This article was taken from Nfocus magazine, see the article here
My son Mark became engaged to the delightful Lizzie Hogan this summer! During a celebratory weekend, dates and locations were tossed around before they decided on a destination wedding in November 2023. In August 2022, that seemed light years away. “There’ll be plenty of time later to get looking my best for this,” I told myself.
That was before I met Tomi Beckemeyer, co-owner of SkinBody Nashville. In the esthetics field for more than 30 years, Tomi is also the owner of SkinBody Memphis, and after spending just a few minutes with her, it was clear that Tomi was passionate about beautiful skin for everyone interested.
“This is an exciting time for everyone involved,” Tomi told me, offering a fact I hadn’t considered: “You’re going to be in more pictures than you probably have since your own wedding.” Introducing me to licensed aesthetician Griffin Churchwell and aesthetic nurse practitioner Britney Dubro, Tomi professed: “we love brides, but we love the mothers, too. We want to help women look their best during this time.”
The Consultation
Griffin and Brit escorted me into a room for an initial skin analysis under the VISIA machine. Resting my chin in the cradle, the state-of-the-art device rotated around my face to capture, classify and rate my skin type and conditions on the surface. The report popped up almost immediately, and eight images showed which condition was being “graded,” where it lay on or under my skin and how it ranked compared to other women my age. Some results were encouraging, like wrinkles and pores. Others? Fairly upsetting. My rankings for red and brown spots were abysmal — time to talk next steps! Before I left, Griffin and Brit loaded me up with advanced products to prepare for my upcoming treatments.
Treatments
I’d been curious about non-surgical facelifts, so Brit explained the several options available at SkinBody Nashville. We decided on two: Agnes RF, a non-surgical radiofrequency device that tightens & lifts skin, drastically reduces wrinkles, and treats eye bags and circles, and simultaneous Scarlet RF, a combination microneedling and radiofrequency treatment. Day-of, Brit gently walked me through each process. First was Agnes RF to tighten and remove the fat from my neck and jowl area. Micro-insulated needles deliver energy to fat pads, permanently reducing them while also tightening skin. Next was Scarlet RF, meant to build up collagen, tighten my skin and improve skin elasticity and texture. These were much gentler treatment options than chemical peels or some lasers: It doesn’t harm the skin’s outer surface or attack underlying melanin.
Start to finish, these procedures took about 2-1/2 hours, and I was able to go home on my own in very little pain. There was swelling along my jawline for about a week, but a tingling under my skin was an exciting sign of progress.
Later, due to sun damage and redness under my skin, Griffin and I opted for Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treatments. Like laser therapy, IPL delivers multiple wavelengths of light energy rather than a single one, treating a larger area of skin in a shorter time. IPL takes 45 minutes maximum; there’s very little pain, and less than an hour later, results were visible. For a few days I had the most noticeable healing process, but fortunately, I could wear makeup.
The last piece Tomi suggested was a NeoGen Plasma Skin Regeneration, or PSR (non-surgical facelift). An hour-long skin-resurfacing procedure, PSR stimulated the production of collagen and elastin without destroying skin tissue. In the mirror where I had imagined angry-red skin waiting, a pink face looked back at me. Post-PSR care was the most difficult, but not arduous. It was worth the effort when glowing skin was in mind. The peeling and healing were gentle: Skin flaked off, wasn’t that noticeable under tinted sunscreen and was gone in about 10 days.
Conclusion
Six weeks later, I returned for a follow-up visit and VISIA analysis — my results were amazing! Overall, the age of my skin decreased six years, and everything will continue to improve as the increased collagen and elastins do their magic. I didn’t need a machine to tell me I looked better, though: My jawline was much firmer and my neck much smoother. The circles under my eyes had all but vanished, and my skin was glowing — I’ve been told I look “radiant!” I loved that every procedure was non-surgical and non-invasive. Rather than changing the topography of my face, my skin cells did the work to make me look better. My downtime was minimal, and post-procedure care was simple. I would do every one of these procedures again and probably will — the wedding will be here before I know it!
Each Thursday Brit Dubro and Amanda Birardi will answer questions submitted by followers on beauty, wellness and aging successfully in 2023. Check out the SkinBody Nashville Nurses Thursday Social Engagement by following @britney_injector_np and @thebeauty.rn on Instagram.