 Hello, Warriors! Welcome to The Breast Place blog and thank you for taking time out of your active schedule to visit! We appreciate our readers to the utmost degree, as we do our patients. If this is your first visit to The Breast Place blog, we welcome you. We cover a range of topics here. From breast cancer management to anti-aging skin treatments to helpful tips for maximizing your overall health and wellness—The Breast Place is committed to sharing the best health practices and treatment options with you! Our offices are open and our staff is prepared to answer any questions you may have about your health, your breast cancer risk, and how to reach your aesthetic goals.
At The Breast Place, we offer several oncoplastic surgical procedures, such as natural reconstruction, nipple-sparing mastectomy, Hidden Scar™, implant reconstruction, and breast lift with or without reduction. Oncoplastic surgery is distinct from both breast cancer surgery and plastic surgery–though you initially assume oncoplastic surgery to be a mixture of both. Rather, the aim of oncoplastic breast surgery is “to achieve good aesthetic outcomes for women with breast cancers who would have unacceptable outcomes with other BCS techniques, and in addition, enable breast-conserving surgery for larger breast cancers.” While breast cancer surgery prioritizes the eradication of cancerous tissue and plastic surgery prioritizes the cosmetic appearance of the breasts, oncoplastic surgery takes both of these aspects into account when planning for the final outcome. You can find out more information about what to look for in an Oncoplastic surgeon here. Our last article talked about incontinence, which is a lack of bladder control caused by a weakening of the muscles in the pelvic floor. Incontinence affects over 19 million women in the United States, but more than half of those who suffer do not seek help or discuss their concerns with anyone. Incontinence can be caused by childbirth, menopause, or the natural aging process. Medication given for breast cancer treatment can induce early menopause, resulting in incontinence. If you are interested in learning more about incontinence and the pelvic floor therapy treatment we offer here at The Breast Place, we encourage you to give our last article a read! Before we dive into today’s topic, we’d like to make you aware of what we have to offer at The Breast Place this April. Spring is here! The weather is beautiful and we hope you are feeling just as great. Our product of the month is the ProHeal Serum from iS Clinical. This restorative and antioxidant-rich serum is 20% off this month, so stop by our office to snag yours, or contact us so we can ship it directly to you! Today, we’ll be discussing ways that you can take care of your skin. The skin is your body’s largest organ, so protecting it should be a huge priority! As women, we are almost always concerned about our appearance. After all, who doesn’t want gorgeous, youthful-looking skin?! What you may not know is that the key to great skin lies within your daily routine– A lot of it has to do with how well you are taking care of your skin. Luckily, there are many ways you can care for your skin at home, and we’ll be talking about just a few of them today! If you’re interested in learning more about how you can achieve and maintain glowing skin at home, you’re in the right place! Let’s get right into it. Protect Your Skin From the Sun One of the most important, yet arguably overlooked, ways to achieve healthy, youthful skin is by protecting it from the sun. Too much exposure to ultraviolet light, or UV rays, can damage skin cells and even lead to skin cancer. Sun damage is one of the leading causes of aging skin, due to the fact that UV rays penetrate the skin and damage elastic fibers that keep skin firm. This, in turn, causes wrinkles to develop. The good news is that sun damage can be avoided by using sunscreen. Choose a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or greater– And apply it daily. Yes, sunscreen should be used every day, even when it’s not exactly sunny out. The sun emits UV rays year-round, no matter the weather or season. Even on overcast days, up to 80% of the sun’s radiation reaches the Earth. It is also important to keep in mind that your face is not the only part of your skin that needs to be protected. Sunscreen should be applied to any part of the skin exposed to the sun. So, whether you’re walking your dog, doing some gardening, or sitting by the pool, you’ll want to put on some sunscreen! You can also protect your skin from the sun by wearing a wide-brimmed hat and by avoiding sunbathing. Unfortunately, seeing a suntan means skin damage has occurred. Try opting for a self-tanner instead! Develop a Skincare Routine Another great way to care for your skin is by developing a skincare routine– And sticking to it! The first step to creating a skincare routine is by determining your skin type. Generally, there are 5 different skin types: Normal, dry, combination, oily, and sensitive. Let’s take a closer look at what these skin types look like:
