By Yollo Wellness
That moment when we wake up and look at ourselves in the mirror and realize “ I’m beyond a dapple of this and that on my face.” The fact that I’m in my late 40’s is showing on my face.
It’s not so much that I’ve got deep wrinkles, I don’t feel like the Grand Canyon quite yet. It’s more a combination of pigmentation from my pregnancies and my skin’s texture. Everything is starting to drop. I’m noticing the crows feet from squinting.
Is there anything that can be done about this? Something that will even out the surface so my face feels less like train tracks, more like a smooth pond. I need something more hard-core than a facial but nothing “invasive”. Just the word makes me shudder, and I want the results to last longer than a movie marathon.
Beauty industry, are you listening?
Apparently, they are. Here’s what I tried.
THIS WEEK: I walked into YOLLO Wellness, which promises “the most technologically advanced and innovative non-surgical Pure PRP Skin Rejuvenation Therapy. “That sounds exactly like what I’m after. After a thorough consultation, it’s decided I’ll start with a Dermapen treatment using my own Pure Platelet Rich Plasma.
WHAT IS IT: Essentially, it’s a pen with tiny, superfine needles on the end of it. The needles roll over your skin, pinning holes in it as they go. They can penetrate the skin up to 2 millimetres. This definitely sounds more hard-core than a facial. The PRP part was really cool. They did a simple blood draw and spun it out a couple of times in a really high tech centrifuge.
WHAT THE HECK FOR? Apparently, causing controlled damage to your skin will prompt it to produce a bunch of collagen, which is the building block of skin. The more collagen you have, the more elastic, less wrinkled and better textured your skin will be.
WHO IS IT GOOD FOR? Anyone with sagging skin, fine lines, wrinkles, scarring.
WHY I’M GETTING IT: To improve the texture of my skin and try and get its bounce back. I’ve got a few fine lines, but my skin is definitely starting to slacken. Also as I mentioned before after my two pregnancies I can see some pigment changes going on.
WHAT THEY DID: First, they sanitized my face with saline and alcohol solution. I was laying down, relaxing on a table when Debbie painted my face with my own Pure Platelet Rich Plasma. The next step happened so fast I couldn’t believe it was over. Wendy used the Derma Pen on my forehead, side of my eyes, under my eyes, my cheeks, side of my face, upper lip, on my lips, chin, neck decolletage. Virtually every nook and cranny of my face, neck and chest. It was over in 10 minutes! I couldn’t believe it. I kept asking if they were sure they got it all. Wendy explains there will be some bleeding as she is basically pinning holes in my face. She moves the pen all over, working on it section by section, checking in every now and then to see if it’s painful. Next, Debbie painted a layer of my Plasma Poor Protein all over the controlled injured areas to allow more proteins to penetrate my skin to help build even more collagen.
HOW DOES IT FEEL? Surprisingly, fine. Kind of like a mixture of a sunburn and the shower water hitting it.
AFTERWARDS: My face feels very hot and a bit stingy. My skin is quite red and sensitive. They applied a layer of vitamins onto my skin which I immediately felt my skin begin to cool and be soothed. Then they applied a collagen cool gel mask I relaxed on the table under a warm snuggly blanket for 15 minutes. I had the option of going into their oxygen anti-aging chambers. They are supposed to take the collagen building to the next level. I didn’t have time to get my doctor’s note to do it so I will the next time around. I like to take things slow at first anyways when I don’t quite know what to expect. I was told to not wash my face tonight but I could apply any of the anti-aging products I purchased from them. The next morning I’m quite tight and dry and still very red, like I’ve sat with my face in the sun for a whole day. I washed my face as usual and I slather on sunscreen because one thing I’ve learned after visiting anti-aging salons to research this piece, is that it’s really our only defense against aging. It is not recommended to put makeup on for a couple of days and only use the collagen building creams and serums they recommended because it will all be soaked up into my skin and could alter my results. By day three however I can go back to my routine of a little tinted foundation.
DID IT WORK? After a couple of hours from leaving YOLLO Wellness I noticed my fine lines were filled in. My skin is clearer after a week. The pigmentation I have around my lips from my pregnancies has already almost disappeared. I’m feeling more confident without make-up. They tell me my face will continue to improve up to three months!
CAN I GET THIS RESULT AT HOME? There’s no equivalent product at home to a Dermapen as it’s essentially damaging your skin to encourage it to produce collagen.
HOW MUCH IS IT: $799 per treatment.
TIME TAKEN: 50 minutes.
IS IT WORTH IT? Absolutely. I can imagine that after the suggested four treatments my skin would look pretty amazing. Besides I keep getting asked if I did something to my face because I look radiant even after one treatment!
Only you can decide whether you want to go beyond a regular facial treatment. At $799 it’s not cheap, but there is no downtime and it’s less invasive than a laser, plus the results will last longer. I’m looking at it like an expensive coat, which is an investment in looking good. And I’ve decided my face is more important than a coat!
YOLLO Wellness
3840 Colonial Blvd, Suite 2, Ft. Myers, FL 33966
(239)275.0039
www.YOLLOWELLNESS.com