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"Beauty hurts."

That's what my mother would say to me as she too-tightly French braided my hair or worked knots out of my long locks. She said it when ear piercing went wrong, when I tried (unsuccessfully) to wax under my arms, when I burnt my forehead with the curling iron in an attempt to make my bangs sky high and when I'd nick myself shaving my legs.

She was right, of course, as mothers tend to be. I mean, how many beauty regimens do you engage in that really, truly feel good? Or, at the least, don't hurt? We wax, we diet, we pluck, we pull, we stuff, we squeeze, we peel, we tear, we burn... for beauty.

The adage goes that if you look good, you feel good. I can't disagree, but I know I'd feel even better if looking good didn't make me wince in pain.

Case in point: I've wanted laser forever. Or, for at least as long as it's been since I first saw my BFF with what I like to call "her baby-butt face." She's 38 and now looks 28, and if I didn't love her so much I would hate her guts. Thanks to technology, her skin texture is velvet smooth, her discolorations are gone and so, it seems, are her pores. Her forehead lines are no more and those wee little wrinkles that were settling in comfortably around her mouth are non-existent.

"Did it hurt?," I asked. "It was worth it," she said. "But did it hurt?," I repeated. "I'd do it again," she answered. After what we like to call the "death stare," she fessed up. "I didn't realize just how uncomfortable it would be. I'll do it again - I want to get it on my neck and chest - but I am not looking forward to it."

Neither was I... until I heard that Dr. Craig Ingber at Dermacure Valencia recently began offering nitrous oxide to his patients in order to eliminate the "pain factor" from more-intense in-office procedures.

This safe, affordable addition to your beauty treatments is a game changer.

Nitrous oxide, a gas composed of oxygen and nitrogen, is excellent for sedation when used for pain management. When inhaled, the patient stays in a conscious state but does not feel pain.

It has no color or odor and doesn't cause irritation. Nitrous oxide works quickly, too, reaching the brain within 20 seconds. The gas induces relaxation, even euphoric feelings, within as little as five minutes. These qualities make it ideal for medical and dental procedures.

There are several more advantages to using nitrous oxide. The depth of sedation can be controlled moment to moment, allowing the patient to be at a lighter level of sedation or a deeper level, depending upon the needs of the individual.

Nitrous oxide gas can be administered for the exact amount of time it is needed, as well. Other forms of sedation such as pills or intravenous drugs have a fixed duration of action, lasting sometimes up to several hours. The effects of nitrous oxide are immediate, and when the gas is no longer needed it is eliminated from the body within three to five minutes after the supply is stopped.

There is no lingering "hangover" effect and you can safely drive home after your procedure.

The best part: No injection is required for sedation with nitrous oxide. Inhalation sedation is very safe with few side effects and no adverse effects on the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys or brain. In fact, it's so safe, my first introduction to it was in my 4-year-old's pediatric dentist's office. They used it on the little guy to do a "baby root canal." He didn't feel a thing and was back to his old self by the time we left the office.

Interested in how nitrous oxide can be used during your next beauty procedure? Call the Dermacure pros for a free consultation. 257-8400