The Acutip treatment is available in Johannesburg at the Parkhurst and Fourways branches.
Acutip is a light technology that replaces liquid nitrogen to treat individual sun spots without the risk of scarring or hypopigmentation that occurs with traditional cryotherapy. With its unique design, the Cutera Acutip delivers light energy safely and effectively to treat individual sunspots and small spider veins. The cooled tip is ideally sized for treating age spots on the nose, cheeks, chin, and other areas of the face. It can just as easily be used to remove sun or age spots often found on the most sun-exposed areas such as the face, chest or décolleté, arms, hands, and even isolated spots on the lower legs.
The visible light delivered by the Acutip is selectively absorbed by the pigmented spots on your skin. It's the heating of the pigmented cells that causes the therapeutic effect. The removal of the sunspot is achieved without the risk of scarring or hypopigmentation that occurs with traditional cryotherapy.
Virtually any part of your body with sun and age spots or freckles can be safely treated. The face, chest, shoulders, and arms are the most popular areas for treatment because they typically have the most sun exposure. Traditionally, isolated 'age spots" have been treated with cryotherapy also known as liquid nitrogen treatment. On certain areas of the body, especially the décolleté and the lower arms and hands, this sometimes results in a hypopigmented "scar" if a lesion with scabbing results. The Acutip 500 ™ is a pulsed light system that only treats the melanin in the pigmented spot and not the normal skin surrounding it. Blister formation does not result and a better aesthetic result is attained.
Cherry angiomas ( or "cherry spots" - are small red lesions found on non exposed areas such as the abdomen) respond to Acutip therapy usually with just one treatment
The Acutip delivers pulses of light energy which cause the blood within the vein to coagulate, eventually destroying the vessel which is later reabsorbed by your body. Blood flow will then be redirected to veins deeper below your skin's surface - where it should be.
The Cutera Acutip can remove bothersome small, facial veins (or "telangiectasia") quickly without bruising or complications.
When the handpiece is placed on your skin, it will feel cool and comfortable. When the pulse of light is delivered, you may feel a mild, brief pinching sensation (often described as a warm tingling sensation after the light has been delivered).
The actual treatment will only take a few minutes, and, since there is no need to apply gel or topical anesthetic, your total appointment time can easily fit into your lunch hour.
Typically, one or two treatments are sufficient to see dramatic results for either sun spots or facial veins. Additional treatments may be required for very dark spots or where there are many unwanted facial veins.
Sunspots: Immediately following the treatment of sunspots, the spots may start to darken. You may notice a slight reddening of the surrounding skin. This typically subsides within a couple of hours. Over the course of the next one to three weeks, the treated area will darken and then slowly flake off leaving normal to pink skin underneath which will heal to a normal complexion colour.
The same spots or veins will not reappear, however, new spots or veins could appear after excess sun exposure to unprotected skin. These new spots and veins may also be removed. Remember to liberally apply sunscreen when outdoors to both minimize sun damage and prevent the appearance of new spots and unwanted superficial facial veins.
Spots formed by sun exposure can effectively be treated with the AcuTip. There are, however, other types of pigmented lesions such as birthmarks and moles which are not treated with the Acutip. Small facial veins and cherry angiomas can be treated effectively with AcuTip.
Yes. Acutip is an excellent treatment by itself, but it can also be effectively combined with other light-based and aesthetic procedures.