Determining your skin type will help you determine what products to use. For example, there are products that are fragrance-free, which would best suit sensitive skin, and products that are alcohol-free, which are great for dry skin, and so on. A basic skincare routine should include a cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen. Even if you have oily skin, you’ll still want to moisturize– Moisturizers help hold the water in the outer layer of the skin to keep it hydrated. You don’t want to lose your skin’s hydration or natural oils, as that can result in your skin ramping up its oil production to compensate. Yikes! If you want a more in-depth skincare routine, you can incorporate other products into your regimen, such as toners and serums. Be Gentle No matter what products you decide to incorporate into your skincare routine or use on your skin periodically, you’ll want to be gentle– Especially on your face. Things like daily cleansing and shaving can take a toll on your skin over time. With that in mind, you’ll want to avoid harsh products that can do more harm than good to your skin. Strong cleansers and soaps can strip the natural oils from your skin, so opt for mild products. Cleansers and soaps aren’t the only things to be careful of, however. Things such as hot water and long baths can also strip oils from your skin, drying it out. It can also damage the surface of the skin, and over time this can develop into more serious skin problems such as inflammation and eczema. Long, hot showers can also worsen acne and psoriasis. To avoid this, try cutting down your shower or bath time, and use warm water rather than hot. You should also treat your skin gently by shaving carefully. Repeated shaving can cause inflamed hair follicles, itching, and ingrown hairs. Since shaving affects the upper layer of skin, it can dry it out and make you more prone to outside irritation. A good way to combat this is by applying a shower cream or gel before shaving. This lubricates the skin and protects it. You should also use a clean, sharp razor, and be sure to shave in the direction that your hair grows, rather than against it! Another way to care for your skin is by patting dry with a towel after washing or bathing, rather than rubbing a rough towel all over your skin. This is not only gentle on your skin, but helps retain some moisture. As you can see, there are many simple ways you can care for your skin at home and help maintain a youthful appearance. These were just a few of the ways you can take care of your skin, and there are more to come in our next blog! We hope you found this article helpful, and we hope to see you back for part two! Here at The Breast Place, we are dedicated to helping you feel more confident in your skin. We offer facial rejuvenation services including dermal fillers, laser treatment, and more! Additionally, we offer breast imaging services and provide consultations, clinical breast exams, and dedicated treatment plans. We strongly encourage you to reach out to us for a consultation if you have any questions or concerns pertaining to our service areas– We are committed to empowering women, and we are proud to offer treatments and products to help you look and feel your best. Thank you for taking the time to read today’s article and we hope you’ll check back in for future posts about treatments, wellness, and more!  Hello, Warriors! We hope you’re doing well and thriving! Welcome to The Breast Place blog, where we cover a range of topics from breast cancer management to skin care treatments to women’s health. We’re committed to sharing the best health practices and treatment options with you! Check out our previous posts about mask-related acne and teach your daughters how to perform a self-exam! Be sure to check back in for more information you need to live your best life!
Today, we’ll be detailing the effect of water on your skin. Whether you’re drinking water or washing your face with it, water plays a vital role in allowing our bodies to function properly. We’ve all been inundated with “remember to drink water’ posts and perhaps you’ve even started to incorporate water consumption into your daily routine. However, the type of water you drink and use on your body can have effects on your skin you didn’t intend for. We’ll go over the benefits of drinking an adequate amount of water, as well as which types of water you should avoid to keep your skin looking youthful and healthy! Benefits of Drinking Water According to the ‘Natural Mineral Waters: Chemical Characteristics and Health Effects,’ a scientific paper studying the benefits of mineral water on the body, “water is involved in many body functions, since it serves as a carrier of nutrients and substances in the circulatory system. Furthermore, it is a vehicle to excrete products, eliminate waste and toxins, and it also lubricates joints. However, there is no efficient mechanism of the body's water storage; therefore, a constant supply of fluids is needed to keep water content.” (Quattrini). Drinking an adequate amount of water can help to tighten skin, maintain your body’s natural pH balance, flush toxins, retain skin elasticity and prevent wrinkles, as well as reduce breakouts and the appearance of dark circles. All of that, you say? Yes! And more. Allowing your body to become dehydrated is detrimental not only to your skin, but also all of your other body functions. Now you’re aware of the importance of drinking plenty of water daily, the next question is... How Much Water Should You Drink A Day How much water you consume on a daily basis varies depending on a set of personal factors, including: metabolism, weight, height, and daily activity. While some medical professionals recommend an all-encompassing five to eight glasses a day, others ask you to do a bit of math to determine the appropriate amount of daily water consumption. The formula takes your weight in pounds and divides it in