Skin Resurfacing with a Fractional Laser
Signs of skin aging include dullness, rough texture, blotchy pigmentation, sunspots, wrinkles and fine lines. And with age, the appearance of acne scars usually worsen. To draw an analogy, think of damaged skin as weathered wood: Dull, discolored, rough, lined and cracked. However, after this wood has been finely sanded, the color is clear, the texture smooth and satiny and the lines are diminished. This is similar to how a laser treats damaged aged skin.
There are several ways to ablate (sand-down) the skin: chemical peels, laser peels, laser resurfacing, or fractional laser resurfacing. All ablate or destroy the damaged skin but some techniques require deep sedation or general anesthesia and are associated with discomfort, risk of scarring, changes in skin pigmentation and significant downtime. This is avoided when the laser is in a fractional mode.
At the Randali Centre, we use the Pixel Erbium laser (by Alma) for Fractional Skin Resurfacing. This laser creates tiny ablative zones wherein the epidermis and upper dermis are destroyed or ablated. The surrounding areas of intact skin cells repopulate the ablated zones within 24 hours. Because of this reservoir of intact skin, delicate skin areas such as the neck, chest and hands can be resurfaced—areas which were always “off limits” to prior ablative techniques. Healing is rapid, and as it triggers production of new collagen, it is an excellent treatment for acne scarring.
This procedure takes about 20–30 minutes. The Zimmer Cooler is used making resurfacing virtually painless. Following treatment, a tolerable, tingling, sunburn-like sensation is noticed for 2–3 hours. This is easily managed with Ibuprofen. Slight swelling (generally perceived only by the patient) may occur for a day or two. The ablated skin may initially appear “tanned,” and as new skin replaces dead tissue, mild flaking (not peeling) will occur. Skin looks better almost immediately and steadily improves over the next few months. Generally three to five sessions spaced two to three weeks apart yield the best results. Providing the effective results of ablative resurfacing without its prolonged healing period, this procedure combines the best of both worlds.
Laser Skin Rejuvenation Offers Faster Recovery
Unlike a typical CO2 laser, our Fractionated Erbium laser minimizes risk, is virtually painless and offers rapid recovery. By increasing volume with products like Sculptra combined with more traditional non-surgical facelift methods our clients benefit from a more natural lookingskin rejuvenation treatment with faster recovery times.
