Some much attention has been paid to anti-aging for faces that the real give away, our hands has been forgotten.

So many women are unhappy with their hands as they get older and they really do give away a persons age. We’ve all seen the articles about Madonnas hands and Sarah Jessica Parker! That’s why we’ve spent the last few months perfecting our treatments and training in hand rejuvenation (or the hand lift as it’s come to be known). It’s HUGE in the States at the moment and you know if the celebs are having it done then it must be good.

At one time you’d have to go under the knife but advances in injectables mean that it’s an easy, painless (thanks to anaesthetic cream) procedure that requires no down time. So wrinkly hands really can be a thing of the past!

We’ll be joining Utopia at their boutique salon in Harborne and we can’t wait! It’ll mean that our clients can now get all of their beauty requirements covered in one place.  Nothing else will change, Sharon is still in charge of all procedures, it’ll just make life easier for you all!

The move is taking place on 5th January, so don’t forget to come and see us there to see in the New Year in style!

There are many reasons our patients go for laser, for many it’s because of excessive hair but for others it’s a simple convenience.

One gentleman comes to us as he shaves his head and finds the area around his hairline tricky to reach. He decided that by having this lasered he could make his weekly haircuts a whole lot simpler. Whilst here he decided to add in his ears, nose, shoulders and collar bone to give an all over neater look. Another customer has had his beard area done as he suffers with razor rash so it means he doesn’t have to irritate his already sensitive skin on a daily basis.

There’s also the sport fanatics, who shave their legs for competitions. We’ve seen a huge increase in those that take part in triathlons going for this service and it’s an excellent idea to cut down on the amount of waxing. It’s also one less thing to consider before a race.

Lasering for men is a great option, so whatever your needs it’s worth speaking to us about how we can help you. It’s doesn’t hurt, we promise, as you can see from the video below.

This shows laser hair removal on legs but it’s the exact same process for any area of the body. You can see that the laser is moved to new areas and the laser fired.  The area where you can see the red flash is the area being treated. It’s really simple!

So if you’ve been thinking of having it done and are worried, watch this short video to put your mind at rest!

We see a LOT of patients in our Birmingham clinic who have sun damage and it’s this time of year you have to be very careful. With so many of us getting onto planes and going on sunny holidays we need to make sure that we tan safe! All too often people forget about their face and this is the most important area to keep protected all day. For some men, baldness means they should keep their head extra protected as the skin is so delicate.

At UMA we are huge fans of sunscreen and we recommend a sunscreen is used daily. It may seem that England is cold and grey but those rays can get through and still cause damage so imagine what the blazing sun of the tropics can do.

We recommend Jan Marini Antioxidant Daily Face Protectant SPF30

It’s a brilliant product that lasts all day and if the ladies don’t want to be without their make up there’s also a tinted version, perfect for wearing in the evening whilst enjoying a beach cocktail.

It’s a common misconception that leg veins only affect people as they get older. Many younger people have leg veins that cause them to be self conscious of wearing shorter clothes and actually starting treatment early can really help!

We decided to interview one of our patients to ask how they found the treatment and what made them decide it was for them.

So what made you decide to have the treatment?
I’d been having laser hair removal treatments with Sharon and during one of the visits I mentioned my unsightly veins. I’d had a couple of quite bad ones for many years but had never really considered treatment. I’d assumed my only option was surgery and I wasn’t keen. As soon as I showed them to Sharon she mentioned laser treatment would be ideal, so she gave me a load of bumf to read and said to consider it.

Were you nervous?
I was a little but it helped that I’d had other laser treatments so I knew what to expect. Plus Sharon was great and talked me through it so really, hair removal, leg vein lasering, it’s all the same!

Talk us through what happened on the day?
It was simple. I’d already done all the paperwork when I booked my appointment so it was really just a case of hopping on the bed. The area was numbed with some anaesthetic cream and a few minutes later it was laser time! I was convinced it was going to hurt but it really didn’t at all. Some of my veins are quite large and they hurt a little more but I was surprised at how minimal the pain was, sort of an annoying pinch.

After she’d worked her magic on my cobweb of veins I could already see a difference. Sharon did explain that sometimes the veins will go darker to begin with and then fade but I am sure mine were fading before my eyes. Of course it could have just been the “laser glasses” blurring my vision.

And afterwards?
I was told to keep the area cool and that’s about it really. It’s such a simple treatment that there’s no downtime, a major bonus versus surgery!

Have you noticed difference?
I really have, it’s been amazing. One vein in particular that was quite thick and very blue has pretty much disappeared. It’s also made changes to veins lower down my leg which I wasn’t expecting so all round I’m thrilled.

Will you need more treatments?
Yes, it’s likely I’ll have another round of laser treatment in 4 weeks and then we’ll go from there. They’ve responded so well to treatment that I reckon one more go should see the back of them, which is really exciting!

Is it something you’d recommend to others?
Oh yes, very much so. In fact I’ve already booked for my Mum to go in and have a consultation. I can’t recommend it highly enough and it’s given me a lot more leg confidence, just in time for my holiday.

What can you expect? Well, as is our normal here at UMA we asked one of our patients to write about it.

Kate says:

I’d had a small amount of laser hair removal before, just a few stray hairs and hadn’t found it to be anything unpleasant but I must admit the idea of having my bikini line done did make me wince a little! I’d first spoken to Julie at the clinic and she’d talked me through the process and booked in with laser guru Sharon for the following day for a patch test. Sharon was lovely and made me feel so at ease. She’s professional but very calming and smiley, which really helped me feel comfortable about the whole thing. I talked through my concerns and she said the main thing was the make sure I was 100% happy with the bikini line shape as there was no going back.

