A new trend springing up in the world of aesthetic medicine is multiple modalities, where a quick poke and a peel can maximize the best results in as little time as possible.
“That’s how you get a quicker result because a lot of times a lot of women are on a time crunch or they don’t have a lot of downtime because everyone wants to see instant results,” said medical aesthetician Zari Robles, who also coined the term for the center.
The KO’AN Center, a leader in integrated aesthetic medicine, individualizes a lasting regimen of multiple modalities to compliment and enhance each skin care service. This emphasis on personal care and lasting relationships is what keeps people coming back to KO’AN.
Your journey to satisfaction may begin with a VISIA complexion analysis, which generates quantitative values for skin features such as texture, wrinkles, pores, and pigmentation. The 3D imaging system pinpoints UV damage, brown spots, wrinkles, red areas, bacteria and the like that previously weren’t detected by the naked eye. The personalized skin analysis then allows KO’AN specialists to customize a treatment specific to the person and provide a baseline to track ongoing skincare.
From there, KO’AN can tailor a slew of services that speak to a specific look and sense of wellness.
KO’AN’s capable professionals can administer laser treatments along with injections, or laser treatments with micro needling, or even a body contouring service like i-Lipo with a laser procedure. The possibilities are endless, done either same day or a week apart.
One of the most in-demand treatment is Regenlite, a pulsating laser used to stimulate collagen production, enhancing skin rejuvenation and reducing wrinkles, fine lines, effects of rosacea, acne, and scarring. The laser treatment causes a natural bio-chemical reaction that stimulates the body’s healing and repair mechanisms. It’s also the only laser approved for the delicate areas around the eye.
“And there’s no downtime, which is the best part,” Robles said of the laser procedure, which is typically used in tandem with micro needling or a chemical peel to penetrate the skin deeper and maximize results.
But the most popular multiple modality combination is the use of Regenlite with an injectable like filler or Botox.
Natalie Banchik, one of the most trusted members of the KO’AN team, is a specialist in injectables. Her technique lies in the areas she injects, hiding the product in certain areas where other practitioners don’t go.
“From an artist standpoint you want to avoid going in what they call the wet-dry border,” Banchik said. “I like to do a very natural look with lips. A lot of people come in, and they’re scared of getting that ducky face, or the overdone look.”
Lips thin as women get older, but Banchik said she also helps women in their 20s slowly volumize their lips as a preventative measure. She’s a champion of the natural look when it comes to lip fillers, achieving a little pout or noticeable upper lip. Restylane-L, hyaluronic acid filler that instantly plumps and reduces the look of wrinkles, is a common product used for lips and marionette lines.
“You definitely can come in on your lunch break, get injected, put your lipstick on, and go back to work as if nothing ever happened,” Banchik said.
Lip fillers can last anywhere from six to nine months, with little maintenance and no downtime. And as for pain, KO’AN offers topical numbing cream, ice, or Lidocaine inside the syringe itself.
Her method begins a thorough assessment. She divides the face into three sections – from the eyes up, to the mid-face with nose and cheeks, and down to the lower-face with lips and chin – to identify the cause of skin aging rather than the signs and symptoms.
Banchik’s many years of training under world-renowned plastic surgeons and certified injectable specialists makes her an expert injector.
After finishing her B.S. in Psychology at the University of California, San Diego, Banchik went on to work in Los Angeles as a Behavioral Therapist. She worked with children with special needs for a few years, a career that she found to be very rewarding and which ultimately led her to Nursing School. She said she’s found her niche within an industry and she has fallen in love with.
“That’s what I love about this job,” Banchik said. “You have a lot of people who come in self-conscious about one thing or another and then they walk out of here an they have that confidence. They want to go home and put on that dress, put on their makeup, and go to a nice dinner versus hide at home because something is off.”
The KO’AN Center is located at Saint John’s Medical Plaza on 1301 20th St., Suite 150A, in Santa Monica.
For more information, call 310.315.3022 or visit koancenter.com.
