Removing the upper layers of skin to reveal softer, smoother more even toned, more youthful skin is the process of skin resurfacing. Lasers, chemical peels and microdermabrasion can assist in decreasing fine to deep lines, uneven pigmentation, acne scars, decrease pore size and assist in tightening collagen fibers.
CO2, dermabrasion and fractional lasers have the ability to penetrate deep into the skin layers to remove heavy wrinkles, acne scars and uneven pigmentation. Often referred to as ablative lasers they will remove the surface skin layers through vaporization. Significant recovery is associated with this type of treatment often causing severe redness, swelling and oozing when treated with dermabrasion or CO2 laser. The fractional lasers will partially ablate the epidermis, leaving much of the surface intact. The skin is vaporized in a dot like pattern leaving the healthy skin to initiate faster skin regeneration. Side effects and downtime is significantly reduced as compared to the totally ablative procedures. For both types of treatments, ablative or partially ablative, the healing is initiated when the skin starts to rebuild itself. Only one or two treatments are usually needed for effective outcomes.
Additional skin resurfacing techniques include plasma skin resurfacing, chemical peels and microdermabrasion. Plasma skin resurfacing rapidly heats the skin so when healing takes place the outer layer sloughs off and new skin emerges. Chemical peels have 3 strengths to resurface skin from light to deep. Chemical compounds are applied to the skin to remove the upper surface layers. The depth chosen indicates how deep and how much recovery time will be needed for healing. Microdermabrasion is the least invasive of all the skin resurfacing procedures. Superficial layers of skin are removed through a light scraping and gentle suction. Several treatments are needed as results are cumulative. Discuss your skin resurfacing needs with your cosmetic specialist to decide which procedure is right for you. |
