Blog

Should You Consider Laser Skin Resurfacing?

woman-thinking-about-laser-skin-resurfacing

Renewal Your Skin Dreams of

Mother Nature has built-in mechanisms to heal, restore and regenerate. Consider a sandy beach that becomes dappled and hollowed throughout the day by foot prints, sand castles and normal shoreline activity. Then, overnight, the tide comes in and smoothes the sand, leaving an unmarred and perfect surface behind.

Do you find yourself wishing for a magical tide to smooth your skin to perfection?

Laser skin resurfacing is a deep and long-lasting method for diminishing elemental and age-related skin changes such as fine lines, wrinkles and pigmentation.

Unlike the tide, which comes in and out each night, laser skin resurfacing has the ability to penetrate deep into your skin layers, stimulating a rejuvenating response that can last for years.

Because laser skin resurfacing penetrates more deeply than chemical peels, clients enjoy more dramatic and long-lasting results and experience fewer adverse effects.

This procedure is often recommended as an add-on to other cosmetic surgery procedures such as neck and facelifts, fat transfer, eyelid surgery and brow lifts or hand surgery to yield a more complete transformation.

Diminish Wrinkles, Creases and Inconsistent Pigmentation

Laser Skin Resurfacing, also called lasabrasion or laser peel, is used to treat a wide range of minor facial imperfections or flaws.

The lasers penetrate your deeper skin layers so the correction occurs systemically. Another advantage of this procedure is that it stimulates collagen production, enhancing your skin’s natural support and elasticity.

Lasabrasion corrects:

  • Age and sun-related skin damage
  • Scars from chicken pox, acne, or surgery
  • Skin that hasn’t responded to facelift procedures
  • Fine lines and wrinkles around the mouth, eyes, and forehead
  • Liver spots
  • Uneven skin tone such as yellowed or gray spots or blotches
  • Warts
  • Birthmarks
  • Enlarged oil glands on the nose or chin

While chemical peels address some of these issues, there is less downtime and sensitivity with lasabration.  The number of sessions required for desired results are also significantly less.

There are two types of laser skin resurfacing:

  1. eCO2: This is the most innovative FDA-approved skin resurfacing technology available. It uses an advanced fractional CO2 laser that penetrates more deeply than alternative, erbium fractional lasers. Patients may never need a follow-up procedure or can go much longer in between visits. The post-procedure downtime is considerably less than with fully ablative lasers or deeper chemical peels. Female clients can often wear makeup within a week of their procedure.
  1. Pixel: The 2940 nm Pixel laser utilizes a fractionalized erbium beam and is also FDA-approved. While it doesn’t work as deeply as the eCO2 laser, it can remove fine to moderate wrinkles and correct skin tone on the face, neck, chest, arms and hands. Patients who receive this treatment experience minimal discomfort and need little post-procedure downtime. Pixel treatments are usually spaced out every 4-6 weeks..

What Happens Before During and After Lasabration?

  • Before Lasabration

Schedule a consultation with a board certified plastic surgeon. During your consultation, you will be able to discuss your areas of concern and determine which skin resurfacing procedure is best for your needs.

  • During the Procedure

If skin resurfacing is combined with other cosmetic surgical procedures, you will be given a general anesthetic and may be unconscious during the resurfacing process.

Patients receiving eCO2 skin resurfacing normally require twilight sedation. For Pixel, the doctor will apply a local anesthetic. You may also be given a sedative to help you relax.

Once the procedure has begun, the doctor will direct the laser at your target areas, methodically erasing and correcting facial imperfections.

Depending on the type of resurfacing you choose or the depth of the treatment, these dressings may need to be changed. Additional topical treatments may be provided to facilitate the healing process.

  • After Your Procedure

Depending on the intensity of your treatment, your post-procedural downtime can be as little as a day or as long as a week. General pain killers will be used to enhance your comfort. It is imperative that you follow your doctor’s post-procedure instructions and protect yourself from the sun to facilitate healing and preserve your new, smooth and youthful skin.

Laser skin resurfacing will generate healthy, vibrant and glowing skin from the inside out. Let the tides of innovation work for you by scheduling a consultation with Dr. Tzikas.