Knowledge, Information & more

HALO is a state-of-the-art laser treatment that eliminates years of damage and restores your skin’s youthful glow. This powerful medical-grade laser treatment combines two wavelengths to simultaneously target the top layer of skin and the deeper tissue beneath the surface. The combination of wavelengths repairs visible signs of sun damage and aging, like discolouration and uneven skin tone on the surface layer, while also heating the tissues under the skin to kick collagen production into high gear, resulting in firmer, smoother skin over time.

HALO’s dual-wave technology is highly customized, depending on your unique needs, and does double-duty in maximizing results with minimal downtime.

When you arrive for your HALO laser session, a topical anesthetic will be applied to the entire treatment area to numb the skin. Once the treatment begins, the handpiece is rolled over your skin, sending wavelengths to both the top and bottom layers of the skin and tissue.

Pigment from the damaged skin is brought to the surface and will peel off in the first few days after treatment and the tissues below the surface will continue to regenerate through the body’s natural healing process.

Patients will see significant changes in their skin tone and texture after just one session, although many people choose to have two or more treatments, depending on their skin’s goals and the type of results that they want to achieve.

Thanks to the numbing cream that keeps you comfortable, a HALO treatment simply feels warm and prickly as it moves along your skin. Depending on the area or areas you are treating, sessions take around 20 minutes to 1 hour.

After your HALO laser treatment, you will be a bit red and sensitive, and the area will feel quite hot, but you’ll be able to go back to your normal activities right away. Keep in mind that it is imperative to have your skin protected for the first 24 hours, meaning staying makeup-free and keeping out of the sun, so some patients opt to take a day off work for recovery.

Your skin will begin peeling after 3 to 4 days, revealing the glowing, rejuvenated, refreshed skin below. Over the coming weeks, you’ll see improvements in your skin’s tone and texture, with optimal results visible about 2 to 3 months after your treatment. This is due to the depth that the laser reaches and stimulates collagen in the dermis (under the layer of your skin). Leaving you looking and feeling firmer, smoother, and more radiant from deep within.

Many patients are eager to find out how long HALO results last. With proper sun protection and skincare, you’ll be able to enjoy beautifully rejuvenated skin for several years, but many opt to return for yearly maintenance sessions, often after the summer season to treat new sun damage.

Exclusive to 8 West Clinic patients only! Being diligent with your post-treatment aftercare is key to achieving maximized results, and we make this easy by providing you with a complimentary 4-step skincare kit that contains the essentials you need for optimal healing. By partnering with internationally-renowned Biologique Recherche to design the perfect aftercare regime, each product is clinically studied to be safe for use post-procedure and enhance the healing process for post-procedure skin. Each HALO Kit comes in a luxurious nécessaire and contains a detailed instruction card so you’ll never forget your aftercare routine.

If HALO laser is the right fit for you, your medical aesthetics specialist will discuss your aftercare instructions and your 4-step routine thoroughly with you. The best way to find out if HALO is for you is by meeting with one of our experts in a complimentary skin consultation.

Our highly skilled treatment providers are committed to helping you in your journey to looking and feeling your best in your own skin, however small or large that journey is. Being a candidate for ProFractional laser depends on a number of complex factors which will need to be assessed by a skin expert. This is so that they can clarify exactly what your concern or condition is, as another laser or medical treatment may be ideal instead of, or in tandem with ProFractional laser.

8 West Cosmetic Clinic is led by board-certified facial plastic surgeon Dr. Thomas Buonassisi, with his hand-picked team consisting of highly experienced medical aestheticians, advanced nurse injectors, and patient care coordinators who work together to offer a 360º full spectrum of facial rejuvenation solutions. We specialize in quality consultations, and are equipped with the expertise to design individualized treatment plans that are right for you and your goals.

After your ProFractional treatment, your skin will continue to gradually repair itself over the next few weeks while collagen and elastin are rebuilt in the dermis and fresh, healthy tissue replace the ablated skin. For the best results, ProFractional treatments are typically performed in a series of 3 or more sessions, which are spaced out approximately 6 weeks in between. Upon completion of your treatments and your healing over about 6 more months, your skin will have a significantly improved appearance whether smoothing out acne scars and surgical scars, smoothing deeper wrinkles or age lines, correcting melasma, or fading brown spots.

With the ability to treat deeper into the dermis than many other laser resurfacing technologies, more optimal results can be achieved for more moderate concerns like scar removal and wrinkle smoothing in a smaller number of treatment sessions—without the compromise of an extensive downtime period.

