If you are either a dermatologist who performs aesthetic procedures, or a patient who looks to benefit from one, you have no room for the possibility of a procedure-related infection.
After all, these are elective procedures that may improve one’s well-being and self-satisfaction, but they are nevertheless performed on perfectly healthy skin: A procedural infection would introduce a serious problem to a situation where none had existed, and potentially disrupt both the practice of the clinician and the life of the patient.
What’s more, there is perhaps nothing more likely to undo the cosmetic benefits of an aesthetic procedure than an associated skin infection. Patients arrive at a dermatology center expecting the smoothing of their wrinkles and the resolution of their blemishes – and would likely grow distraught should a procedure-related infection lead to skin inflammation and scarring.
And so it goes without saying that the first step in an aesthetic dermatology procedure should be the thorough and effective prepping of disinfected skin.
How Sodium Hypochlorite Prepares Skin for Safe, Effective Procedures
Let’s face it: Aesthetic procedures, though performed in out-patient and ambulatory facilities, are invasive.
Chemical peels, microneedling and laser treatments all introduce controlled injury to the skin in an effort to either improve a cosmetic appearance or induce the skin to repair itself more effectively. But controlled dermatologic injuries are still injuries that disrupt the natural integrity of the skin – and if the skin’s surface is heavily colonized with bacteria and other microbes, they can enter the intentionally disrupted skin, evade the skin’s natural immune defenses, and lead to the spread of infection.
Needless to say, this is not the kind of call an aesthetic dermatologist wants to receive in the middle of the night.
But standard antiseptics like chlorhexidine are not approved for use in the head and neck area due to the risk of damage to the eyes and ears. Therefore, there is no way to apply standard antiseptics to the face, and so dermatologists are left to improvise and adopt their own skin prep protocols. For some dermatologists, their protocol dispenses with cleansers altogether, while others simply use a quick wipe with an alcohol pad.
Prepping the skin with an effective antimicrobial cleanser prior to the procedure, however, can reduce bacterial (and fungal) colony counts and reduce the risk to skin when it is disrupted during the aesthetic treatment. And when that antimicrobial is combined with surfactants – the “soaps” or “detergents” that surround the grime on our skin and allow it to slide off when rinsed with water – then the goal of thorough cleansing is most easily achieved.
The CLn BodyWash, for instance, combines the antimicrobial sodium hypochlorite with standard surfactants that provide a deep cleansing, allowable on the face and other body parts, and can be completed prior to an aesthetic procedure in about two minutes.
Sodium hypochlorite is an effective disinfectant, and has been used by surgeons for post-operative wound care for over a century. Bleach baths, too, have been used successfully in the treatment of recurrent Staphylococcal infections. And most recently, the CLn BodyWash has made sodium hypochlorite available in gel cleanser formulations packaged in squeeze top bottles, so that patients can use them with the ease of any other shower wash.
For dermatologists seeking proper skin prepping for their patients, these wash techniques can be used either locally or head-to-toe – and assure a patient will both enter and exit the procedural suite with clean, healthy skin.
And Let’s Face It – Beauty Ain’t Easy
There is a practical consideration, too, in the preparation of patients for an aesthetic procedure: The clientele is generally a stylish group that takes pride in its appearance. Which means that one potentially complicating factor will be a virtual constant: Makeup.
And makeup must be removed, thoroughly, before anything is injected, needled, peeled or lasered.
And for that you don’t need an antiseptic – you need a surfactant. You need more than a simple germ-killer – you need a cleansing wash that surrounds the makeup in microscopic bubbles and escorts it off the skin with a gentle soapy slide.
One thing is certain in cosmetic dermatology: The patients have to walk out of the office as fabulous as they walked in. Makeup should be a vehicle for this fabulousness, and never represent its obstacle.
Enhance Your Cosmetic Results with CLn SkinCare
Preparing your skin, or the skin of your patient, is the first step toward achieving optimal cosmetic outcomes. CLn Skin Care’s sodium hypochlorite and surfactant based products are designed to cleanse and balance your skin gently, ensuring it’s in the best condition for your aesthetic procedures. The CLn BodyWash is a quick and convenient head-to-toe cleansing solution, while the CLn Facial Cleanser offers the clinician a sodium hypochlorite cleansers with the moisturization of glycerin, and promotes the skin health of the physician’s hands. CLn Skin Care’s medical-grade solutions cater to sensitive and compromised skin, making them the perfect addition to a dermatologist’s and a patient’s pre-procedure routine.