The Elysium Version of The skin Pyramid
The path to more youthful skin
By Sandra Haddad, Co-Owner and founder of Elysium Medical Esthetics
Like many, my curiosity led me to explore the world of skincare and aesthetic medicine and begin to develop an understanding of what it entails. I began to dabble in the world of skin care back when I was going to engineering school. Although many might think they are opposite fields of study, I would strongly disagree. With the knowledge I obtained in Chemistry courses, skincare products, their main components and their purpose made sense.
I started purchasing every hot product at Sephora while researching their ingredients. Even though, like many, I didn’t have an organized routine that would maximize my benefit, my collection was growing every day focusing on products that my skin simply liked. At that time, part of my savings was going to skincare as you might guess, and the other part was going to my aesthetician visit every six weeks.
Looking back at these stages of my life, I didn’t have an eye opening moment until I met my mom’s friend who was getting facial treatments at a medical spa. Her skin looked flawless which enticed me to start studying the technology of this world. With some research, and the knowledge I obtained from my physics and mechanics classes, I began to understand the technologies behind ablative and non-ablative facial treatments. At this point, I had to save a lot more to start affording these fractional non ablative lasers that my skin was loving.
Later, I met my husband Dr. Daniel Haddad, who is just as impressed as I am by the world of skin care and aesthetic medicine. We used our backgrounds and a lot of research studies to develop a well-rounded understanding of these technologies. Pursuing our dream, we finally opened our luxury medical spa in west Bloomfield, Michigan, to help people look and feel their most confident self.
As I mentioned, regardless of my love and investment in skin care, I, as many people, never had an organized approach. That’s why, at Elysium, Dr. Haddad and I came up with our own version of the skincare pyramid. The purpose is to guide our clients through our recommendations for the path to youthful skin. As you climb the pyramid, each tier will elevate your skincare regiment.
Tier 1 :
The bottom tier of the pyramid has the daily routine. Cleansing and moisturizing are steps that we recommend including twice, morning and evening, in your routine. For acne prone skin, we recommend washes with benzoyl peroxide as it reduces the acne causing bacteria. BHAs (beta hydroxy acids) washes are also an option for acne. AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids) washes is a good option for anti-aging.
Moisturizing your skin is vital, since dry skin can affect the PH resulting in dryness, irritation, and environmental damage. Look for products with Hyaluronic acid as it is an effective substance in retaining moisture.
We recommend an AM routine starting with vitamin C (in a form of a serum or cream). Vitamin C reacts with free radicals, such as pollution and UV light, preventing oxidative damage. With that being said, vitamin C is not sufficient to protect your skin against harmful UV rays. Therefore, you must finish your am routine with your mineral sunscreen. Look for two main ingredients zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.
Finally, we recommend a pm routine with retinol (in a form of serum or cream). Do not use if pregnant. Retinol is derived from vitamin A and can penetrate into the dermis boosting production of collagen.
Tier 2:
Moving into the second tier, we recommend weekly exfoliation. We recommend chemical exfoliation, either BHA or AHA, depending on your skin concerns. AHAs are water soluble and great for sensitive skin, uneven skin tone, and fine lined and wrinkles. Glycolic and lactic acids are examples of most commonly used AHAs.
BHAs are oil soluble and great for oily skin. salicylic acid is a commonly used BHA.
Tier 3:
Skin cleansing is essential for maintaining healthy, rejuvenated skin, but washing alone may not be enough to remove the buildup of dirt, oil, dead skin cells, and other debris that accumulates on the skin every day. For a deeper clean, you need to reach the pores, which is where the buildup really occurs. That’s why, in the third tier in our pyramid, we recommend seeing your aesthetician for a deeper clean up.
At our medical spa in west Bloomfield, Michigan, we offer a range of Glow HydraFacials that can help with several skin concerns. For this treatment, we use the Venus Glow™ machine by Venus Concepts. With its powerful tri-modality, Venus Glow™ helps open up, deep-clean, and treat the pores. The result is a complexion that immediately looks healthier, brighter, and more revitalized.
Tier 4:
Fourth tier of our skincare pyramid takes the skin routine to the next level; reversing and prevention. At our medical spa in West Bloomfield Michigan, our most sold preventative treatment is BOTULINUM TOXIN. Dr. Haddad injects BOTOX® to temporary relax the muscles we use for facial expressions that cause wrinkles. The effect wears off after four months. Therefore, consistency is key.
Our facial rejuvenation treatments are sold in packages to tackle our clients’ concerns. Once completed, we recommend these skin resurfacing treatments for maintenance once or twice a year. Through sun exposure, aging, and hormonal changes, the skin can sustain a lot of damage. If you’ve noticed age spots, sun damage, or uneven pigmentation/tone, our facial rejuvenation treatments may be perfect for you. At our medical spa in west Bloomfield, Michigan, we offer high-intensity non-invasive solutions that give highly visible results.
Our Intense Pulse Light (IPL) Photofacial treatment corrects discoloration, fades age spots, reduces sun damage, and improves skin tone. Our Radio Frequency (RF) Skin tightening treatment diminishes fine lines, reduces wrinkles, and firms up skin. Lastly, our Radio Frequency (RF) skin resurfacing/ (RF) microneedling treatment smoothens out the appearance of uneven skin texture, scars, rosacea, enlarged pores, stretch marks, and other skin textural concerns.
At our medical spa in West Bloomfield Michigan, we also combine our three unique procedures into one complete skin renewal treatment, the TriBella™ treatment . This treatment can be done twice a year to leave your skin feeling incredibly smoother and looking younger and healthier.
Tier 5:
Finally, at the top of our pyramid, we have our Dermal Fillers to increase volume in areas you desire and we recommend doing them annually.
To conclude, our pyramid for skin care is our recommendation for your skin routine. The bottom of the pyramid specifies the basics. As you move up in the pyramid, you take your skin care routine to the next level. The overall pyramid provides, what we believe, the ultimate rejuvenation that our medical spa in West Bloomfield, helps you achieve.
