San Diego's Skin Care Solutions — Laser Hair Removal, Facial Rejuvenation, and More

At the Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Center, some of the most popular procedures among our San Diego patients are skin care treatments. GentleLASE® laser hair removal and laser facial rejuvenation, along with dermabrasion and chemical peels, are very popular. Many of our San Diego patients seek a skin care solution to mitigate the cosmetic effects of a blemish or a scar. Whether performed on their own or in conjunction with a face, breast, body contouring, or dermal filler procedure, Dr. Wheeler's skin care techniques can help give you a refreshed, rejuvenated, and more youthful appearance.

GentleLASE® Laser Hair Removal

Intrusive hair can result in embarrassment and annoyance. Shaving hair in delicate places can cause irritation and redness and leave itchy stubble. An effective way to remove hair to look your best in the boardroom, on the tennis court, or when you hit the beach in San Diego is laser hair removal performed in Dr. Wheeler's Laser Skin Care Center. Performed with the GentleLASE®, a high-energy Alexandrite Laser system, laser hair removal leaves smooth skin free of unwanted hair and uncomfortable stubble.

The GentleLASE® system is a revolutionary technology that employs a long pulse, high energy, Alexandrite laser. The laser's gentle beam of high-energy light passes through the skin, without harming it, on to the hair follicle. When the laser's light hits the follicle, it transforms to heat and destroys the hair follicle. The surrounding skin is not affected by the process. The GentleLASE® Dynamic Cooling Device™ provides further protection to the skin by spraying cryogen to cool the skin's upper layers, increasing patient comfort. The GentleLASE® system effectively treats unwanted hair while selectively protecting the skin.

Hair grows in cycles. The number of Laser Hair Removal treatments required depends on your skin color, hair color and coarseness of the hair. Everyone will require at least four to six treatments as the process is only effective on the hair during the early cycle. Repeat sessions will be necessary to treat these follicles when they reenter the early growth phase. For the benefit of our San Diego patients, Laser Hair Removal eliminates not only unwanted hair but also the embarrassment, annoyance and hassle that accompany it. Contact our office today to learn more about the benefits of Laser Hair Removal.

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Fraxel® Laser Skin Rejuvenation

Laser skin rejuvenation has become extremely popular in plastic surgery over the past 10 years. Newer advances are now available that offer minimal downtime following the procedure. Lasers can help remedy skin damaged by the San Diego sun. Facial rejuvenation is also accomplished as the laser improves fine facial lines, reduces pore size and improves skin blemishes. Lasers can also provide skin tightening that will give overall improved complexion and character to the facial skin.

The classic exfoliation laser, the UltraPulse 5000 CO 2 Laser is the benchmark by which all laser treatments are compared. This procedure exfoliates upper layers of the skin and causes new collagen to form producing skin tightening and major reduction in sun damage. This procedure is performed under anesthesia and requires approximately two weeks of healing time before cover-up make-up can be applied to the skin.

The latest technology in laser therapy is Fraxel®. This technology is unique and it applies a fractional approach by micro spot size Erbium laser treatments. The Fraxel® treatment can be performed under topical anesthesia, on an outpatient basis. Because the fractional treatment leaves intact areas of skin, there is only an average of two days of downtime related to swelling and pinkness in the skin. The fractional treatment causes collagen rejuvenation, skin tightening and lessening of facial blemishes. The intensity of fractional treatment can be varied, allowing not only facial treatments, but treatments of the neck, chest and hands. This new technology is an advancement over all other systems. FDA clearance has been approved for skin resurfacing, tightening treatment of wrinkles around the eyes, and the treatment of pigmented lesions, such as age spots, sun spots and melasma. The FDA has also approved the Fraxel® laser treatment of acne scars, surgical scars and traumatic scars. The skin generally feels softer and looks smoother and tighter. The pores are generally smaller as well. This unique system is offered in Dr. Wheeler’s Laser Skin Care Center, in La Mesa and remains the “State of the Art” for minimal recovery time laser facial rejuvenation.

A gentler form of rejuvenation can be accomplished with the GentleLASE® system by changing the energy of this laser to cause collagen heating. The laser generally causes a gradual tightening of the collagen layers in the dermas of the skin, resulting in skin tightening and lessening of wrinkles. This procedure is a milder treatment and can be accomplished without anesthesia, with no downtime from social activities or your work schedule.

By eliminating wrinkles and facial lines, laser skin rejuvenation offers a cutting-edge method for giving you a younger, revitalized look. Contact our office to learn how Dr. Wheeler has helped hundreds of San Diego patients achieve facial rejuvenation with this advanced laser technique and his other effective procedures.

