Albany Skin Care Specialists Compare At-Home & In-Office Treatments

    ALBANY, NY, July 26, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The aesthetic specialists at Spa One (www.spaonemedspa.com) say that while at-home cosmetic treatments are convenient and inexpensive, they can't match the results and safety of procedures such as skin resurfacing or laser hair removal performed at their Albany, NY practice or other medical day spas.

"Our team has compared home treatments with the procedures we offer," says Dr. Jeffrey Rockmore, "and found that the home devices really compromise results."

People interested in a wide range of aesthetic treatments that were once available only from professionals can now find at-home alternatives online or in stores. These include hair removal devices, laser skin treatments, and physical skin treatments such as exfoliating facials and microdermabrasion.

The short-term cost savings of at-home treatments are offset by inadequate results, says Dr. Rockmore, a partner at The Plastic Surgery Group, which oversees Spa One, a medical day spa that has operated in Albany, NY since 2013. Researchers have reached the same conclusion.

"The cost reduction needed to bring retail prices into the range of middle class consumers necessarily results in treatments with these systems being slower to use, having smaller spot sizes on tissue and delivering lower power than professional systems," concluded a review of at-home aesthetic devices published in the Journal of Cosmetic Surgery & Medicine.

Another concern is safety. Although most treatments sold for home use include detailed instructions and safety precautions, consumers are at a greater risk of injury performing low-level laser hair removal or facial procedures themselves than going to a spa and having a trained aesthetician perform the treatments, the Spa One team says.

"Consumers may not follow instructions properly or may not understand that their skin type isn't appropriate for a certain treatment," says Alex LaPietra, the coordinator at Spa One.

LaPietra says treatments such as microdermabrasion, which is popular now among the New York practice's patients, get much better results than those offered by home devices.

"We've had a lot of patients come in saying that they tried something at home and they just weren't seeing results," she says. "And we've also seen people who say they actually overdid it and harmed their skin."

Many of these patients, she says, end up deciding that they've wasted their money on the home treatments and that it's worth investing slightly more at a medical spa for noticeable results.

MedicineNet.com, an online resource operated by WebMD, says a microdermabrasion treatment performed at a spa costs between $100 and $250. LaPietra says that's a manageable expense for a lot of patients.

"It doesn't take much to add up to a similar price range when you're buying several at-home treatments that are far less effective," she says.

Another benefit of a day spa, LaPietra says, is having a professional aesthetic specialist offer a comprehensive approach to skin care.

"In the long run, a patient who wants healthy, vibrant skin benefits by investing a little bit more and getting effective, safe treatment from professionals," she says. "We can recommend a range of treatments because we have the experience to know what will work for your skin. Plus, we are happy to work within your budget and lifestyle."

Spa One at The Plastic Surgery Group (www.spaonemedspa.com) is a medically supervised facility in Albany providing advanced skin and beauty treatments. All providers are experienced and licensed in a range of services, which are chosen for their effectiveness and safety. The spa is supervised by the team of board-certified plastic surgeons at The Plastic Surgery Group and includes a staff of licensed estheticians, massage therapists, makeup artists, and other beauty professionals. Services include anti-aging light and laser treatments, skin care services such as microdermabrasion and facials, CoolSculpting fat reduction, laser hair removal, spray tanning, massage, and professional makeup. Spa One's goal is to provide safe, effective treatments in an atmosphere that relaxes and rejuvenates patients.

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