Once your skin has been numbed and you’ve been prepared in your treatment bed, your ProFractional procedure begins. Your medical aesthetician programs the ProFractional system according to what you discussed in your consultation with consideration of your concerns, desired outcomes, and tolerance for downtime. The device then gets pressed gently to the face in a series of strategic passes, allowing the laser to penetrate micro channels in the skin. With pain properly controlled, your face won’t feel a thing throughout the treatment. Depending on what is being treated, the treatment length can take from 15-30 minutes to an hour.

Post-treatment, the wound-healing response already starts to kick in as a natural response to the controlled micro-damage and resurfacing. It is extremely common to experience redness, swelling and pinpoint bleeding and light scabbing directly after treatment.

One day after treatment your skin will begin to flake and peel off naturally, and it is strongly advised to let this happen naturally and don’t exfoliate.

3-4 days from treatment you will continue to flake and peel as your skin continues to recover. Most people tend to take this as time off from work resting, as it is suggested to avoid putting makeup on during this period, and to avoid exercise (very light exercise is fine).

5-7 days from treatment you will be able to return to your normal routine. Mineral makeup can be used to cover redness, and you can resume more strenuous exercise.

The healing process is an important part of ProFractional treatment, as your skin will continue to gradually repair itself over the next few weeks while collagen and elastin are rebuilt in the dermis and fresh, healthy tissue replace the ablated skin. Two weeks post-treatment, once the skin has healed and flaking has completely stopped, you will already notice brighter, fresher and clearer skin—but that isn’t where the miracle stops.

Your skin continues to generate collagen and elastin deep in the dermis for the 6 months following treatment. At the 6 month mark is where your skin will have a significantly improved appearance, and the best of the results will have come to the surface, leaving your skin refreshed, healthy and glowing for all to see!

As Contour TRL is our most powerful laser, it is typically reserved for patients with moderate-severe signs of aging, or acne scarring. We have a number of laser treatments that target various conditions, where TRL is the most ideal is if you observe the following skin conditions or concerns:

• Mild to deep wrinkles
• Persistent peri-oral (around the mouth) and peri-orbital (around the eyes) deep rhytides
• Acne scars, post-traumatic scars and surgical scars
• Actinic keratoses
• Pigmented lesions
• Lax skin in all areas
• Poor skin tone or texture

The best way to determine your candidacy for this treatment is to book a complimentary consultation with one of our medical aestheticians. They will perform a thorough analysis of your skin and your concerns, and provide you with a customized treatment plan. Our entire range of laser treatments is taken into consideration, combined with over a decade of experience to determine your treatment plan, so you can rest assured knowing we have your best interests at heart.

Like many other laser resurfacing treatments, Contour TRL uses its highly customizable Erbium YAG laser technology to penetrate and resurface the skin, while simultaneously stimulating collagen and elastin.

What makes the Sciton Contour TRL truly unique when compared to other resurfacing lasers is the technology, which allows your treatment provider to have independent control over the depth of ablation and coagulation with micron precision. A micron is equivalent to one millionth of a meter, and is a common unit of measurement used for the skin. With the TRL technology, the precision and control is unmatched by any other laser of this class—with the ability to penetrate as shallow as 4 microns, to as deep as 200 microns per pass.

The next feature of the Contour TRL laser which makes it so unique is that it makes it possible to ablate (resurface) as shallow or deep as is appropriate for the patient, with or without coagulation (heat). Because the Contour TRL decouples ablation from coagulation unlike some other lasers, we can dial in the exact tissue effect needed for each patient’s pathology, objectives, and tolerance for downtime.

While this is an incredibly powerful laser treatment, it is also regarded as the safest and most effective laser for gently and precisely removing the outer layers of the skin. The result is a reduction or even elimination of fine lines and wrinkles, and softer, smoother, younger-looking skin.

A numbing topical ointment will be applied to your skin prior to treatment, as well as other methods of pain management will be discussed prior to your appointment. Our number one priority is your comfort, so we will ensure that you are experiencing as little pain or discomfort as we can provide.

The treatment requires you in a reclined position, as our expert medical aesthetician drags the laser applicator over the treatment area, precisely controlling the depth of the laser treatment, depending on the condition being treated.

There are a number of safety precautions, such as eye protectors and a second aesthetician assisting during your treatment.

