Getting an IPL at CosmetiCare

By Beth Jones

I honestly feel that every woman needs to treat herself with some TLC and some intentional self-care. We work our butts off and we take care of a lot of people.. and if we aren’t taking care of ourselves and feeling good.. we are giving out a less-than version of us.

Remember after my first baby, when I wanted to lose my 70lb weight gain and do a few things to feel fit & fabulous? Yeah, well.. I’m back on that train. Second baby, second go-around with my fit & fabulous journey. I’ve been telling my weight loss story on my youtube channel, but now I have a new story to tell you.. this one is about feeling FABULOUS!   I honestly feel that every woman needs to treat herself with some TLC and some intentional self-care. We work our butts off and we take care of a lot of people.. and if we aren’t taking care of ourselves and feeling good.. we are giving out a less-than version of us. For some women self-care looks like a bubble bath, a hike in a canyon, a day of window shopping.. and, in my case doing a few things to feel fresh and fabulous.   So, you can only imagine my delight when CosmetiCare Plastic Surgery and Medspa contacted me with a desire to collaborate with them as a Mom Ambassador. There was no hesitation.. yes please.. I’d love to try out some treatments and get a dose of fresh and fabulous in a whole bunch of new ways.   As an ambassador I will be able to take you all behind the scenes to see how these treatements are done and the results that I get from them.   Doing some self-care over here.. and first up.. I received an IPL or Photofacial.     BEFORE TREATMENT PHOTOS   Stripped bare of no makeup, I headed into the CosmetiCare office to receive my IPL. An IPL is an Intense Pulsed Light that treats skin pigmentation, sun damage and broken blood vessels on the face. I was excited about this because I’ve struggled with acne that have left  dark spots on my skin. I’ve also had the “pregnancy mask” two times over.. and of course I’ve been a sun-baby my whole life (tisk-tisk) and have sun damage from my poor behavior.     The office is so airy and bright, right on the Balboa Marina.. so right from the beginning I felt lighter and happier.     Escorted into the office I met with the CosmetiCare founder, Dr. Michael Niccole. He reviewed my case and spoke with Charmaine who would be giving me the IPL treatment.         Charmaine and I chatted about my problem areas, took some before pictures and then she coated me in a numbing cream (“like icing a cake”) to make sure the treatment didn’t cause any uncomfort.       After about 10 minutes of letting the cream works it’s magic… my skin felt numb annd ready for the treatment. We went into a new room where the equipment was and after washing off the numbing cream, Charmaine apllied a cooling gel for the actual treatment.     Of course, I had to SNAPCHAT the whole process.. follow me at bjonesstyle on SNAPCHAT. Lots of candid moments and behind the scenes.       Finally, Charmaine treated my whole face with the laser. And, after all the numbing cream and cooling gel I felt slight “rubber band” sensations.. but honestly I didn’t even flinch. Easy peasy!         AFTER TREATMENT PHOTOS   Post-treatment my face felt a little warm and numb (of course). I also saw little “freckle-like” pigmentation on my face that would be flaking off over the next week.. yippee!   CosmetiCare reccomends up to three treatments to see the best results.. so I’ll be setting up my next appointment soon.   Already, I feel more fresh…and FABULOUS…of course!     One week post IPL, after one treatment.   I notice the first layer of damage seems gone and my overall skin looks fresher. I also had a patch of broken veins on my left cheek. Those are gone! Can’t wait for the other two treatments.