The device we use for skin resurfacing, and what a session actually involves.
Venus Viva is a nano-fractional radiofrequency system. The handpiece carries an array of very small pins; energy passes between them and through the skin surface into the dermis, creating a grid of microscopic treatment zones with untreated skin left in between.
That untreated skin is the point. It is what lets the body repair the treated columns quickly, laying down new collagen as it goes, which is why a fractional treatment can reach the depth that makes a difference without the weeks of recovery that fully ablative resurfacing involves. Because the energy is radiofrequency rather than light, it does not target pigment, so it can be used on the full range of skin tones.
Your skin, your history and what you want changed. Settings are chosen from that.
Topical anesthetic for around 30 minutes before we start.
Passes across the treatment area. Warm and prickly, usually 15 to 30 minutes.
Cooling, a bland moisturizer and sun protection, with written instructions to take home.
You will leave red, warm and a little swollen, much like a moderate sunburn. Over the next day or two a fine bronzed grid pattern may appear where the treatment zones are healing; it flakes away over roughly a week. Most patients go back to work the following day and cover any residual redness with mineral makeup.
For the first 24 hours: no makeup, no hot showers, no gym, no swimming pool. For the fortnight after: daily broad-spectrum sun protection, without exception. Treated skin is vulnerable to burning and to pigment rebound, and the single thing most likely to spoil a good result is sun.
Risks are small but real. Prolonged redness, temporary lightening or darkening of pigment, and very rarely scarring or infection. We will go through them with you, and we will not treat active infection, recent isotretinoin use or a fresh tan.
We stay current with the research and the technology so that every patient is offered care we would want for our own families, with a plan built around your medical history and your goals.
When you become our patient you are treated like family. You are never a number, and you will always be told plainly what a treatment can and cannot do for you.
Modern, evidence-based methods and high-quality products.
We review your full history and build the plan around you.
Microneedling makes the channels mechanically. Nano-fractional RF adds radiofrequency energy through those points, which heats the dermis as well as injuring it. In practice that means a stronger collagen response for a comparable amount of downtime.
Yes. The energy is not absorbed by pigment, which is what makes some light-based resurfacing risky on deeper skin tones. We still assess and adjust, and we discuss the small risk of pigment change with every patient.
Most concerns need a short course spaced a few weeks apart. Older acne scarring usually needs more sessions than texture or tone. We give you a number and a cost at the consultation.
Yes — stretch marks and textural scarring on the body are treated with the same system.
Sun and self-tan for two weeks before, and tell us if you have used isotretinoin in the last six months or get cold sores, which we may want to pre-treat.
Call the clinic. We will look at your skin and tell you what a realistic course would involve.