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AuraLASE™ Laser Blemish Removal

Many of our San Diego patients seeking facial rejuvenation come to us specifically to address a skin blemish that has caused them cosmetic concerns. A blemish or blemishes can cause insecurity about one's appearance and affect self-confidence. For patients with blemishes such as birthmarks, acne scars, and moles, Dr. Wheeler offers a quick solution using AuraLASE™ laser blemish removal for permanent, aesthetically pleasing results. The AuraLASE ™ laser is also very effective for treating distinct facial teleangiectasia (broken blood vessels) and pigmented/age spots.

Dr. Wheeler uses the AuraLASE™ cosmetic laser to target specific cells within the blemish. In the case of age spots and birthmarks, the laser breaks up and disperses the pigmented cells. Though some redness and swelling may occur on and around the treated site for a few days, the final result should be very satisfying. After healing is complete, skin care is necessary to avoid discoloration caused by exposure to the sun. Dr. Wheeler recommends liberal application of a high-spf sunscreen anytime outside activities are planned.

With laser blemish removal, areas that have caused concern can be eliminated quickly and permanently. The self-consciousness often associated with age spots, a birthmark, or other blemish disappears, and self-confidence gets a boost. Contact our office today for a private consultation to learn more about how this advanced procedure can give you the cosmetic enhancement you seek either by itself or in conjunction with another facial rejuvenation procedure.

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Vibraderm™ Microdermabrasion

Microdermabrasion using Vibraderm™ technology offers one of the quickest methods available to our San Diego patients for facial rejuvenation. It helps reduce fine lines, wrinkles, age spots and acne scarring. The new Vibraderm ™ employs a patented vibrating surface that removes layers of damaged skin and leaves you looking healthier and more radiant. This is a new advancement from the classic sand blasting microdermabrasion systems and evidence of more improvement over early technologies. Further, the Vibraderm ™ infusion paddle can infuse your favorite lotion or serum into the upper layers of the skin during the 30 minute treatment time, giving an extra dose of Vitamin C or NIA24™ (proniacin) that further improves the growth characteristics of the skin.

This lunch break peel fits into anyone’s schedule, leaving you refreshed with softer and smoother skin. With a series of treatments it will diminish pore size, lessen fine lines, and reduce wrinkles. Combining the vibraderm with topical lotions and creams can maintain the character of your skin and lessen the solar damage that affects your skin on a daily basis. Vibraderm ™ can be applied to the hands, arms, and chest to give further improvements in areas other than the face. Contact our office in La Mesa, near San Diego, today to schedule a skin care or microdermabrasion consultation with Dr. Wheeler.

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Dermabrasion

In addition to the treatments listed above, Dr. Wheeler performs deep surgical Dermabrasion in his surgical center. This procedure causes deep resurfacing of very intense facial wrinkles and improves deeper acne scars. This technique is a traditional technique, which is an alternative to CO2 laser, giving the greatest degree of improvement possible. It requires approximately two weeks of healing time before cover-up make-up can be applied. Pinkness of the skin will fade over approximately two to three months. As for the CO2 laser, this gives the most affective improvement of deep facial wrinkles and acne scars, but requires a longer healing time then the procedure noted above.

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Chemical Peels

A chemical peel is a procedure that uses a chemical solution to peel away wrinkled, blemished, unevenly pigmented, or sun damaged facial skin. We offer a variety of peels as indicated by your skin texture and pigmentation level. The procedure is non-invasive and poses little risk. Deeper peels are best controlled using laser technology. The result is softer, smoother, and more youthful looking skin.

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Scar Revision

Scarring can leave an unpleasant reminder of an injury long after the physical trauma has healed, particularly if the injury occurred to the face. Even if a scar is small, it can affect confidence and make a person feel self-conscious. Make-up can cover some scars but is only a temporary solution to a permanent condition. In truth, no topical skin care treatment can remove scars. While no scar can be erased completely, with advanced techniques Dr. Wheeler can make a scar less evident, often to the point that it is nearly undetectable.

How Dr. Wheeler performs a scar revision procedure depends on the type, location, and size of the scar. Keloid scars, which look almost like red or dark growths on the scar site, can be injected with steroids. If steroids prove ineffective, Dr. Wheeler can remove them with surgery. Dr. Wheeler can also use surgery to treat hypertrophic scars, which are the red, raised tissue often resulting from cutting injuries. He can remove much of the scar tissue and reposition the incision so that it is less conspicuous. Burn scars or those resulting from a large-area skin loss can be treated with skin grafts or Z-plasty, a surgical technique for obscuring and repositioning a scar.

