We all want dewy, airbrushed, perfect, glowing skin, but achieving it isn’t easy. Using scrubs, masks, glycolic acids, and other topical treatments at home can help. However, medical estheticians offer many more effective options to provide long-lasting results.
Resurfacing procedures are a great way to improve the appearance of your skin. There are many types of resurfacing procedures that cause slight injuries to the skin’s surface, such as chemical peels, dermabrasion, or microneedling. These methods can be tremendously beneficial in refining the skin’s texture and tone. But for the most effective resurfacing, lasers are the answer.
Laser skin resurfacing addresses many of the most common skin concerns. Lasers can treat everything from sunspots, age spots, wrinkles, rosacea, redness, acne scars, and common acne. With the abundance of effective lasers available to address these common skin issues, it can be hard to know which one is right for your skin. The best way to determine the correct treatment for your needs is to schedule a consultation with one of our skincare experts.
Fractional lasers (also known as Fraxel), picosecond lasers (known as PicoSure Laser), and intense pulsed light (IPL) are among the most effective laser treatments on the market today. Each works differently, and there are varying degrees of downtime associated with each laser.
Fractional laser is available as an ablative or non-ablative treatment. Ablative lasers are the most powerful lasers. It removes the top layers of the skin. This controlled injury to the skin promotes collagen production. The body’s reaction is to create new, younger-looking skin. The skin will become tighter, the fine lines are removed, and sunspots disappear. Recovery following treatment with an ablative laser is about a week.
Non-ablative lasers are milder than the ablative laser. They do not entirely remove the outer layers of the skin, so there is less downtime, and the recovery is much shorter. However, more than one treatment may be necessary to achieve the best results. This type of laser is better for people with darker skin because they pose a low risk of hypopigmentation.
Light therapy treatments, also known as IPL’s, are excellent options for improving the skin’s appearance. These lasers are ideal for removing dark spots from sun damage or acne spots, for treating broken capillaries and rosacea. Patients may find that their sun damage or acne spots darken, scab, and then flake off after an IPL treatment. This usually happens within a few days of treatment. While most patients return to work and other activities immediately after an IPL treatment, it is best not to have the treatment before an important social engagement.
PicoSure is the gold-standard in picosecond laser technology. Widely used to remove unwanted tattoos, this laser is also extremely effective in treating pigmented lesions, acne scars, and wrinkles. There is little to no downtime with a PicoSure Facial Laser treatment.
If you’re unhappy with your skin’s appearance, schedule a free consultation with one of our skincare experts at The Skin Care Center at Gulf Coast Plastic Surgery.