half. The resulting number is how many ounces of water you should consume per day. For example, a two-hundred pound man would drink one-hundred ounces of water per day. Different Aspects of Water and How They Affect Your Skin Water may seem simple at first glance. Water is water, right? Well, not quite. Consider the water aisle at your local grocery store. There are multiple different brands and all manner of different kinds of water available for consumption. We’re here to tell you some of those types are better for your skin, both orally and topically. Let’s begin with the one most of us have access to in our homes--tap water. Tap water is cheap and widely available, making it the most convenient option for the general population to both drink and wash with. However, as we’ve seen on the news in past years, tap water may not always be the best to drink. Tap water can contain plastic particles, lead, pesticide residue, aluminum, and other contaminants we don’t want circulating through our systems. Extra toxins can and will have an effect on our skin. Therefore, you might want to consider investing in a filtration system to filter out the microscopic contaminants present in tap water. Purified water—water which has been chemically treated to be safe to drink—may be an option for your drinking water as well, but we’ll discuss later why it may not be the best option for your skin. As well, tap water has a pH of about 7, which is considered neutral. Tap water can run more alkaline, in certain areas. Our skin has a natural pH of about 5 (ideally, 4.7), which is slightly acidic. When our skin is left unwashed for at least twenty-four hours, it generally dips below a 5 on the pH-scale. This pH contributes to what’s known as our acid mantle, which is essential for our skin’s health and health. The acidity of our skin allows resident bacteria to continue living on the skin, but makes the skin inhospitable to other types of bacteria. Breakdowns in the acid mantle can lead to acne and infections. Alkaline soaps and water (such as tap water) can raise the pH of your skin for a temporary period and potentially interrupt the acid mantle. Skin that’s too alkaline is dry, tight, and dull. Meanwhile, skin that’s too acidic is greasy, irritated, and overly sensitive. As an alternative to tap water, you might choose to drink and wash your face with distilled water. Distilled water is tap water that has been boiled and had its steam collected. This steaming process leaves behind contaminants and is a great option if you don’t trust your tap water. Distilled water, lacking minerals, can sometimes pull minerals from your body and teeth. However, its pH is close to 5, meaning distilled water won’t bring up the pH balance of your skin. That’s why it’s recommended you use distilled water for your skin and drink mineral water instead. Mineral water is collected from select springs and contains a host of beneficial minerals. Defined as “microbiologically wholesome,” mineral water must be absent of the main contamination factors (e.g. parasites, E. Coli, fecal matter) at the time of collection and marketing. Below is a list of some minerals found in mineral water and how they benefit your body: Calcium
Chlorine
Phosphorus
Magnesium
Potassium
Sodium
Sulphur
Cobalt
Chromium
Iron
Fluoride
Iodide
Manganese
Molybdenum
Copper
Selenium
Many of these minerals aid in digestion. Digestion plays an important role in the appearance of our skin. Good digestion helps eliminate toxins from the body and reduce inflammation. When our digestive system isn’t operating effectively, our bodies struggle to absorb nutrients and toxins can reintegrate into our systems, then express through our skin. Not every bottle of mineral water will contain all of these macro and micronutrients. As well, mineral water can be expensive. As well, you should be able to acquire the necessary quantities of these nutrients through a balanced diet. The alternative, spring water (which also contains minerals) isn’t always tested and may contain health risks. Therefore, a combination of drinking mineral water and using distilled (reverse osmosis) water on your face should give you everything you need—both inside and out—to keep your skin looking its best. Remember to tone after using an acidic or alkaline cleanser to restore your skin to its natural pH balance. Additionally, avoid spending too much time in chlorinated water. Hardness Another important factor you need to consider is the hardness of your tap water. Hard water contains soap scum—dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium—which leaves a thin layer of residue on the skin even after washing with soap. This residue can clog pores and lead to breakouts, as well as worsen skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Hard water can dry skin out and prevent our natural oils from doing their job of conditions and softening our skin. All of this drying can lead to premature aging. If that wasn’t bad enough, those impurities present in hard water can form free radicals which damage healthy skin cells, causing the formation of fine lines and wrinkles. If you have an irritated scalp or dandruff, hard water may be making the issue worse. Hard water has been found to be an environmental trigger of eczema. Soft water, on the other hand, lacks these mineral deposits. Therefore, soft water is gentler on your skin and won’t trigger skin condition flare-ups. Soft water won’t give you the telltale “squeaky clean” feeling hard water will give after a shower, but