Last year in the United States, an estimated 6.5 million non-invasive cosmetic procedures were performed! Even though this is becoming common, it is important that you do not approach your skin rejuvenation treatments casually. The safety and the effectiveness of your procedure depends on the personal decision that you make regarding where and by whom your treatments will be performed! Dermatologists only have the specific knowledge of the skin required to safely administer some of the new, complex treatments. Any physician can buy a laser machine, but every individual's skin is unique and if you don't know exactly what you're doing, and why, the end result can be unacceptable or worse. Dermatologists know the skin and they know it best. The practice of their specialty is not a side line endeavor!

You deserve to have a flawless, successful journey to youthful, healthy skin!

Things You Should Know About the physician, staff, and process

Before you choose for your cosmetic procedure:
  • Licensed Medical Doctor in the state of California
  • Board Certified Dermatologist
  • Member, American Academy of Dermatology
  • On site Board Certified Dermatologist in the facility you choose
  • Duration of the practice of Cosmetic Medicine
  • Number of years performing specific treatments
  • Additional staff performing procedures are licensed, certified, and supervised
  • Uses the most up to date technology
  • Materials used are authentic, provided by authorized vendors
  • Provides professional consultation prior to having procedures
  • Existing medical conditions and prescription history are evaluated during the consultation

You may already know all of the above if you have been treated by the physician being considered, or may be familiar with his credentials if he has been in the practice of medicine in your community for some time.

Things You Should Know About solutions that are being used in your treatments, specifically Botox® or filler products

Be sure those products are manufactured by authentic pharmaceutical vendors listed below:
  • Botox® Cosmetic - Allergan
  • Juvederm® - Allergan
  • Restylane® - Medicis
  • Perlane® - Medicis
  • Sculptra® - Dermik
  • Radiesse® - BioForm Medical
  • Levulan, used in PhotoDynamic Rejuvenation treatments - Dusa Pharmaceuticals

To gain this information, simply ask us for verification. Also you may want to confirm that the product was purchased in the United States.

Recently there has been an abundance of activity involving the distribution and use of fraudulent Botox®, resulting in injury to patients, including one death. Across the United States, a number of physicians and non physicians have been sentenced to prison, lost medical licenses if they had one, or assessed large fines for their involvement. Others are still awaiting trial. The product used was presented as a less expensive form of Botox, when in fact, it was a toxin that was indicated only for research and was explicitly not to be used on humans.

Did You Know?

The use of the most up to date equipment also plays a role in the results you receive with a cosmetic procedure! At Rejuvené, we use the most advanced generations of technologies available for specific treatments, for example:
  • PhotoFacial/Intense AFT Pulsed Light Treatments - Alma Laser AFT Pulsed Light
  • Thermage - ThermaCool NXT
  • Fractional Skin Resurfacing - Alma Laser Pixel 2940
  • Laser Hair Removal - Sciton Laser
  • MicroLaser Peels - Sciton Laser
  • Microdermabrasion - SilkPeel
  • Tattoo Removal - Medlite C6 Laser

We pay thousands of dollars every year to secure maintenance contracts for each laser machine, in order to prevent any malfunction that may cause injury to our patients during a treatment.

What You Should Know About Botox® and Filler Products

The use of Botox® and filler products is skyrocketing in the world of Cosmetic Medicine! Skilled injection procedures can produce instant and dramatic results in the correction of cosmetic imperfections caused by aging and sun damage. They are being used in combination to restore a smooth, youthful look to the face. As the use of these products is on the rise, complaints and complications are being reported as never before. The reason? Non specialists and non medical professionals are attempting aggressive use of these formulas without the knowledge and experience required to safely administer such treatments. Doing a large amount of correction with filler products is an extremely technical procedure. The person doing it must know the musculature and nerve structure in all of the areas indicated and have in depth knowledge about what product is appropriate to inject into what area. When embarking on this type of treatment it is more important than ever that you make an educated decision regarding the choice of physician that will perform your procedure.

Other Things You Might Want to Know!

We have studied and researched the use of Contour Threads as a means of creating what some call a non-surgical facelift. Presently, our investigations have led us to firmly decide not to offer this technique at Rejuvené. Some of the leading Cosmetic Dermatologists in the country are beginning to abandon this procedure. The incidence of side effects after the initial treatment is growing. The following is a list of unpleasant and sometimes disfiguring complications that have occurred.

  • Asymmetry
    It is difficult to precisely balance the amount of correction on both sides of the face. In some cases, additional threads are used to attempt to correct this.
  • Breaking threads
    In this instance, new threads must be put in place.
  • Visibility of threads on the face
    If the threads are not placed deeply enough, they may be visible, producing a "railroad track" effect that can actually be seen with the naked eye. In some cases the "barbs" used to secure the skin to the threads have actually begun to protrude through the skin.

Some experts in Cosmetic Medicine also raise the concern of a foreign material being in the tissues over a long period of time, thereby increasing the possibility of scarring and infection.

Recently the threads produced by one manufacturer have been recalled from the marketplace.

We know there are success stories regarding this procedure, but until further progress is made in both the technique and the materials used, we elect not to subject our patients to the possibility of risks of this nature.

The discussion of Laser Vein Treatments for spider veins of the legs and thighs has been going on for years. With all the miracles of modern medicine, it is surprising that this issue has not been conquered successfully! Laser companies routinely sell their equipment to individuals touting the capability of treating this condition, but problems still remain.

  • Painful treatments
  • Mottling
  • Hyperpigmentation
  • Unsuccessful outcomes

Dr. Richey attends many high level Cosmetic Medicine meetings per year in order to be fully current on all aspects of this specialty. The consensus of experts in the field remains the same: Sclerotherapy is the Gold Standard for treatment of spider veins.