Laser Highly Popular and Effective
Skin rejuvenation is one of the most common and popular treatments available today for wrinkles and aging skin. Laser skin rejuvenation is a term which encompasses a wide array of laser treatments. There are five types of non-ablative lasers (lasers which do not injure the surface of the skin):
- visible light lasers
- intense pulsed-light sources
- infrared lasers
- photodynamic therapy (PDT)
- radiofrequency devices
Pre-Treatment Information
Before beginning any laser treatment I tell my patients to start wearing sunscreen everyday and to have UV blocking film applied to their car windows. This will help to stop the sun damage which continues to age our skin even as we undergo treatment.
The next step is to try topical alpha-hydroxy acids or Retin-A products to help repair the skin and prepare it for the treatments with laser. This will slightly decrease over-pigmented areas and reduce the dead skin layer on the skin's surface (both interfere with the light emitted by a laser from reaching it's intended target). These topical products also increase cell turnover and collagen production in the skin.
Laser Treats Wrinkles, Brown Spots, Enlarged Pores, and Sagging Skin
Once laser treatments have begun they are generally effective and may safely treat wrinkling, sagging, brown spots and freckles, broken blood vessels, and enlarged pores.
Sagging of the skin (laxity) is one of the most difficult problems to treat with non-ablative treatments. Laser resurfacing or fractional laser treatments can be the best option for severely sagging skin, short of a surgical facelift.
It's important to note that wrinkles will be improved but not necessarily removed in most cases. The visible light lasers are capable of improving redness, brown spots, enlarged pores and wrinkling. In the case of wrinkling, I emphasize that wrinkles will be IMPROVED not REMOVED in most cases.
Laser Rejuvenation Treatments to Consider: Fractional Laser Resurfacing, IPL, Radiofrequency Rejuvenation, Plasma Skin Regeneration or Laser Skin Resurfacing.
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