that’s a positive. Clean skin should feel slick and slippery, not tight. Hard water actually has a difficult time bonding to soap and forming a lather, which makes it less effective when cleansing the body. If you suspect your water is too hard, you can do a water hardness test to confirm your suspicions. Then, if you were correct, invest in a new showerhead which filters hard water or applies a softening agent. As well, rinsing your skin with acidic water (i.e. ionized water or heavily diluted apple cider vinegar) can remove some of the residue from hard water still present on your skin after washing. Temperature Though you may love hot showers or extol the benefits of a cold shower, the optimal temperature for extended exposure to water is lukewarm. Water that’s too hot can irritate and strip the skin. There’s no harm in splashing your face in cold water or taking a cold shower every once in a while. In fact, we’re sure you’ve read about the benefits of doing this. However, the safest bet every time is lukewarm water. There you have it! Everything you need to know about how the water you drink and use can affect your skin, in a nutshell. We hope this information leads to noticeable improvements in your skin. And, one last time, drink your water! Here at The Breast Place we offer a list of facial rejuvenation services, including Excel V+ (vascular laser), Secret RF (micro-needling with radio frequency), dermal fillers, and Botox. Facial rejuvenation can address concerns such as excessive redness, uneven texture, and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. We also have Dr. Des Fernandes, a skincare expert and founder of Environ Skincare, on-hand to help you with any other skin concerns you may have. Reach out for a consultation. We look forward to helping you achieve your best skin! Until next time, thank you for reading!  Our skin is not only our largest organ, it's one of the most important things to care for throughout our entire lives. Sometimes what we can personally for our skin doesn't produce the results we want, nor do we have the power to fix certain things that our bodies do naturally. That's where The Breast Place can come in! With many of our treatments, your skin can look and feel as you desire! One of our most popular treatments is Cutera's Excel V+!
Hello readers, friends, warriors, and supporters! We are thrilled that you've found yourself at The Breast Place blog. We hope you're staying healthy and well, and just like everything else, taking it one day at a time! With the ongoing health threat of the pandemic and the winter blues that set in this time of year, it's hard to stay focused, on track, and on schedule. We hope you enjoyed our last blog discussing how you can nurture and care for your self-esteem and self-confidence as an adult and through the difficult challenges life puts us all through! This time of year makes many of our readers blue, which we understand! Keep the advice we discussed in our last blog close to heart for that reason, and to make every day a little easier. One of the through lines of our last blog was that the treatments we offer in our offices help with several things that can affect our self-esteem like signs of aging, loose skin, stretch marks, difficult pockets of fat, wrinkles, scarring, body hair, rosacea, and scars left behind from acne. With our products from Enuron, tru Sculpt iD, Secret RF, body contouring, laser hair removal, and Excel V+, these issues can become issues of the past. Skin rejuvenation on the face is one of our most popular treatments. Secret RF is one of those treatments which we've already talked about in previous blogs. Today, we are going to be talking about Excel V+, our second option for facial rejuvenation! Our skin rejuvenation services can help keep you looking young even after the effects of treatment, raising children, menopause, and getting through life's challenges. Laser resurfacing is used to address pigmentation issues like melasma and sunspots, and micro-needling with radiofrequency is used to help with the promotion of rebuilding your collagen with no downtime. This can be achieved with Secret RF. Laser resurfacing is the newest technology aiding in rejuvenation and antiaging. If you are concerned with fine lines, wrinkles, or redness like rosacea, our Cutera Excel V+ laser treatments are perfect for you! Paired with the best skin products for optimal results, we hope to empower you to look and feel your best at all times and through all stages of your life. According to Cutera, Excel V + delivers the power to safely treat challenging vascular and pigmentary conditions and today's most common skin concerns! What's Excel V+ and What Does It Entail? As we've talked about many times before, and what we understand ourselves, is that over the years our skin naturally takes a beating no matter how much we care for it. Excel V+ by Cutera is an incredibly safe laser technology that is very effective with treating excessive redness, enlarged pores, age spots, fine-line wrinkles, scars, and uneven skin texture. How does it work? Excel V+ delivers wavelengths to targeted areas and these wavelengths are absorbed by the chromophores in our bodies, which are the parts of a molecule responsible for its color (the redness and brown discoloring on our skin). They are also absorbed by melanin, oxyhemoglobin, and water, helping with fine lines and wrinkles. During your treatments, areas on the body can be treated in as small as .5mm and as large as 1mm to ensure