
Oct
They go by many names. You might call them age spots, liver spots, solar lentigines, senile lentigo, or sun spots. By any name, these brown spots on the face and body can be a vexing problem for men and women around the world. Those of you living in or near Portland, OR are fortunate to have a wide variety of premium corrective treatments, including laser therapy, available right here at Thrive.
Sun spots are a form of hyperpigmentation. The direct cause of these dark areas is excess melanin (skin pigment) production. The underlying cause is not so simple. Evidence indicates that UV exposure is one of the most significant causative factors. These spots most commonly develop on sun-exposed areas of the body, such as the face, neck, shoulders, arms, and hands.
Although the development of these lesions is not fully understood, we know that there are several risk factors. These include:
Modern aesthetic medicine is a sophisticated, high-tech, precise science. Therapeutic devices can deliver measured doses of very specific energy waves, selectively targeting and correcting certain skin components. In a well-equipped practice such as Thrive, the clinics have virtually endless options at their fingertips, allowing a high level of customizations of every treatment.
Light energy is readily absorbed by melanin, the substance that gives skin it’s coloring. Those pesky little brown spots, as well as other types of hyperpigmentation, are caused by excess melanin production. Therefore, light therapies are often the ideal choice for treating them.
Certain wavelengths of light act on melanin, with minimal impact on other skin components. As the light is absorbed, it creates heat, which destroys the excess pigment. In measured doses, the energy is not strong enough to damage surrounding tissue. An experienced laser technician is well versed in the best device for each situation, and the optimal setting for every skin type.
Our Portland, OR office is equipped with a suite of lasers and other technology. We offer several laser therapies that are excellent options for correcting brown spots. These include:
All the above are wonderful choices for pigmentation problems. Chemical peels and other procedures can also be very effective. With this startlingly wide array of options, people often ask which is best. That question is not as simple as it seems, because the answer is different for everyone. Your skin is just as unique as you are. The best way to explore your options is by visiting Thrive for a consultation.
We don’t offer “one size fits all” solutions here. Instead, we build individual plans around the specific needs of each patient. The best treatment for brown spots will depend on several factors:
If you would like to learn more about your best treatment options, just give us a call at (503) 928-6505 to arrange a consultation.
A graduate from Northern Arizona University and the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, Dr. Adam Maddox is a very established professional in the field of integrative anti-aging and aesthetic medicine with a special interest in Botox, Restylane and Testosterone Replacement therapy for men to name a few.
As a board-certified physician, he has a passion to help people with their health especially as they get older. Dr. Maddox believes in maintaining a strong sense of empathy in order to better serve his patients whilst ensuring his care is personalized. In addition to practicing medicine, Dr. Maddox uses his time to train other medical professionals on various effective medical techniques used in the anti-ageing medical sphere such as injectable techniques. He is also the founder and medical director of Thrive Aesthetic and Anti-Aging Center in Portland, OR.
Hi, I’m Rachel Stahl. I’ve been coming to thrive for about five years. I definitely started on the lower end, just like a little bit of Botox a little bit of preventative ageing treatments and have always felt really, really comfortable. I felt that I can get an honest answer if I need a little more of a treatment, but I’ve also definitely had the experience feeling self-conscious and having the staff here totally put me at ease of like you look great. You don’t need to do a tonne more. I feel like I can really trust their opinion because I’ve been given positive feedback the whole time I’ve been coming here. I’ve recommended a tonne of friends because of that and I have never heard a negative review of the clinic. I’ve just always felt really, really comfortable. I got comfortable enough to start doing a little bit of laser therapy and I also got to do Miradry on my armpits and I’ve just never really been disappointed by anything. I feel like they make really solid recommendations and everybody is super friendly. It’s always been really easy to schedule, which is huge for me to working in the area. It’s just an amazing place. Everybody is really great.