Our skin specialists have performed thousands of laser treatments and are experts in helping you prepare and recover from your procedure. You will be provided with detailed instructions prior to treatment, such as what to avoid and how to prepare your skin.

The treatment itself takes roughly 30-45 minutes and you will be asked to avoid certain stay out of the sun post-treatment. After the treatment, you will be provided with comprehensive recovery instructions, with details on how to keep your skin clean and protected as you recover. It is also recommended to return to the clinic at certain intervals to receive a red light therapy treatment, which will help to enhance and speed up the healing process.

The amount of downtime that you experience will depend on how deep your treatment is and what areas are treated, which will be discussed with you during your consultation. Immediately after the treatment, your skin will be red, feel sunburned, and potentially experience some pinpoint bleeding. We do recommend taking a few days off work, and to avoid exercise and exposure to the sun. Most patients having deep skin resurfacing will take 5 to 7 days off work and limit social activities for 1 to 2 weeks.

While MOXI is absolutely custom-built to treat most skin types, at all times of the year, there are some groups of patients who may find MOXI the ideal treatment:

• Younger Age Groups: Those looking to treat the early signs of aging, and start their laser treatment journey. MOXI is a good entry-point, with a gentle treatment procedure and no downtime.
• Maintenance: Those who receive other laser treatments, such as HALO, and are looking to maintain their results from deeper treatments throughout the year.
• Active Individuals: If hiking, biking, or kitesurfing is your favourite hobby, then MOXI is for you. Perfect for those who enjoy spending time in the sun, but still want laser treatments.
• Melasma Patients: Help keep the signs of melasma under control all year-round.

Depending on the concerns that you are wanting to target, other laser treatments may be more effective in treating these conditions with MOXI being reserved for later maintenance. All patients who wish to book an appointment for treatment will have a complimentary skin consultation prior. Our medical aestheticians will ensure that your treatment plan is tailor made to your skin, and will address not only your conditions, but will take your lifestyle and personal needs into consideration as well.

MOXI uses a non-ablative laser, meaning that it doesn’t resurface the skin like other lasers (HALO, ProFractional, TRL). This is what makes MOXI the perfect year-round treatment for most skin types. MOXI works by heating up the tissue underneath the dermis to stimulate collagen without touching the surface.

When you arrive for your MOXI laser session, a topical anesthetic will be applied to the entire treatment area to numb the skin. Once the treatment begins, the MOXI laser handpiece is rolled over your skin, sending its non-ablative wavelengths to the bottom layers of the skin and tissue to stimulate collagen from within.

Immediately after the treatment, it will feel and look as if you have a mild sunburn feeling for approximately one hour.

The next day you will experience some mild pink flushed skin, which is easily covered with mineral makeup. Your skin will feel hot, but shouldn’t be uncomfortable or painful.

From day 3 onwards, your skin will transition to a very dry texture for approximately 5 days (other people generally won’t even notice it). By the end of this one-week period, your skin will feel smoother, and you will notice a healthy glow.

While you’ll definitely see improvements after your first treatment, we often recommend 3-6 sessions, spaced every 4 weeks for the best results. We offer packages of x3 MOXIs. Your treatment provider will be able to suggest the best course of action with MOXI, and will suggest how many treatments are ideal to achieve your results.

The beauty of Forever Clear BBL is that because it is a gentle light therapy, it is perfect for most people. If you are concerned with the following conditions, Forever Clear BBL may be the perfect treatment for you:

• Pimples
• Blackheads
• Spots
• Zits
• Large pores
• Acne
• Rosacea
• Redness from acne scars

As the cause of acne is impossible to pinpoint to one individual factor, the best way to treat this condition is usually with a holistic approach. Our medical aesthetic nurses and skin specialists have a thorough knowledge of acne and it’s causes, so take advantage of our free consultations to understand how to best treat your acne.

BroadBand Light's highly customizable design means that it can treat many conditions apart from acne—such as the signs of aging, pigmentation, uneven complexion, and poor skin laxity. Have a look at Forever Young BBL – Face and Body, or book a complimentary consultation to discuss your skin concerns and desired results.

BBL (BroadBand Light) therapy, an evolution of intense pulsed light (IPL), is a corrective phototherapy treatment. BBL is a highly advanced machine which uses broad-spectrum light energy that is adjusted and customized to penetrate and treat the layer of the skin in which the specific condition or issue lies.

