nurse – and given my role in Aesthetics – there are definite caveats to this. We are very bad at running out and burning at the first sign of sun! Burning has been proved without doubt to be a big risk factor for skin cancers particularly melanomas, and long term consistent exposure is a risk factor for other skin cancers including Basal Cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma – it also leads to premature ageing, so lines and wrinkles, and sun damage such as lentigines (sun spots) and keratosis – the hard, warty like skin lesions that start to appear as we age. Continuous bright UV light in the eyes can lead to cataracts and reduced vision.
So – are we stuck between a rock and a hard place? How do we manage this to benefit as much as possible from the amazing thing that is our beautiful sun, but stay looking young and avoid the damage caused by overdoing it?
- Get out in the mornings with short sleeves and shorts on.
- Wear a good quality PHYSICAL (not chemical) sunscreen on your face ALL year round. UVA rays are as strong in the winter as they are in the summer— not wearing SPF all the time leads to advanced ageing and skin damage, because the skin on the face is exposed all day every day, all year round – so if you want to keep your skin looking young, and reduce the risk of keratosis, BCC and SCC’s, keep the SPF on your face, neck and decollete!
- Avoid sunlight that will burn you – it can be deceptive, don’t risk burning, this damages the DNA in the skin cells and leads to Melanoma.
- If you are at risk of burning, make sure you are using a good physical SPF and keep out of the harshest of the rays.
- Keep hydrated – we don’t want to turn into prunes!
- Avoid having damaging chemicals on your skin (highly perfumed skin products, chemical SPFs, toxic preservative in skin products, harsh laundry detergents etc) and avoid ultra processed food – it makes our skins hyper-sensitised to the sun. I burn far less when I am eating high quality, nutrient dense foods rather than processed, high sugar foods.
- Be consistent! Regular, careful sun exposure will help so much to make you feel and look better without health risks!
So make the most of the weather, and follow some simple rules to stay looking young, healthy and glowing! I’m always happy to chat about these kind of issues – and with code CITYSUN24, you can get a free consultation
Gut health, toxic load, chemical load, gut flora, skin flora, prebiotics, probiotics, leaky gut, autoimmune, food intolerance, UPFs….
There are loads of current buzz words, as people try to put names to things they are struggling with, where traditional methods don’t seem to be able to help them resolve.
Modern life, while in some ways is an amazing place to be, has brought with it some issues that are now showing to be impacting on our health in unexpected ways.
50-100 years ago, life was a bit more natural (stand aside smog and water pollution in cities and high death rates from untreatable infections..). Furniture was made from wood, steel, wool, leather and cotton. Personal care consisted of soap and water, and laundry was done manually with, again, soap and water (and sometimes, scarily, urine). Over the years, more efficient ways of cleaning were invented, detergents were developed, cheap, mass produced furniture was developed using plastics, plastic food packaging meant less waste and longer storage times, preservatives, insecticides, highly sanitised environments etc etc..…
As with everything, each step forward came with its’ own set of downsides and risks.
Today, we are surrounded by convenience, fast fashion, disposable furniture, plastic, chemically laden personal care products, pharmaceuticals. All of this has increased our chemical load to the point where we now understand we are damaging not just the planet but we are also damaging ourselves. This ‘chemical load’ manifests by accumulating toxins in our cells, leading to gut damage, leaky gut, skin flora damage, inflammation, auto immune conditions…. And one of the most obvious places this shows up is…. Our skin.
Oxidative stress and glycation are good examples.
Oxidate stress is caused directly from free radical pollution, UV exposure, stress, exposure to toxic chemicals, and it shows up as a variety of damaging symptoms in the body, and on the skin as ageing, dryness, roughness and sagging. Glycation is caused directly by high levels of sugar combining with proteins in the skin causing the classic ‘cross-hatching’ effect you often see on older skins. While these can be improved with treatments and products, until that nutritional imbalance is addressed, it is impossible to truly treat it. Chemicals in our food leach into our bodies and cause inflammation, ultra-processed foods affect our bodies in truly awful ways. This is causing damage to our systems like we have never seen.
Whenever I have a client come in complaining of ageing, acne, rosacea, menopausal skin, one of the first things I discuss is gut health, and environmental issues. I can do amazing things with the best homecare products and in-clinic treatments. I love a good chemical peel, the medical grade products I use can hugely reduce the symptoms of rosacea but it doesn’t look at why it is happening – it is almost always linked to autoimmune status, gut health, environmental issues or stress – and usually a combination of all of those things.
So while I always recommend the right products, treatments and supplements to help get the best results, we always look at a deeper level – the ‘why’ is just as important as the symptoms!