I then spent the next week looking at bikini lines on the internet (note: do not do this at work, it brings up all sorts, at one point I thought I might have the FBI knocking down my door).  In the end I settled on a shape that’s called the “Tiffany Box” (without the blue!), something neat that I knew I’d feel comfortable with.

The day before I shaved the area into shape and 30 minutes before put on some local anaesthetic cream that Sharon had given me at my consultation. This she assured me was key and as she’d had the procedure done herself I bowed to her wisdom. Of course, as with anything like this, I’d asked friends who’d had it done and got ranging responses from “oh my god, it’s agony” to “it’s just a little twang, like an elastic band”, so I wasn’t entrirly sure what to expect on the pain front )

However, I needn’t have worried, it really wasn’t bad at all.  The procedure starts with the front area, naval pubis and inner crotch/upper thigh.  This area was fine, just a very slight twang when the laser goes off.  It then moves down, going underneath right round to your “bottom”.  This is possibly the worst part and really, that doesn’t hurt, it’s very much an elastic band twang.  Sharon explained that this area hurts a little more as the skin pigment is darker but it’s all over in about 6 blasts, so nothing at all.

Oh and stupid question of the day goes to me asking “do I have to remove my underwear”. The answer is of course Yes!

I am now booked in again in 4 weeks time to catch the next cycle of growth.  Results so far are good, it’s been a little over a week and I haven’t had any soreness at all and I can see patches where the hair isn’t growing back already, which is great. I’d recommend the procedure to anyone!

I’m not overly hairy, I’m fair so it’s not that I have an “issue” as such but I do find preening rather annoying. I recall shaving my legs at about 12 and pretty much regretting the upkeep every since! We do like to put ourselves to a lot of trouble don’t we?

I’d heard friends talking about Laser Hair Removal before and it has never registered as something I should have done. I don’t go in for bikini waxing, I’m more of a trim kinda gal so I just didn’t know what it could offer me.

That was until my moustache appeared! Yes, out of nowhere, overnight, there it was. I’d somehow morphed into an old Italian lady. Now, one can hide their hairy legs, armpits, even toes (yes I have hairy toes, what a catch!) but a moustache is there for all to see. I tried “Veet” and this just left me with a red, crusty top lip that lasted for about 4 days. It wasn’t attractive and was actually pretty painful. When a “billy goats gruff” hair appeared on my chin I knew it was time to take drastic action.

I found UMA via Google. I wanted a local, Birmingham, private facility and wasn’t going to risk my face with a voucher from “Groupon”. I was nervous and needed to be sure I was in good hands. I asked around, did my research and all reports I heard were good. So, I booked in.

First thing was a patch test. This is vital to make sure you don’t have any kind of adverse reaction. Luckily, I was fine and nothing at all came up so I was booked in for a few days later.

The day came and I just had no idea what to expect, “will it hurt?” was the main question. Now, I won’t lie to you, it’s twingy. Short, sharp, shocks (think static shock when you touch someone) with each pulse of the laser but all was over within the space of around 5 minutes. I think I actually said “er, was that it?”. I was amazed, in fact slightly disappointed as I’d got myself all lined up for a nice lie down. So, in a moment of whim I decided to have my armpits done and again, this took about 10 minutes. They were a wee bit sore afterwards but nothing noticable.

I’m booked in again in 4 weeks time for another “blast” and then we’ll see how it goes. Hair grows in cycles so it’s really just a case of catching them all. It must have worked because when a friend picked me up for coffee the next morning she said “it’s nice to see you without your moustache”. Friends eh!

Jan Marini Skincare is one of those names people are hearing more and more.  When we launched  our Birmingham clinic 4 years ago I wanted to be sure that we only offered products and treatments that we were passionate about.  So I set to work testing some of the most well known brands and got my friends on board so I could get a true balance of what really was the best product around.

Jan Marini won hands down. There’s two reasons, one of the products just really work and two it’s a really easy regime. Like so many people, I have a busy life and whilst I want to look after myself I have to be realistic about how much time I spend getting ready in the mornings. I loved the fact that I could wash my face with the cleanser in the shower. It sounds silly but it’s often such a faff to drape over the sink splashing water. I also loved that there was no real need to go overboard on products. Yes, they have a vast range but as long as you invest in the key 5, the rest is really about choice.  In fact, make that 3 reasons, the third being it doesn’t cost the earth!

So, that’s how it was born and in 4 years we haven’t switched brands. There’s nothing around that has come close to tempting me away. As you can imagine, every day we get brands emailing us but they’d have to really  be amazing to beat good old Jan Marini. It’s a great brand to use if you feel you aren’t quite ready to take the step towards micro-needling/dermabrasion.

If you’d like to chat to us about the products and have a consultation with our nurse then please get in touch.

So we did the treatment, which took around 30 minutes for both legs, making sure that the patient was comfortable throughout.  I think she was a bit dubious that it would actually make any difference to the scars but as the laser is good for things like Rosacea it stands to reason it can also help with other areas of redness on the body.

Around 3 days later we heard back (actually via twitter) that the scars had almost gone! We were thrilled and asked if she’d mind sending a picture in so we could see for ourselves.  She agreed and also agreed that we could blog the results. Here you go:

It’s such an amazing improvement and so lovely that not only have we helped with the hair reduction, which she also reports is “fab!” but we’ve also managed to solve another issue. So there you go ladies, come in for laser hair removal at UMA and get a bonus!

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