Glossary

ABD-C - American Board of Dermatology Certified. Requires a medical degree and four more years of specialty training focusing on skin care, diagnosis, procedures, pathology and treatment.

Advanced Esthetician/Esthetician - A cosmetology (beauty school) certificate that includes training for facials, makeup artistry and hair removal. It does not include any medical training.

Any med spa owner allowing an "advanced esthetician" to inject patients is being derelict in their duties by putting patients in potential danger. Oregon Health Authority reference. An esthetician administering injectable cosmetics is providing a service that is outside the scope of practice for an esthetician, they are not licensed to do this. Offenders should be reported to both the Oregon Medical Board (practicing medicine without a license) and the Board of Cosmetology (who they are licensed with).

Aesthetic Medicine - A marketing term to describe medical procedures and treatments to enhance one’s appearance. There is no board certification available in this field. Dermatologists and Plastic Surgeons have made the most advances and scientific contributions to it, and have medical training in this area.

AHA - Alpha hydroxy acid, a synonym for glycolic acid, derived from sugar.

ALLE - The patient loyalty program of Allergan.

Anesthetic - A substance that causes loss of feeling or awareness. A topical or local anesthetic is a drug that causes temporary loss of feeling in a part of the body where it is placed.

Antiseptic - An agent that kills bacteria or prevents or slows growth of germs.

ASPIRE - The patient loyalty program of Galderma.

Allergan - A large pharmaceutical company, now part of AbbVie. They are the makers of Botox® and Juvederm® hyaluronic acid fillers, as well as Latisse, CoolSculpting® and others.

BCC - basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer, caused by ultraviolet light.

BHA - Beta hydroxy acid, a synonym for salicylic acid, made from willow bark.

Bio-compatible - A material that does not harm the body.

Bio-degradable- A material that can be broken down by the body.

Board Certification - Learn more. The more informed you are, the less regrets you will have.

Botox® - onabotulinum toxin type A, a type of botulism toxin, used to relax or paralyze muscles, stop sweat glands from secreting to treat hyperhidrosis and is FDA-approved for the treatment of migraines. It typically starts working in about 7 days. It is the trade name used by Allergan.

BA - Bachelor’s of Arts degree

BS - Bachelor’s of Science degree

BSN - Bachelor’s Science degree in Nursing

Collagen - The most common protein found in the body. Collagen is used to form a framework to support cells and tissues. Collagen is found in skin and connective tissues. Youthful skin has much more collagen than aged skin.

CoolSculpting® - The treatment that involves the use of a machine to freeze unwanted fat so that it will die, then be removed by the body. It causes fat storage to be redistributed, permanently. It is not a way to lose weight. It is a non-invasive non-surgical alternative to liposuction.

CSUF - California State University, Fullerton

Dangers associated with HA fillers - although quite rare, are due to occlusion which can lead to vascular necrosis of the skin, vision changes, blindness and stroke. Remember that Sculptra® is PLLA, it is not an HA filler. Sculptra® has not had one single case of occlusion reported in the USA.

Dermatology - the study of the skin, hair, and nails.

Derm means skin in Latin.

DO - Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, similar to an MD medical degree.

DNP - Doctor of Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner, more course work than Master's in Nursing.

Dysport® - abobotulinum toxin type A, the trade name for a botulism type of toxin distributed by pharmaceutical company Galderma. It typically starts working in 1-2 days.

Education levels of medical providers - click here for more information

FAAD - Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology

FDA is the federal agency, Food and Drug Administration.

FDA-Approved - refers to testing and approval for drugs based on scientific studies that outline the drugs effectiveness for a specific indication based on scientific studies. More information

Fellowship - after completing a Bachelor's degree, medical degree, internship, and residency program, a physician can undergo more training to sub-specialize called a Fellowship. The sub-specialties of dermatology are dermatopathology, Mohs surgery and pediatric dermatology.

FNP-BC - A Board Certified Family Practice Nurse Practitioner.

HA - Hyaluronic acid, a substance normally found in human skin and other parts of the body. It helps with hydration and lubrication. It is also put in syringes for injection as a filler to plump up the skin or even sculpt an area like a cheek or chin. Examples: Juvederm® and Restylane®.

HSA’s - Health Savings Accounts

Hyaluronidase - The enzyme that can dissolve hyaluronic acid dermal fillers. All offices that inject hyaluronic acid fillers should have this on the premises at all times, or they are unsafe offices.

Hydrafacial® - A multi step treatment that involves cleansing, exfoliating, hydrating, extracting and an AHA chemical peel at the end.

Hypersensitivity - An undesirable, abnormal or uncomfortable reaction; also an allergic reaction.

Immunocompetent - The individual has a healthy immune system. Injection - Product delivery at the location of a hollow needle tip beneath the surface of the skin.

Injection Specialist - A title given within a practice to someone who has been trained to do injectable therapies such as Botox and fillers. This person should be a physician, nurse, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant. They should not be an esthetician. The rules are fuzzy regarding medical assistants.

IPL - Intense Pulsed Light, a treatment that works well for treating redness, blood vessels and sometimes brown spots. It is a poor unsatisfactory treatment for hair removal.

