A Deep Dive into Your Skin Layers and the Benefits of the Redox Facial for Cell-Level Aesthetics

There are an infinite number of facials available to choose from, so when Redox Medical looks at facial health and wrinkles, here are our criteria:

• Will it actually help your skin cells function better? A lot of treatments will only elicit the inflammatory response to force the healing effect. This doesn’t help your skin cells function better, it just causes your skin cells to function. There are things that can be done to improve optimization of your skin cells and THAT’S what we are after.
• Will it help your skin cells function better in the future? We are not about the treatments that rob Peter to pay Paul. Everything that Redox Medical Group does is an investment for your future health– and this includes the future of your skin health. Everything we do must last and must be good for the cells in the long run.
• Will it create fibrosis? Dr. Seeds says this about all fibrosis and it is especially important for the skin: FIBROSIS IS THE ENEMY. Fibrosis in the skin can only be removed surgically, and that creates more fibrosis resulting in a fibrotic vicious cycle.

So what treatments did we end up with?

More on that in a second 🙂

First, allow us to tell you “the why”, and to do that effectively we must go through a very quick and vital skin anatomy walkthrough.

Like an Onion, Your Skin has Layers

Simply put, there are 3 layers of your skin: The top visible layer is the epidermis, the middle layer is the dermis, and the inner layer is the Hypodermis or the subcutaneous tissue.

Within the 3 main layers of skin, there are sub-layers. To discuss WHY we are only doing ceratin facials, I want to focus on the topmost layer, the epidermis. Here are the sublayers of the epidermis:

Important parts of the epidermis are:

• Keratinocytes, which make up 90% of the epidermis, move from the stratum basale, or the basal layer of the skin. Keratinocytes produce your skin’s antimicrobial functions and provide protection to your most exposed organ (your skin) from UV rays and dehydration. It also activates dendritic cells (your skin’s immune cells) when necessary.
• The Stratum Corneum: This is where the keratinocytes end up after being made in the Stratum basale.
• Merkel cells are the fascinating cells that trigger your sense of touch.
• Melanocytes are the cells that color your skin (and provide UV barrier to the dermis)

What happens when you get a deep wound in the skin?

There are 3 phases of wound healing in the skin:

Why Is This Important?

There are SO MANY facial treatments that go into the dermis (or the second layer) of your skin. This will FORCE the healing response but it will also elicit the wound healing response that creates at the end – FIBROSIS.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Fibrosis is the enemy!!!

Here’s what healthy skin looks like:

Here’s what Fibrotic skin looks like:

Fibrosis in the skin means compromised function and altered architecture of the dermis; which means your protective barrier against the elements, against future wounds, against future skin cell functions may be degraded.

Also fibrotic tissue can be disfiguring, most commonly seen in lumpy scars, loose skin, and increased cellulite. This is not good, especially when talking about the face.

Fibrosis can only be removed surgically, and that creates a vicious cycle of more fibrosis.

Here are some more details on exactly why skin fibrosis is so bad for you:

Issues with Facial Fibrotic Skin

Appearance:

• Scarring: Fibrotic skin can develop visible scars, which might be perceived as aesthetically displeasing.
• Texture: The skin can become rough, hard, and inelastic.
• Discoloration: Altered pigmentation might be observed, with areas of the skin appearing darker or lighter.

Contour Irregularities:

• The thickening and stiffening of the skin may cause irregular contours and deformities, impacting the smooth appearance of the skin.

Facial Expressions:

• In severe cases, fibrosis on facial skin can restrict the movement of facial muscles, making expressions appear limited or strained.

Issues with Fibrotic Skin to Health

Limited Mobility:

• Skin fibrosis, especially in areas near joints, can limit range of motion due to stiffening and reduced elasticity.
  • For example, in severe cases of scleroderma (a type of skin fibrosis), fingers can become stiff and curled, restricting hand function.

Pain and Discomfort:

• Fibrotic skin can be painful, particularly when stretched or pressed upon.
• Chronic itching may also be a complaint due to skin tightness and dryness.