precise treatment and to help avoid any tissue damage to the skin that doesn't need treatment. These laser treatments work by stimulating collagen regrowth by heating the upper dermis, which lives way below your skin's surface. Dilated capillaries will receive additional heat to reduce the redness in your skin. Have no fear of this heat, however, because before, during, and after each pulse delivered to the treatment area, Excel V+ will deliver consistent contact cooling. This cooling temperature will be adjusted to your comfort levels. Another great perk? This is another wonderful non-surgical treatment that can be done without the use of topical anesthetic or gel! Higher energy levels will be used for larger spots and short pulses, with the most advanced wavelengths available, 532 nm. After your treatments, the skin might look slightly red and your dark brown spots might look darker. This will only last a few hours or a few days. You can use makeup to cover up any redness through this period. You will begin to see results in one to three weeks. Redness will decrease, your complexion will improve, and dark spots will flake off and fade. It is recommended to avoid sun exposure after treatment. Excel V+ will help bring a youthful glow to your skin, smooth out your uneven skin texture, reduce your pore sizes, and much more. Each treatment will see more and more improved results and will build on previous improvements. What Are the Benefits of Excel V+? With all of our services and non-surgical services, there are so many benefits that come with each of them! First of all, you might be asking yourself if you're a good candidate for this procedure. If you're considering trying this service, here is a little food for thought. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, 14 million people are living with rosacea, and 40% of the population suffers from pigment concerns. If you are wanting to help improve your skin, then it is right for you! What are some of the other benefits you will see and experience with Excel V+?
What Are Some Common Misconceptions About Laser Skin Treatments?
Excel V+ and all of our laser skin treatments offer incredible benefits, with little downtime and hardly if not any side effects. Each service is a great option to help you deal with unwanted issues weighing on your conscience and self-confidence! If you have any questions or concerns, please leave a comment below, and always feel free to reach out to us! We look forward to seeing you soon, and we look forward to helping you make the very best out of 2021!  When you visit our website, one of the first things you'll notice is a button that says EMPOWER at the top of your screen. The idea behind the creation of The Breast Place was to help empower women who have been challenged by all aspects of life, to help boost their confidence, and to restore their sense of normalcy. Today, we are going to be talking about the importance and self restorative power of self-confidence as an adult.
Watching as your body changes over the years, seeing your body change due to cancer treatments and surgeries, and sitting in front of the mirror after a hard week can be incredibly difficult, make it hard to feel like yourself, and can be a blow to your self-confidence. It's no secret that every media outlet and our smart devices that we are glued to also add a decent amount of weight to our everyday moods, decisions, how we see ourselves, and how we feel about ourselves. As we grow older, it's hard to keep up with being your own hype woman and keeping your self-confidence up. As a woman-run and owned business, we understand that completely. We opened this clinic as a way to empower women who have been challenged with various aspects of life and encourage them to find beauty in all things. We cherish our survivors and want them to feel loved, respected, and beautiful. We hope that by offering services like skin rejuvenation and scar revision that we can boost their confidence and restore their sense of normalcy in life. After challenging life events, we offer total wellness through skin resurfacing with the latest laser technology, dermal injections to subtly address fine lines and wrinkles, body contouring to tackle unwanted areas of fat with non-invasive treatment, and much more. These services include truSculpt iD, secret RF, excel V+, Botox, and products from Environ and Cutera to help with loose skin, stretch marks, and scars caused by acne. We are dedicated to helping you feel your best. Today, we want to talk about celebrating and nurturing your self-confidence! What Is Wellness? Wellness goes beyond waking up without a cold, having bad allergies, or a runny nose. Wellness goes into how your feeling mentally and emotionally, all of which can be helped by caring for yourself and taking advantage of all of our empowering services. According to the Global Institute of Wellness, it is defined as the active pursuit of activities, choices, and a lifestyle that leads to a state of holistic health. It is an active pursuit towards a healthy lifestyle and state of mind. It is also an individual pursuit. While it is important to surround yourself with supportive and loving people, you have to make these choices and accept what you need to achieve wellness on your own. Making that uphill climb will be worth the outcome. Wellness is also not a one-dimensional thing, it is a six-part dimensional way of thinking and living! It includes:
What are some of the ways you can work towards your overall wellness?