Keravive™ - patented and released in 2020, Keravive® is a new painless way to stimulate hair growth by intensely power washing the hair follicles followed by delivery of a concentrated hair growth serum. It comes from the HydraFacial® company. More information.

Lactic Acid - an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) naturally found in milk and sugars.

MA-C is a certified medical assistant.

MBA - Master’s degree in Business Administration

MD - medical doctor, someone who has gone to an accredited program and received a doctorate level degree in medicine.

Medical Cosmetics - another way to say medical prescriptions, care, procedures and treatments to enhance one’s appearance.

Mohs surgeon - originally named after Dr. Mohs, it is a surgery technique used to remove skin cancers that minimizes the amount of normal skin removed by using frozen sections and mapping out the tissue removed. It has a high cure rate and better cosmetic result than a wide excision, so it is typically used on the face.

MSN - Master of Science of Nursing

NLF - Nasolabial fold. The lines between the nose and the corner of the mouth that people also refer to as marionette lines among other things

ND - Doctor of Naturopathic medicine

Nodule - lump under the surface of the skin that is greater than 5 mm. It may be visible or not visible, but can be felt when pressed. (Definition by Galderma.)

Nose Remodeling with Filler - When many cases of irreversible blindness happened in South Korea due to patients having filler injected into their noses, I completely stopped performing this procedure. It isn't worth the risk. Any practitioner still putting HA filler in people's noses either has not stayed informed or simply doesn't care about the risk. I recommend staying away from these practitioners.

PA-C - A Certified Physician Assistant, also called a Physician Associate.

PDT - Photodynamic therapy. A process using a photosensitizer and light to treat actinic keratoses.

RN - Registered Nurse

Occlusion - the blocking or closing of a blood vessel, can be intravascular or extravascular such as due from outside pressure.

Papule - Lump under the surface of the skin that is less than 5 mm and not visible, but can be felt when pressed. This definition is by Galderma.

PMMA - known as BellaFill®, stands for polymethyl methacrylate microspheres suspended within a base of smooth collagen gel. This is not an organic substance. Cannot recommend.

Poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) - A man-made polymer that is bio-compatible and biodegradable. Poly means chains. L and R refer to the directions of 3-dimensional spin that a molecule has. Lactic acid is a common type of sugar produced in the body, such as when muscles contract. PLLA is also used in absorbable sutures and “threads”.

PRF or PRF Procedure - Platelet Rich Fibrin is a technique in which platelet rich plasma including fibrin and no anticoagulant is injected into tissue. This is not an FDA-approved treatment. Dr. Klein is still waiting for dermatology medical studies to support the effectiveness and safety of this treatment. Injecting clotting proteins under the eye near blood vessels with dire consequences if they were to get occluded seems like it potentially could have some dangerous side effects. Though there are plenty of aesthetic offices doing this, it is extremely important to check the qualifications of the individuals doing this.

PRP - Platelet-rich plasma therapy uses an injection of a patient’s own plasma, from their blood, to accelerate healing. This is not an FDA-approved treatment. Anticoagulant is added in PRP, whereas it is not in PRF. PRP and regenerative medicine are exciting new areas of medicine. The studies being done in dermatology using PRP for hair loss look very good. Recently, the Hydrafacial® company came out with the Keravive™ treatment that is a painless way to thoroughly clean out the hair follicles followed by the application of a concentrated growth factor serum which is also working very well, less painful approach.

Radiofrequency - Using thermal energy to heat the dermis of the skin to tighten it. If used improperly, it can create irreversible scarring. Cannot recommend. In general, the results from radiofrequency treatments are very short lived and using repetitive thermal energy (heat) on the skin is a very bad idea in the long run, since it may put a person at increased risk of skin cancer.

Revance Aesthetics - a manufacturer from Switzerland that is FDA approved in USA now for hyaluronic acid fillers, RHA2, RHA3 and RHA4.

SCC - squamous cell carcinoma, 2nd most common type of skin cancer, caused by UVA.

Sculptra® - An injectable collagen stimulator by Galderma, poly-L-lactic-acid (PLLA). It is a sugar derived in a laboratory from corn and diluted in sterile water and a small amount of lidocaine.

Dr. Danny Vleggaar from Europe personally trained Dr. Marla Klein on his injection techniques in 2004. He is considered the world master of Sculptra®.

Side effect - An unwanted event caused by use of the product.

Ultherapy® - micro-focused ultrasound that claims to lift and tighten the skin. They also call themselves "the Gold Standard for non-surgical lifting and skin tightening" - which is not for them to say. Cannot recommend.

UVL - ultraviolet light B is wavelengths 280-320 nm, UVA is 320-390 nm; and both are felt to contribute to skin cancer and other dermatological problems.

Wrinkle - An age-related defect in the contour of the skin surface. Practitioners will distinguish wrinkles into solar elastosis (denatured collagen protein), etched in lines and folds from loss of volume vs creases due to sleep or motion from expression and muscles. It can be complicated, and multi-factorial.

Xeomin® - incobotulinumtoxin A, a neurotoxin similar to Botox made by Merz.

What makes Dr. Klein Oregon's Pioneer in cosmetic medicine?

Klein Dermatology & Associates

Glossary

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