Poor Wound Healing:

• Scarred and fibrotic skin may have a reduced ability to heal from wounds or injuries due to compromised blood supply and reduced cellular activity.
• There may also be an increased risk of infections since the natural barrier function of the skin is impaired.

Secondary Complications:

• Underlying structures, such as blood vessels and nerves, may be compressed or damaged due to fibrosis, potentially leading to secondary health issues like poor circulation or neuropathy.
• Organ involvement: In some cases, fibrosis can be systemic (such as in scleroderma), affecting internal organs, which poses significant health risks.

So What CAN be done for Aesthetics, the Cellular Medicine Way?

Focus on the inside-out dual approach, but on the outside, a lot can be done to improve just the top epidermis layer without scaring the dermis layer. Why?

• Epidermal wounds are typically less severe than those affecting the dermis.
• Clotting may not occur if there is no breaching of the vasculature; however, an immune response is still generated as the wound site is susceptible to infection.
• Proliferation is not required as the dermis remains intact and is able to independently re-constitute the basement membrane required for re-epithelialization.
• Keratinocytes surrounding the wound site, and epidermal cells found in dermal appendages (such as hair follicles ), are able to re-epithelialize the wound site.
• Little remodeling will occur as the original, mature extracellular matrix remains intact.
• Epidermal wounds often resolve quickly and have fewer potential issues than deeper wounds.

When we explore epidermal wound healing, it pertains to the regeneration of the epidermis following an injury. These superficial wounds, confined to the epidermis, often bypass certain stages of the wound healing process due to their relatively reduced severity.

The epidermis has no vasculature and is reliant on the dermis for blood supply. It usually doesn’t necessitate a clotting or vasoconstrictive response. The removal of the epidermal barrier still calls on immune cells to guard against infections and injury.

With the dermis left unscathed, local fibroblasts readily contribute to the formation of a new basement membrane to support the epidermis. In minor wounds, rapid re-epithelialization may occur, particularly if the basement membrane also remains intact. 

Migratory actions of keratinocytes, the epithelial cells of the epidermis, along with additional epidermal cells from structures like hair follicles, facilitate wound closure. The absence of damage to the dermis and underlying structures typically means that only minor remodeling is needed, enabling small epidermal wounds to heal quickly and often without noticeable scarring or other long-term visible effects after several months and most importantly, no fibrosis.

So What Do We Do Differently?

FIRST: We’re going to focus on a two-pronged approach that focuses on the Epidermis of the skin only, and the INSIDE of the skin (the subcutaneous layer) through peptides.

There are peptides that are administered through subcutaneous injection that will help the skin increase natural collagen production, improve the skin’s cell senescence (zombie cells), and repair damage to skin cells from the inside out.

SECOND: When paired with the inside strategies, anything you do topically on the epidermis becomes MORE effective (the wonders of cellular optimization improve allllllll functions of the body).  The lotions and potions we love can be found by emailing info@redoxmedicalgroup.com, but really, you should consider our amazing facial procedure (and the best part: it only takes 1 hour, no downtime).

Facial Microneedling is a PROVEN epidermal treatment

Microneedling prompts a reconfiguration of existing collagen fibers and facilitates the development of new collagen, elastin, and blood vessels, thereby initiating the skin-tightening effect. 

A noteworthy enhancement in the levels of various types of collagen (I, III, and VII), as well as newly generated collagen and tropoelastin, was identified following a series of six microneedling procedures, performed every two weeks, as per the findings by El-Domyati et al. 

Through the method of percutaneous collagen induction, microneedling contributes to a rejuvenated skin appearance by diminishing fine lines and wrinkles, contracting pore size, and enhancing suppleness and elasticity.

Treatments are performed at 3–8 week intervals and multiple sittings are needed to achieve the desired effect on the skin. The final results cannot be viewed immediately because new collagen continues to be laid down for approximately 3–6 months after treatment has ceased.

