Chronic inflammation, hormonal shifts, nutrient status and metabolic change all show on skin, often before they show anywhere else. That is a useful property of the organ and a frustrating one, because it means a proportion of stubborn skin problems are not skin problems.
Treating the surface when the driver is systemic produces exactly what you would expect: partial results, short-lived results, and a growing suspicion that nothing works. A short list of markers can settle whether that is what is happening.
Not ordered routinely
Imaging is included in every consultation. Labs are not. They are recommended only where the clinical picture points at a systemic driver and where the result would actually change a decision. If the plan would be the same either way, the test is not worth your money, and it will not be suggested.
What gets measured
Markers are chosen individually from the picture in front of us rather than run as a fixed panel. These are the ones that come up most.
Nutrient status
Inflammation
Hormonal
Hormonal markers are ordered where hormonal fluctuation is a known driver of the specific concern, such as melasma or hormonal acne, rather than as a general screen. For how these interact with skin in more depth, there is a longer piece on testosterone and estrogen and one on menopause.
What the process involves
- Who decides
- Your physician, from the examination and your history. Markers are selected, not bundled.
- Bring what you have
- Recent results from your own doctor are often enough. Repeating a test from three months ago is usually waste.
- Where the draw happens
- At a partner laboratory, on a schedule set by the markers ordered.
- Timing
- Morning for markers that follow a daily rhythm; cycle-timed where the value varies across the month. Any fasting requirement is given when the order is placed.
- Medication
- Nothing you have been prescribed is stopped for a test without instruction from whoever prescribed it.
- Results
- Read through with your physician, with what each number means for the plan.
- Abnormal values
- Communicated to your primary care physician.
- Cost
- Optional, for an additional fee.
What a result actually changes
Usually the order of things. A result can move what gets addressed first, delay a device or an injectable until something underneath has been dealt with, or explain why a reasonable plan has not been working. Occasionally it changes nothing, and that is also worth knowing, because it closes a question rather than leaving it open.
What it does not do is make the decision. Nothing here is decided from a number alone, and a lab result does not override what is visible on examination.
This is not a replacement for primary care
Aahana is an aesthetics practice with a physician in it. The labs ordered here are aimed at your skin, not at your overall health, and they are a narrow instrument pointed at a narrow question. Anything outside the normal range is communicated to your primary care physician, where it belongs, with someone who knows your whole history. If you want a comprehensive screen, ask them for it rather than us.
Common questions
Is this a general wellness panel?
No, and that distinction is deliberate. Every marker here is chosen because it has a plausible line to the skin concern in front of us. Broad panels ordered without a question in mind generate incidental results that need chasing, worry people for no benefit, and do not make a skin plan better. If you want a comprehensive screen of your health, that belongs with your primary care physician.
Does everyone get labs?
No. Imaging is included in every consultation; labs are not. They are recommended only where the clinical picture suggests something systemic that would meaningfully change the plan, and where a result would actually lead to a different decision. If the answer would be the same either way, the test is not worth your money.
What happens if something comes back abnormal?
You are told, and the result is communicated to your primary care physician. This is an aesthetics practice with a physician in it, not a replacement for primary care. Anything outside the normal range that belongs in a longer-term relationship with a doctor who knows your whole history goes there.
Can I bring labs I already have?
Yes, and please do. Recent results from your own physician are often enough, and repeating a test you had three months ago is usually waste. Bring them to the consultation and we will work from what already exists before ordering anything new.
Do I need to fast, or come at a particular time?
It depends on what is being measured. Markers that follow a daily rhythm are drawn in the morning, and markers that vary across the menstrual cycle are timed to it, because a value read at the wrong moment is worse than no value. Any fasting requirement is given to you when the order is placed.
Will a lab result change what treatment I can have?
Sometimes, and that is part of the point. A result can change the order of a plan, change what is addressed before a device or injectable is used, or explain why something reasonable has not been working. It does not replace the examination, and nothing is decided from a number alone.
This page is for general education and is not medical advice. It does not establish a physician-patient relationship, and it cannot account for your individual history, medications or skin. Laboratory testing here is aimed at skin and is not a substitute for primary care or for health screening. Which tests, if any, are appropriate is decided at consultation following examination.