With scar revision surgery, Dr. Wheeler can greatly diminish the cosmetic effect of most scars. For a discrete, private consultation with Dr. Wheeler to discuss scar revision or any of our skin care treatments, contact our office today.

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Skin Cancer Surgery

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that more than 1 million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year. Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is the most common form of cancer in people aged 20 to 29. The principal cause of skin cancer is exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or tanning lights. If you have sought the perfect tan in a tanning booth or if you enjoy an outdoor lifestyle in sunny San Diego, your skin care regimen should include monitoring your skin for any of the three types of skin cancer:

If you exhibit any of the signs of skin cancer, Dr. Wheeler urges you to seek treatment immediately, even if it is not with him. Putting off an examination and treatment can lead to serious health consequences and even death. If you are diagnosed with skin cancer, you should know that any skin cancer surgery invariably results in a scar. With his exceptional surgical skills, Dr. Wheeler can remove the cancerous cells and minimize and position the resulting scar for the most attractive result possible. We encourage you to contact our La Mesa office today for an examination to ensure that skin cancer won't impact your life.

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Skin Care Products

We supply internationally recognized, high-grade topical products that improve the character of your skin, diminishing the affects of aging and preventing sun damage. These products include the SkinCeuticals, Vitamin C preparation. Vitamin C has clearly been shown to diminish the solar damage to the DNA in our skin cells and the antioxidant affects prevent the gradual degradation of the cellular mechanics. These effects improve the growth patterns and healthiness of the skin cells. NIA24™ (proniacin cream) has been proven to improve the thickness of the epidermis, increase the adherence of the epithelial cells, diminishing the irregular folds in the basal layer of the epidermis, all of which result in a smoother skin with less wrinkles and improve texture and smoothness.

La Roche-Posay BioMedic (glycolic acid) solutions help exfoliate the roughened dead cells at the outer surface of the skin, again reducing pore size, improving the surface character of the skin and reducing the number of fine wrinkles and folds. Retinoids, such as Retin-A, Renova®, and Avage®, have all been proven over more than a decade to enhance epithelial growth and reverse some of the aging changes in the skin and again, augments the wrinkle reduction and diminishment of solar age spots. Sunscreen is extremely important. We have learned that zinc oxide and titanium dioxide blocks both the UVA and UVB rays, including the long UVA that has been implicated in both photoaging and photocarcinogenesis (skin cancer).

These products are available through our office staff, or can be purchased online. See products below for a complete listing of our recommended products.

SkinCeuticals we carry:

BioMedic we carry:

EltaGold we carry:

Nia24

The NIA24™ system is a full complement of products that effectively address moderate severe damage caused by exposure to the sun. The NIA24™ patented MicoNutrient Delivery system restores the skin's natural barrier 24 hours a day with its continuous-release form of Niacin. NIA24™ products dramatically reverse signs of sun damage and build stronger, better skin that has greater resilience to the sun exposure. We carry the complete line of NIA24™ products, including:

Colorescience Sunforgettable

Colorescience Sunforgettable is a completely new way to protect the skin from sun damage. Sunforgettable is a fine, mineral-based powder that brushes on to provide spf 30 protection. Sunforgettable has no perfumes, dyes, or colorants, and it will not irritate the eyes, so it is ideal for anyone of any age. It does not rub off on clothes, and it stays on even when swimming. The cooling Colorescience Sunforgettable powder can be applied to the skin after laser resurfacing and most other cosmetic procedures. It has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and has been recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation of America.

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The GentleLASE® Laser

Dr. Wheeler uses the GentleLASE™ laser system for effective hair removal at the Laser Skin Care Center. The GentleLASE® laser is a long pulse, high energy, alexandrite laser that provides excellent results while protecting the skin with its Dynamic Cooling Device™.

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Dr. Wheeler, your San Diego skin care expert, provides facial rejuvenation treatments, laser hair removal, and a host of other procedures to improve and enhance your appearance. Contact our office in La Mesa today for a consultation with Dr. Wheeler to learn how personalized plastic surgery can help you look your best.

Contact our office in La Mesa, serving all San Diego, to schedule a skin care appointment for facial rejuvenation, laser hair removal, and our other exceptional procedures.






Ervin S. Wheeler, M.D., F.A.C.S.
8690 Center Drive
La Mesa, California 91942

Ph. (866) 387-2271
Fax (619) 697-3970