Benefits of Microneedling in Acne

Microneedling helps with acne by reducing sebum production which is part of the causes of acne. In addition, the hyperproliferation of keratinocytes is downregulated by microneedling in acne patients because it overall balances out the cell equilibrium.

Benefits of Microneedling In Alopecia Areata

The use of microneedling over the scalp for alopecia is one of its recent advances. It has been compared with minoxidil alone and has been found to be better in combination.

Home-use derma rollers are prescribed to patients who are using minoxidil, and better hair growth is observed. However, when topical minoxidil was compared with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) and microneedling therapy in a recent study, minoxidil alone continued to remain better. Microneedling has also been combined with topical triamcinolone acetonide application in alopecia areata and a better response has been observed.

Contraindications of Microneedling

1. Active acne
2. Herpes labialis or any other local infection such as warts
3. Moderate to severe chronic skin diseases such as eczema and psoriasis
4. Blood dyscrasias, patients on anticoagulant therapy
5. Extreme keloidal tendency
6. Patient on chemo/radiotherapy.

If Microneedling is Not For You, Let’s Look at Chemical Peels

But Beware… Not all chemical peels are created equal. Most chemical peels will be so strong that it will seep into the dermis layer of your skin (and by now you know what that could mean… hint: it rhymes with ‘miborsis’).

There is only 1 chemical peel that is specifically formulated to stay on the epidermal layer of the skin, utilizing a TCA (Trichloroacetic acid) that is no greater than 33%.

By staying in the epidermal layer of the skin, it will have all the benefits of stronger peels without the fibrosis risk. But what are those benefits? I thought you’d never ask…

The Wonderful Benefits of The Redox Chemical Peel

• A Proper Exfoliation: Exfoliation helps your skin by gently removing old, dead skin cells, making way for new ones, which can make your skin look brighter and feel smoother. Plus, it helps to keep your pores clear, reducing pimples and allowing your skincare products to work better.
• Repair Sun Damage:Chemical peels help repair sun damage by using specific acids to gently remove the top layers of the skin, revealing fresher, more even-toned skin beneath and stimulating new cell growth that improves skin texture. This process encourages the production of collagen, aiding in the rejuvenation and healing of sun-damaged skin.
• Reduce Hyperpigmentation: It’s caused from sun damage so that’s a bonus! Freckles, sunspots, and other kinds of skin discoloration are definitely improved.
• Improve Scars: Whether it’s caused by acne or other kinds of injuries, we can improve year-old scars with a 33% TCA chemical peel.
• Melt away clogged pores: we can literally see the pores clearing up
• Reduce size of enlarged pores: when we clear up the pores, we can reduce the size with continued regularly scheduled peels.
• Even-Out Your Skin Texture: Smooth skin sailing ahead
• Excellent base to Microneedling: when used prior to a microneedling facial – think about how incredible this foundation is for microneedling.

Other Powerful Cell-Activating Topical Treatments

When we can help the topical keratinocytes function more efficiently, we can see the power of your skin’s largest organ come into its full functionality. At Redox, we utilize other power topicals with our facial procedures in order to bring your skin’s natural capabilities to light. Here are some of those topicals:

1. Your Stem Cells. Not someone else’s stem cells that can cause adverse reactions, not synthetic stem cells that are unreliable and inconsistent, YOUR natural, top repair mechanism in your body. Your stem cells have 1 job to do: repair, repair, and repair some more. When we inject your stem cells into your face the repair and reconstruction is simply unmatched by any product in the market. For more information on this procedure visit the STEMULATION page.
2. Kimera Lab Exosomes. If you’re using exosomes from another brand we are 100% positive you have a fake or faulty exosome product. True exosomes come from a doner and goes through rigorous testing in order to be considered for safe and effective human use. Yes, it’s an investment but for good reason. Read more details here.
3. Hyper-Concentrated Hyaluronic Acid. One of the musts for any wrinkle-fighting, skin tightening action.
4. Peptides. No, not the injections but the powerful topicals that are truly the top ingredients for any serum, gel, cream, you name it. Peptides are the future.