The term 'laser skin resurfacing' generally refers to the total resurfacing of the facial skin to treat deeper wrinkles with either CO2 Laser or an Erbium Laser. This type of resurfacing basically burns off the top few layers of skin. The injury to the skin causes the skin to be very raw and oozing. The skin then begins to heal the injury and the period of healing can last from a week to ten days.
New skin then begins to form in the place of the removed, aged skin. When this happens we often see a great deal of skin tightening. This happens because open wounds tend to heal by contracting and shrinking. So we see tightening as well as a tremendous improvement in fine lines and deep wrinkles.
As with all things, however, the greater the risks, the greater the rewards. The results sound great, however the risks with total laser resurfacing are quite significant. Patients will often be pink for up to three months. Patients may also get permanent whitening of the skin that occurs months after treatment. We cannot explain why this sometimes happens, but that whiteness can sometimes persist indefinitely.
Shift to More Conservative Laser Treatments
When resurfacing first came out it was very popular and the results were incredible so it started being used on more and more people. Many of these people were receiving total laser resurfacing with CO2 laser and they had minimal sun damage, minimal wrinkling. We then started to see side-effects.
Now the pendulum has swung in favor of using non-ablative techniques, non-destructive types of rejuvenation. These have little or no down time and the improvement is more gradual as it requires multiple treatments. There are a variety of laser treatments used for this.
For Dark-Skinned Patients
For dark-skinned patients resurfacing can be very risky. They can get not only decreased pigmentation, but increased pigmentation as well. It's important if you have darker skin to be sure your physician has experience treating people with your skin type. Make sure to ask. Some treatments and some devices may not be appropriate for you.
For Treatment of Sun Damaged Skin, See: Laser Skin Resurfacing, Fractional Laser Resurfacing, IPL, Radiofrequency Rejuvenation, Plasma Skin Regeneration or Injectables/ Dermal Fillers.
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