Cryoskin. I saw the sign at Prospect Family Chiropractic when I went for an adjustment and was intrigued. I often want to CRY about my skin—way too much sun damage over way too many years have left me with dark spots and wrinkles combined with aging which results in slacking amounts of collagen. I’m healthy, happy and have muscle tone, but disappointed I didn’t take better care of my skin in my youth.  I am now paying the price.

So, what is Cryoskin?  I made an appointment with esthetician Daniela Dominguez in Dr. Bill Moran’s office to learn more. I trust Dr. Bill implicitly and knew he wouldn’t have any service in his office that wasn’t verified scientifically and top-notch. He has been my go-to chiropractor for more years than I care to count, and he has gotten me through a barrage of athletic injuries, muscle pulls  and physical issues from my active lifestyle. I had to find out what he had sanctioned that could now help my skin.

Though fight fat is certainly the most popular service in the U.S. today, CryoSlimming didn’t attract me. The toning aspect of Cryoskin’s claims, “Cryotoning” got my attention. I do not need to lose fat; I simply need to regain skin tone due to lower levels of collagen from aging. I know I have “six pack” abs, but those muscles are hidden behind a midriff that while thin, doesn’t look like you could bounce a dime off it anymore!  There are wrinkles that make me feel old in a bikini and though maybe I should give in to a one-piece bathing suit, for my own vanity, I wanted to check this process out.

I was aware of “Coolsculpting” which has been on every billboard and in every magazine in South Florida for years, but I was skeptical of its approach and had heard that it left rectangular indentations on the skin due to the shape of the equipment and its pressure approach. I never tried it and I didn’t want to. I had tried “Cryotherapy” in a freezing cold chamber for muscle release and inflammation and never really wanted to subject my body to that kind of cold again—I left Pennsylvania and Massachusetts because I hated winter. Why would I want to subject my skin to extremely uncomfortable and sub-freezing temperatures—even in the name of fighting muscular pain?! But Cryoskin? Let me learn more…

As I saw the Cryoskin therapy device was a round wand that was tapped, and then rubbed gently over the skin, I was intrigued. It seemed harmless. Then Daniela also told me about how CryoFacial could tone facial skin as well and I thought about the possibility of losing my Howdy Doody facial lines and just had to try it!

I laid comfortably on a table, fully clothed with my abdomen exposed and my hair pulled back. Daniela turned on the Cryoskin machine which hums like an air conditioner, but emitted a cold, but not freezing temperature in an even flow. She used a gel to facilitate the glide of the device across my skin—a jelly-like, silicone goo that made the motion of the machine extremely smooth. My body became numb to the feeling quickly—like sucking on an ice cube—and I became very relaxed, shifting into meditational mode with the machine making white noise and spa music quietly playing in the background. The abdominal area took about 20 minutes and the facial area about 30 minutes—just constant tapping and rubbing—no pain, no discomfort and no post-treatment skin reaction—a little blush of red—like a little sun burn–receded in about 15 minutes after I left the office.

I could not believe the subtle, yet noticeable difference in my face! I didn’t look like I’d just had Botox with that bloated, stretched skin—the lines had just slightly faded. My abdomen was less impressive, but the skin there is thicker, so I assume it will take more treatments. They do not promise the world in one session, but to see a difference so quickly was impressive.

I immediately rescheduled for my second week, as they recommend waiting a week between sessions so that the collagen that is stimulated by the cold could do its work. Coincidentally, in the CryoSlimming treatment, fat cells that are supposedly “killed” by the cold and results are said to be seen quickly. Regardless, about 5 sessions are recommended, depending on the person, the skin type and tone and the results desired.

I have always resisted dermatologists who wanted to pump me with fillers and give me “apple cheeks” to pull up my wrinkled jowls. I didn’t want to look like Hillary Clinton or Goldy Hawn—I just wanted to keep my own face—without the wrinkles. Injecting my skin with toxins and fillers that didn’t last did not attract me at all. Been there, done that. (They don’t usually tell you that when you work out and have a high metabolism, that such injectables go through your system quickly, so the results are short lived and you’re back to where you started from after throwing money into the doctors’ wallets!) But this Cryoskin may just have merit!  They say that after you achieve your results, the benefits should last about 12-15 months with a touch-up session to continue the collagen generating action. We’ll see…stay tuned!