Up Close and Personal

By: Laura Howarth
Created on 11th August 2010

Laura Howarth describes her transformation at the hands of Dr Martin Kinsella of Re-Enhance

It’s a funny thing with women in their forties. More and more of us spend our lives struggling for success, happiness and the perfect look.

Past generations didn’t fight their diminishing attractiveness, simply accepting it as part of nature, but nowadays we seem to live in a culture of perfection.

None of us feel any older, with the constant gym-going and dieting we want to look as young on the outside as we feel within and we are certainly doing the best we can to retain that youthful glow; slapping on the high factor sun screen, downing litres of water, spritzing our faces with Evian and of course we stopped smoking years ago.

But, let’s face it, we all have flaws we would rather not talk about, let alone show the world. Often disparaged and trivialised by others, facial skin issues can be extremely crippling to one’s self-esteem.

For a number of years I had been very self conscious and troubled by baggy, saggy skin and unsightly lines around and under the eye. Having tried and tested many ineffective products I was disillusioned – even Botox struggles to target this thin delicate eye area. I decided more extreme measures needed to be taken.

Although not quite ready for invasive eye surgery, I didn’t want my wrinkles to define who I was or be the focus of my face. Undoubtedly, the required action was laser resurfacing – the big buzz in skin rejuvenation.

The SMARTXIDE Deka CO2 Laser is an FDA-approved resurfacing laser that can dramatically improve your skin’s appearance without the downtime and discomfort usually associated with traditional resurfacing.

A typical patient would receive three to five SMARTXIDE treatments. During each one, the laser creates thousands of microscopic spots, almost like tiny ‘apple-cores’. As only a percentage of the surface area is affected during each treatment, this technology combines the best of both worlds – the proven results of a traditional ablative laser with little pain and no downtime.

Anesthetic is not required because the scanner is so precise and fast. It is a safe and effective way to treat sun damage, stubborn pigmentation, acne scars, rough texture, enlarged pores, fine lines and skin laxity on the face, neck, chest, arms and hands and surgical scars.

Most importantly, it is essential that you find a highly trained, proficient doctor as good results are invariably linked to the dexterity and ability of the operator. Coolly charismatic and talented, I knew I was in good hands with Dr Martin Kinsella from Re-Enhance in Hale.

It was also good to know that Re-Enhance has purpose built, dedicated treatment rooms which means it is registered as an ‘Acute Hospital for Day Surgery’ by the Care Quality Commission. So despite mixed feelings of apprehension, guilt and hope and facing adversity from family and friends, I decided to follow my gut feelings.

I was a woman on a mission; this was no vanity project but a quest to regain my self esteem. From start to finish the whole treatment is short lived – 20 minutes prior a topical cream is applied, by Dr Martin’s glamorous assistant.

During the procedure, I did feel a needlelike pain and burning sensation but it is all over very quickly. And you know what they say, no pain no gain. Once finished the treated area was slightly swollen and red but nothing too noticeable.

After recharging my sugar levels with a sweet cup of tea I was soon ready to return home.

Day two was the worst day in terms of swelling, but by day three I began to resemble my old self. A few days of hibernation is advisable; antibiotics are necessary so I used this enforced ‘time in’ to detox and catch up on things I’d been putting off.

Of course, as a busy mother it was impossible to stay totally within closed doors so I got quite adept at wearing head scarves and oversized sunnies to disguise most of my face.

Having stoically completed all four treatments I can honestly say that it hasn’t been in vain. The results have been significant and surpassed my expectations; even my doubting husband has commented on the vast improvement. It is still my own face but revitalised, refreshed and regenerated.

More importantly, I have greater self assurance and can appreciate just being me. I’m with Cindy Crawford on this when she readily admits “I owe the quality of my skin to my cosmetic surgeon”; in my case, I owe the quality of my skin to Dr Martin Kinsella.

Expert Opinion

Dr Martin Kinsella is a medical doctor who offers a wide range of aesthetic treatments. He has also qualified as a dentist.

“I chose the smartxide laser treatment as fractional CO2 laser skin resurfacing as it is the most advanced and certainly most reliable form of skin rejuvenation.

In this case the patient had been suffering with fine lines and crêpey skin especially underneath the eyes which was unsuitable for injectable treatments such as Botox and dermal fillers.

The patient was unwilling to undergo surgery at this time and so the Smartxide treatment was a safe and effective alternative.”