In regards to acne, there are very specific elements in the skin that contribute to acne and pimples, and the BBL device targets these. Two of the primary contributors to active acne are sebum (oil) and bacteria. Cleansing the skin twice daily greatly helps to manage overactive sebum, but a direct way to target and kill the bacteria is with Forever Clear BBL.

BBL harnesses the colours of the light spectrum (the colours you see when you shine a light through a prism) to penetrate the skin at different levels. Our medical aestheticians have a thorough knowledge of laser and skin science to utilize this technology in such a way that they can target the exact depth of the skin where your skin concerns lie.

Forever Clear BBL treatments are relatively quick, with little pain or discomfort and no downtime. You can expect some light redness in the treated area, which will only last a short time—sometimes only a matter of hours. How to care for and protect your skin post-treatment will be discussed with you prior to treatment, and your treatment provider will be available to answer any questions you have after you leave.You will begin to see lighter and clearer skin within a month or two, as your skin cells turn over every 30-40 days (depending on your age). As acne has a number of contributing factors, it is difficult to give an exact timeline and degree of results. The reduced bacteria due to the BBL treatment, combined with regular cleansing and other lifestyle factors can mean quite significant changes in your skin and the level of acne. Your treatment provider will be able to discuss what you can do to achieve the optimal results from your Forever Clear treatment.

In a Forever Clear BBl treatment, you will be lying down and your face will be thoroughly cleaned prior to treatment. To begin the treatment, a handheld device will then be gently pressed to your skin while a flash of light is applied to the area. This is repeated across the treatment area(s). This device targets areas of active acne and redness, and produces quick pulses of high-intensity light to target both acne-causing bacteria and the red pigment in spots.

This state-of-the-art machine is equipped with an advanced cooling feature, allowing the safe and effective use of high-powered energy in the process.

Once your treatment is complete, the appropriate medical-grade skin products will be applied to your treatment area for the very best post-procedure protection and care. This is customized to your skin and treatment to boost the effects of the treatment and ensure optimal results.

As Forever Young BBL is a gentle and non-invasive treatment, most people are eligible candidates for this treatment. This highly-customizable technology allows our medical aestheticians to treat a number of patient skin conditions such as:

• Redness and prominent blood vessels
• Pigmentation
• Sun spots/sun damage
• Freckles
• Uneven complexion
• Rosacea
• Skin laxity

‍

For those looking to treat pigmentation due to melasma, BBL may not be suitable and alternative treatments like HALO laser, MOXI laser, and SkinBright IV Therapy may be recommended instead.

BBL (BroadBand Light) therapy, an evolution of intense pulsed light (IPL), is a corrective phototherapy treatment. BBL is a highly advanced machine which uses broad-spectrum light energy that is adjusted and customized to penetrate and treat the layer of the skin in which the specific condition or issue lies.

BBL harnesses the colours of the light spectrum (the colours you see when you shine a light through a prism) to penetrate the skin at different levels. Our medical aestheticians have a thorough knowledge of laser and skin science to utilize this technology in such a way that they can target the exact depth of the skin where your skin concerns lie.

During a Forever Young BBLtreatment, a handheld device is applied to your skin which produces quick pulses of high-intensity light. This device is programmed by your medical aesthetician to target the specific areas and depths of the skin where your specific conditions lie. This state-of-the-art machine is equipped with an advanced cooling feature, allowing the safe and effective use of high-powered energy.

Once your treatment is complete, the appropriate medical-grade skin products will be applied to your treatment area for the very best post-procedure protection and care. This is customized to your skin and treatment to boost the effects of the treatment and ensure optimal results.

Forever Young BBL treatments are relatively quick, with minimal pain or discomfort and with little to no downtime. Our BBL Hero upgrade allows us to apply the device to large areas of the body, allowing you to be in and out of this treatment during a lunch break.

Many patients are comfortable carrying on with their daily routine after their BBL sessions, but keep in mind that you’ll be more sensitive to sunlight for several weeks, so ensure you are always wearing full-spectrum sunscreen and avoid direct sunlight as much as possible.

You can expect a slight amount of redness in the treated area, which will only last a short time—sometimes only a matter of hours. How to care for and protect your skin post-treatment will be discussed with you prior to treatment, and your medical aesthetician will be available to answer any questions you have before and after you leave.

How long does it take to see results from BBL? Depending on the concern you are treating, result times will vary. During your in-depth skin assessment before your BBL session, your treatment provider will discuss realistic expectations on the results and when you will see them, and will also recommend a customized treatment plan based on your skin concerns and goals.