How do you nurture self-confidence? Self-confidence is a difficult thing to maintain and have a healthy relationship with as an adult. However, it doesn't have to be something you are constantly fighting against. This is also hard for everyone, not just women. As you go through life, be gentle and kind with those you come in contact with, you don't know what they're going through. To nurture your self-confidence, you will have to put the work in yourself, and please don't rely on others to provide it for you. This is for you by you.
Being kind to yourself in the process of wellness, self-confidence, and empowerment can be the hardest battle. It's easy to make fun of and downplay the importance of each of these elements in your life, but there is nothing like permitting yourself to go after the wellness and self-confidence you deserve. We are here to help you start that journey and inspire you along the way. We believe in each of you and know that you deserve this kindness. If you have any questions about our services, empowerment, self-confidence, survivorship, or anything else, we are here for you! Dear readers, please know we are always here for you with your best interests at heart. Please stay safe, make smart decisions, and be kind to yourself in 2021!  A new year means new goals and resolutions to many of us. Why not try laser hair removal to kick off your 2021?
Hello readers, warriors, and friends! Welcome to The Breast Place Blog and welcome to a brand new year! For many, a new year means new resolutions, new goals, and trying new things. Remember, when the clock strikes midnight, and you wake up on January 1st ready to make big changes, all the goals you've made are meant to be accomplished throughout the year. Don't try and do everything at once or by the end of January! If you try to do this, you'll be ready to throw all of your goals and resolutions in the garbage before Valentine's Day! Remember, we are all about healthy, steady, and positive growth. The changes that you make that you want important results from take time, patience, and a willingness to get through the good days and the bad. As we all walk into this new year of 2021 together, let's be kind and resilient, let's take our time, let's work hard, and let's support one another with whatever goals we set for ourselves! While we might not be able to help with all of our goals or resolutions for 2021, we can help you with trying new things. Have you been putting off trying something new for yourself that you've been wanting to try for a while now? We can't tell you how often we hear that in our offices with our services like scar revision, body contouring, facial rejuvenation, and our laser hair removal services. Many of our patients also say that they wish they would have tried these services sooner, and don't know why they waited so long to try them! Have you been thinking about finally trying some of our services this new year? We are ready to get started, consult with you, and answer any questions you might have. To inspire you, we wanted to dedicate this blog to laser hair removal and talk about the truth behind it, the benefits of laser hair removal, and what our services are like at The Breast Place! LASER HAIR REMOVAL AT THE BREAST PLACE! Hair in unwanted places can offset self-confidence and mental well being. Treatments can also sometimes affect where and how hair grows. The Breast Place is now offering laser hair removal in the office with the latest laser technology. Contact us to schedule a cosmetic consultation with our licensed professionals. THE BENEFITS OF LASER HAIR REMOVAL!
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT LASER HAIR REMOVAL On top of all of its many benefits, we also wanted to share a few more pieces of information to consider while you prepare for your treatments.
After reading this blog, you should now know all the basics about how to prepare, what to expect, and all the incredible benefits laser hair removal can provide. However, we welcome you to reach out if you have any questions. It is also extremely easy to book an initial consultation with us on our website! We are so excited to share this new year with you and to help you try those new things you've always been wanting to! Dear readers, please know we are always here for you with your best interests at heart. Please stay safe, make smart decisions, and be kind to yourself in 2021! |
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