Laser Treatments for Aging Skin: A Former NFL Cheerleader’s Story

When Kathi Perry opened the invitation to her NFL cheerleading alumni reunion—the Seattle Seahawks SeaGal 50 year celebration—she felt excitement with a touch of nervousness. It had been over 30 years since she’d seen many of her former teammates and now in her mid-60s, she would be reuniting with the women she knew when she was young and wanted to feel confident. Her journey is a perfect example of how laser treatments for aging skin, paired with a customized plan, can naturally boost confidence and improve skin texture.

As an employee at Apex Skin, Kathi knew exactly where to turn to accomplish this goal. 

“I went to Isabelle in August and I said ‘Help. What can I do to look my best and feel my best?'” 

Like many women her age, Kathi was dealing with the cumulative effects of sun damage—a legacy of her 20 years as a flight attendant worshipping the sun on layovers in Cabo San Lucas. The result? Stubborn age spots, wrinkles, and texture issues that her current skincare routine couldn’t address. But what she thought she needed and what would actually work were two different things.

“I probably need a lot of filler and a lot of Botox,” Kathi remembers thinking as she walked into her consultation with Isabelle Panichi, PA-C, at Apex Skin’s Mayfield Heights location.

But Isabelle Panichi, PA-C, had a different vision. One that would address the root causes of Kathi’s concerns rather than just treating the symptoms.

“We were working with a lot of actinic damage, which means damage from the sun, pollution, and natural aging,” Isabelle explains. 

Actinic damage manifests as pigmentation irregularities, rough texture, and the breakdown of collagen that leads to wrinkles and skin laxity. For someone with Kathi’s history of sun exposure, surface treatments alone wouldn’t deliver the transformation she was hoping for. 

Isabelle walked Kathi through her options, explaining not just what each treatment would do, but why it would work for her specific concerns and how it fit in her budget. She also addressed something many patients worry about: downtime. 

“There wasn’t a lot of downtime, so that was encouraging,” Kathi said. “Really understanding what I was getting into helped ease any anticipation or concern that I might have had.”

The recommendation? Start with the foundation: medical-grade skincare, starting with a gentle cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen, then move to laser treatments, with strategic injectables to complete the transformation.

Before any laser touched Kathi’s skin, Isabelle suggested a medical-grade skincare regimen suitable for Kathi’s concerns and had her stick to it for three weeks. The products included: 

“We start with the basics,” Isabelle explained. “What are you doing at home? How much water are you drinking a day? How much sleep are you getting? And what does your skincare look like? We always start by optimizing that first.”

This wasn’t just about having nice products. The medical-grade skincare routine prepared Kathi’s skin to respond optimally to laser treatments while minimizing potential complications.

“If you’re not working at home to protect these investments, there’s only so much I can do in the office,” Isabelle emphasized. 

After three weeks of skincare prep, Kathi was ready for the treatment that would become the cornerstone of her transformation: laser therapy.

Isabelle recommended a combination approach using two different laser technologies. First, Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) to target the pigmentation issues—those stubborn brown spots that had accumulated over decades. Second, laser resurfacing to boost collagen production and improve overall skin quality.

“The initial thing I noticed immediately after my first IPL was speckly dots that came out of my skin,” Kathi shared. “It’s almost like coffee grounds on my skin that literally just flaked off. Behind it left a very pure complexion.”

IPL light energy targets the excess melanin in age spots and sun damage, breaking it down so the body can naturally eliminate it. The “coffee grounds” effect Kathi described is the pigmented cells rising to the surface and sloughing off, revealing clearer, more even-toned skin underneath.

But the laser resurfacing delivered benefits that went even deeper. By creating controlled thermal injury in the dermis, the treatment stimulated Kathi’s body to produce new collagen—the structural protein that keeps skin firm, smooth, and youthful-looking. This boost in collagen production resulted in thicker skin, smaller pores, and improved texture.

“It takes a normal skin cell to go through its normal renewal process about 12 weeks,” Isabelle explained. “With resurfacing treatments most patients won’t start seeing full benefits until about three to six months because of that normal skin cell renewal cycle.”

While Kathi saw the satisfying “coffee grounds” effect right away, the deeper improvements in collagen, texture, and overall skin quality continued to develop over months.

Understanding the timeline helped Kathi stay committed and know what to expect:

At Apex, skin health isn’t just about aesthetic improvements. It’s about comprehensive care. With dermatologists and aesthetic providers, patients receive a complete approach when addressing their skin wellbeing and overall health. For Kathi, this integration between aesthetics and medical dermatology isn’t just a convenience. With a history of both squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma, she must vigilantly monitor it as part of her ongoing care.

“If I ever have a suspicious lesion or mark on my skin, I can always go and get it checked that day,” she said. 

Isabelle or the front desk staff can walk patients right over to schedule with general dermatology, and the dermatologists do the same in reverse.

“We talk to the dermatologist daily and we work kind of hand-in-hand together on different things,” Isabelle explained. 

This seamless connection between aesthetic treatments and medical monitoring means Kathi and all Apex patients don’t have to choose between looking their best and protecting their health. They can pursue both simultaneously, with providers who communicate daily and understand their complete skin health picture.

What becomes clear when you watch Kathi and Isabelle together is that this isn’t a transactional provider-patient relationship—it’s a partnership—like the numerous client-provider partnerships across the Apex Skin organization. 

“You can see even when I’m talking, how she’s studying my face,” Kathi observed. “She’s constantly trying to think of what we should do next to switch it up.”

When the initial skincare regimen wasn’t delivering the results Isabelle wanted, she adjusted it. When she noticed Kathi’s hands showing age, she suggested adding them to the treatment plan. This kind of personalized attention, constantly evaluating and optimizing, is what separates good aesthetic care from the transformative care of Apex providers.

“We really do make a very good team,” Kathi said with a smile.

When Kathi boarded that five-hour flight to Seattle, she carried more than just luggage. She carried confidence.

The response at the reunion exceeded her hopes. “Everyone’s saying that I look so great,” she texted Isabelle from Seattle. But here’s what made the results even better: no one could quite pinpoint what had changed.

“My goal is for you to look like yourself,” Isabelle emphasized about her natural beauty philosophy. “I don’t want you to leave me and look any different. I want you to go home and no one really recognizes that you’ve had anything done. Yet, they’ll think, ‘Wow, you look more refreshed today. You look like you got a lot of sleep. Your skin is glowing.'”

This is the philosophy that earned Apex Skin a Natural Beauty Award—the commitment to enhancing rather than changing, to working with aging rather than fighting it artificially.

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of Kathi’s journey wasn’t just the physical transformation—it was her mindset about aging itself.

“I don’t want to look like I’m in my 40s or 50s anymore. I had my turn and now it’s my turn to just age and do what I can,” Kathi reflected. “My friends and I all want to age gracefully. It’s my turn to be 64. So, I’m going to do that with grace.”

Isabelle Panichi, PA-C

Isabelle Panichi is a licensed Physician Assistant in the state of Ohio certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. Born and raised near Cleveland, Ohio, she has always hoped to provide care in her local community.

Isabelle received her Bachelor of Science in Health Services from Kent State University in 2022. Following her undergraduate education, she went on to earn her Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies from Baldwin Wallace University in 2024.