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A doctor's office in the truest sense: the walls at Lakeview Dermatology are covered with medical certificates rather than artwork, a statement to the office's results-driven dermatology practice. Those looking for style without substance should head elsewhere; those in search of great skin won't want to miss Lakeview Dermatology. Located in Lakeview's Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Lakeview Dermatology was conceived by father and son duo, Doctors Eugene and Steven Mandrea. Lakeview Dermatology's top docs, educated at the University of Paris and the University of Illinois respectively, have perfected the art of really hearing their patients' skin care concerns -- and they're even better at fixing them. On a Saturday morning I booked an appointment with Dr. Eugene Mandrea. Calling Dr. Eugene Mandrea a skin care "expert" is an understatement; Dr. Mandrea is more than an expert, he is a master. He answered each of my questions with an uncommon depth of knowledge, gained from over 30 years practicing his specialty: dermatology. This isn't to say the doctor is old school. He's not, nor is his practice. But he doesn't endorse being trendy with skin care. When I asked him what the biggest skin care mistake women make, he was quick to say it was wasting money on fads. "Spending huge amounts of money on unproven products and techniques," he said. On the other hand, Dr. Mandrea is well versed in all aspects of the most modern aesthetic advances from Juvederm™ to Smoothbeam®. I found myself asking him every question in the book and he answered each question with confidence and forthrightness. He looked closely at my skin, expertly assessing each flaw with equal parts generosity and aplomb. I said that I thought I may have Rosacea. "You don't," he responded, "I don't want you to even worry about that." Although, if I did have Rosacea the doctor assured me that he could treat it with one of two IPL machines, the Aurora or the Aesthera. I asked about fillers. I explained that I had collagen years ago, but there are so many choices now. (Lakeview Dermatology offers Captique™, Juvederm™ and Restylane®.) The doctor explained that there actually is a use for all three. Juvederm™ lasts the longest, eight to 10 months, and costs the most thanks to a higher concentration of cross-linked Hyaluronic acid, Restylane lasts 4 to 6 months, while Captique is the least concentrated, lasting 3 to 4 months. I wondered aloud why any patient would choose Captique. The doctor laughed, "Good question! If the patient's issues are mild, Captique is indicated. Captique can be injected into the finest of wrinkles, and it's about 50% less expensive than Juvederm." I asked about a handful of acne scars. "Those I can fix with Smoothbeam Laser," he replied. And while my scars are from acne long gone, the doctor told me about some of the most severe acne cases he had seen, and what Smoothbeam accomplished for those patients, "It's almost as good as Accutane and it improves acne scarring as well. The Smoothbeam is so effective, ours is buzzing all day long." Since I was currently sporting several wide shallow acne scars that the doctor called "dish" scars, we agreed that it was time to banish these post-pubescent souvenirs. With his characteristic honesty, Dr. Mandrea warned me that Smoothbeam treatments could be painful; he typically applies a topical anthestetic to patients ready to go under the laser. Since I was only having a handful of scars zapped, and I felt that my pain threshold was higher than most, we skipped the topical anthestetic and headed to the laser room. Dr. Mandrea saw that I was comfortably situated and wearing protective eyewear before powering up the Smoothbeam. He warned me when he was about to zap each scar by counting, "1-2-3." I didn't feel any pain, but it was uncomfortable during the actual zap, each lasting less than a second. Truthfully, I felt mostly excited. After all, I'd had those scars for over 10 years, and in less than 5 minutes we were done. The doctor told me to expect "polka dots" on the treated areas for up to 2 hours. This is the only downtime involved with the Smoothbeam treatment, and in my case the spots never appeared. Smoothbeam is a Diode Laser that treats acne, acne scars, and Hyperplasias (overgrown oil glands). In many cases, an improvement of 60 to 70% in skin clarity is achieved in 3 to 4 treatments with a treatment booked every 30 days. So in less than 5 minutes with little downtime, I was on the road to perfect skin. It's hard to imagine why I waited so long to visit the good doctor. This top-notch Dermatology practice treats serious skin ailments from acne and Rosacea to psoriasis and skin cancer, but Lakeview Dermatology also takes looking great seriously. Offering the best of the best in skin care products, think prevageMD, Skin Medica, La Roche-Posay, Replenix, and Teamine Eye Complex; injectables such as Juvederm™, Restylane® and Botox®; plus a wide range of skin perfecting treatments including Photorejuvenation, Smoothbeam laser, as well as Thermage and ReFirme" Skin Tightening, Lakeview Dermatology serves up results-driven skin care to discerning Chicagoans. Click here for Spa/Salon prices, services, hours and more.
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