Hi, my name is Sarah and I’ve had hyperhidrosis for the past 17 years and I’ve tried many forms of treatment. I’ve done medications under the arms. I’ve switched medications that maybe would cause extra sweating under the arms. I’ve even tried Botox and I went as far as I was looking into treatment during surgery which I found to be very risky for myself with not very many good outcomes, and with the hyperhidrosis, it is a very embarrassing condition. It can affect relationships; it can ruin a lot of clothes. It has ruined a lot of clothes and it’s something that I’ve had to live with for So, long. I wanted to be able to have something done to be able to help with the effects of this and I was on the internet one day. It was actually on Facebook and I was going through, I was just scrolling through and I found an ad and it was talking about, do you have access sweating and I had clicked on it and was looking around and I found that there was a procedure for Miradry, and I was looking around trying to find a place that was near my area and I happened to find thrive, and I wanted to see that that it was a, a, good clinic with good ratings. A clinic that people have known about. I didn’t want to just go anywhere to be able to get this procedure done. So, I did my research and I decided to go ahead and book an appointment. I knew it was going to be less invasive than going through with the surgery, plus I couldn’t find a provider that was willing to send me for the surgery because of all the risks that could happen with me and not such a great outcome. So, I went ahead and I booked my appointment and I got to meet Tristan. I actually had every intention to listen to my music during the procedure because I knew it was going to be super nervous and I ended up not being able to find my headphones but Tristan was very personable. Great bedside manners and it was just like I was there talking to a friend and then I got to meet doctor Maddox who was able to do all the numbing under the arms. That’s the only part of the procedure that I actually felt was just the injections for the numbing. And then there’s a grid. It looks like a tattoo that goes on the arm, and then that is where the laser is on the arm and it just moves all around to the areas where I have all the excessive sweating. I don’t feel anything during the entire process. I was relaxed. I wasn’t nervous once I got in there and was able to talk to Tristan. She was able to explain everything, step by step, and I pretty much knew since my condition was severe and I’d had it for So, long I expected to have to have at least a second treatment, maybe even a touch up.
I knew that I wasn’t going to just need one treatment. I knew that going in there So, it was extremely grateful to be able to try this procedure to see if it would work and so, once I got done with the procedure, I, I, still didn’t feel any pain, just very I felt like my arms were pretty swollen. I was able to get myself ready to leave. I was given ice packs, So, I just continuously iced my arms. I wanted to follow all the instructions, exact because I wanted to be sure that this was going to work for me. I had invested my time everything into this procedure to ensure that it was going to work for me. I wanted this to be the most permanent. I didn’t want to have to keep dealing with this, 17 years is a really long time to have to deal with all of this and when I got home, I noticed, you know, I still had the swelling, which is expected you know, it can go on for several weeks. I continuously iced my arms. I noticed some bruising that was happening, which I was already warned about and I felt for the procedure that just having the bruising and the swelling, knowing that it was going to be going down, I was noticing improvement within the next couple of days as the swelling was going down. I would still have wetness under the arms but it was still healing, and it does take time to heal. It could take several weeks to heal and actually be able to see the full effect. So, I ended up doing a second treatment, which I’m glad I did because I knew that I was going to need a second treatment and everything was exactly the same process and making sure that I did all the icing and I followed all the instructions and now I can say since I’ve completed the second session, in that the underarm sweating has really diminished. I would say that I’m closer to a 75 80 percent. So, coming from someone who from the morning, I from the moment I would wake up in the morning to go into bed, I always had the underarm sweating. It never went away. There’s no on and off switch. There was nothing I could do. Even changing the environment being either in a warm environment, cold environment, calming environment, stressful. This was something that would never go away. I couldn’t, I couldn’t adjust but I’ve dealt with it for So, long and I know that the Miradry is working because I have proof of it. I have my pictures. I know how severe this was and I’m really grateful to be able to come here to the thrive clinic to be able to do this near dry and I would recommend it to any of my friends and family. Anybody who has this excessive sweating that is too embarrassed to come forward. Give it a try because I know that it’ll help change your life.
Hi, my name is Tia Sanders. I’m a mother of two very beautiful but large children. Um, let’s see. I thought I’d try this because. Uhm, after having kids I had a little extra in the mid-section and I was dieting and just starting to get back into working out. And you know this came along and I thought I’d give it a go. And the vanquished treatments were a little toasty. It definitely warmed you up, and luckily, we had a fan going to kind of keep me cool, and you can feel like little tingles. And definitely some warm, warm, throughout your whole midsection throughout your whole treatment. It was super. Easy come. The seller tone helps, like break up everything afterwards and I kind of made up the transitions a little bit smoother and it was. It was really relaxing to an extent after dealing with kids all day, I was able to lay down and just kind of get those extra little areas taken care of.
I was a little nervous about my results at first. But then luckily everyone took photos before and after and I there was a drastic change between the first time I was in here and the last time I was in here and doctor Maddox was telling me that I will continue to see results like the little back fat. Kind of like lifted and kind of started to like disappear. And that was huge for me and you could see like my belly that was, you know, post baby belly was starting to lift again and that was such a huge encouragement to like want to keep going. So, my clothes are definitely fitting a lot better around the waistline. I’m not to wear. My goal is, but it’s definitely I’m able to those pants that I have that many will put on for a couple of months. So, I’m definitely excited. And yeah, I’m happy. I would definitely. Recommend trying thrive or working with right because they are super personable, they’re. They’re very warm when it comes in it. Sometimes you’re worried about like a very clinical setting inside outpatient type doctors’ offices, it seems, but everyone kind of put you at ease and relaxed and, and, yeah, it just felt very comfortable.