About Colleen Harrington, Aesthetician Specialist

I was lucky enough to join the Advanced Dermatology Team in 2018 as a Cosmetic Coordinator. I studied Kinesiology at Western Illinois University and graduated at the top of my class in Medical Aesthetics at New Age Spa Institute.. The most common concern that I have seen with patients is how to help them “age gracefully”. As we age we experience facial bone loss, loss of muscle tone and loss of facial fat. These things combined with the breakdown of collagen and elastin can cause concerns such as sagging of the jawline, hollowness under the eyes, loss of volume in the cheeks and wrinkles and fine lines. At Advanced Dermatology we have a wide variety of cosmetic treatments to address all of these concerns including injectable fillers, neurotoxins, body contouring devices, skin resurfacing treatments, the list goes on and on! We will assess each patient and educate them on how to treat their individual concerns and start them on a daily CORE 4 skincare regimen, developed by Amy Forman Taub, MD, FAAD, to help maintain their results. I want patients to understand that maintenance and prevention are imperative in achieving long lasting results in order to maintain a youthful and refreshed appearance. A proper skincare regimen should always go hand in hand with cosmetic treatments. If a patient has a more aggressive treatment that requires more downtime and then gets a series of treatments that are less aggressive with little or no downtime, they will achieve maximum results and require less maintenance over time. For example, if a patient is coming in for Ultherapy or Thermage to tighten their jowels, I would advise them to get a series of Pelleve or Apollo to maintain their results. If a patient wants to have Fraxel Thulium for their sun damage, they can maintain those results by getting a series of Permea treatments. For every more aggressive treatment, a less aggressive treatment option is available for maintenance. Another important thing to note is that neurotoxins (Botox, Dysport, Xeomin) are a form of preventative treatment and the more consistent you are, the more your fine lines and wrinkles will start to diminish over time and require less maintenance. Many patients think Botox is something you need to do when you’re older but many younger patients are starting to have Botox treatment in order to prevent dynamic wrinkles from appearing. Another misconception about Botox is that it’s just used for treating fine lines/wrinkles in the forehead.