Laser Skin Treatment: What To Expect From Consultation To Recovery
Your skin is vulnerable to damage throughout your life. Things like acne scars, uneven pigmentation, and uneven skin texture are examples of ways that skin damage manifests itself as you get older. Left unchecked, the look and feel of your skin won’t improve over time. Laser skin treatments are a way to remove the damage and give your skin a healthier appearance.
What a Laser Skin Treatment Is
Your skin has different layers that are involved in protecting your body and generating new skin cells. Damage to the superficial layer of skin will just heal and go back to normal. Damage to the deeper layers, however, is more permanent and will remain in your skin even after your skin has healed. Scars are a perfect example.
Laser skin treatments work to improve the appearance of your skin by removing the damage and promoting the growth of healthy skin cells. The lasers penetrate deep into your skin to target the layers where damage is most prevalent, tightening and resurfacing your skin as it heals.
Types of Laser Skin Treatments
Spalding Drive Plastic Surgery offers different laser skin treatments, which vary depending on the type of laser that is used, the areas that need treatment, and the types of damage that need to be improved.
CO2 Laser
The CO2 laser has a range of treatment depths that allows doctors to treat anything from fine lines to severe scarring around your face and neck. The laser is part of fractional laser resurfacing treatments, which use the laser to create tiny holes in your skin down to the deepest layers. The laser stimulates collagen production within your skin, which is important in maintaining a smooth and tight appearance.
Pulsed Laser
The pulsed laser system works in a similar way to the CO2 laser. Small laser pulses send light into the skin, which is absorbed and then stimulates the collagen layers. The increase in collagen production helps to treat scars, psoriasis, rosacea, facial veins, and scarring.
Clear + Brilliant
The Clear + Brilliant laser delivers heat to your skin layers and disrupts the skin’s texture to promote deep layer healing. Microscopic holes are created in your skin all the way to the deepest layer, destroying damage and prompting your skin to create new healthy skin cells. These cells close the holes all the way to the superficial layer, improving the texture and tone of your skin.
Fraxel Laser
Fraxel laser treatments works like the Clear + Brilliant laser to treat uneven pigmentation, scarring, and sun damage to your face. Patients can have one or multiple treatment sessions to get to the deepest areas of skin damage.
The Consultation
The type of laser treatments that you need will depend on several factors, including your skin tone, pigmentation, texture, and health. The type and extent of the damage to your skin will also come into play. You might have more of a problem with uneven pigmentation compared to someone else who has a problem with deep wrinkles. The consultation is the time for the doctor to assess your skin, its condition, and the type of damage present.
During your consultation, the doctor will sit down with you and discuss what you would like to improve about your skin. You can tell your doctor about anything and everything that bothers you about the look, feel, and texture of your skin. Your doctor will examine your skin to get an idea of the damage, and they will ask you questions about yourself. After gathering all the necessary information and determining the extent of the damage, the doctor will decide which type of laser treatments will do the most good for you.
The consultation is also a chance for you to learn more about your doctor and the procedure. You can look at pictures of previous patients to see their results and the ways their skin changed. You can ask your doctor questions about the procedure, learn more about any potential risks or side effects, and receive guidelines for how to take care of your skin before and after the treatment.
The Recovery
All of these laser treatments are outpatient procedures that last between one to two hours. When the treatment is over, your skin will have some redness and increased sensitivity. It could feel a little sore or tight across your face.
The length and type of laser treatment will determine the total amount of recovery time you will need, but they usually range from one day to one week. While your skin is recovering, you’ll have to take extra special care of it. Special cleansers and topical creams may be recommended or prescribed to keep your skin clean, hydrated, and protected while it heals. Sunscreen will be critical in protecting your skin from additional sun damage while it’s still vulnerable during the recovery.
It might take some time for you to see the full results of your laser treatment. Some treatments take weeks or even months for the effects to become fully apparent. The key during this time period is to continue caring for your skin and to follow your doctor’s instructions. If at any point you have a question or concern about your skin or the recovery, contact your doctor immediately.
Scheduling a Laser Treatment Consultation
Consultations at Spalding Drive Plastic Surgery can be made by calling (310) 275-2467 or by using the Contact page on this site.