If aging or acne has left your face with wrinkles, laser skin resurfacing may get you that dewy, airbrushed glow back, regardless of age. Laser skin resurfacing eliminates skin layer by layer. The new skin cells generated during healing make the skin tighter. Laser Skin Resurfacing.
What Are Lasers And How They Work?
So what is a laser? According to NASA, the word stands for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. In dermatology, laser refers to a skin-resurfacing modality, which uses heat and light energy to improve the skin’s tone, texture, and color. It achieves this by making a well-managed injury in the tissue, which triggers the body to kick start a healing response. The well-managed skin damage leads to accelerated collagen production, which reduces with age.
If you are considering laser skin resurfacing but want to evaluate some background information first, or you wish to explore more alternatives to treat your skincare issues, consider this analysis your thesaurus.
1. Ablative Laser Treatments
Treatment Targets: The techniques improve skin tone and texture and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. They are often deployed to treat scars, warts, and other persistent skin challenges.
Expectations: Anticipate a one-week downtime, with redness, which persists for about two weeks. Ablative treatments are the most effective at decreasing wrinkles and getting rid of skin discoloration. The methods are also linked with the most prolonged recovery duration.
Effectiveness: They are recognized as the most effective techniques for wrinkle removal.
2. Non-Ablative Laser Treatments
Treatment Targets: The techniques are majorly utilized in treating skin discoloration, including melisma, dark spots, and freckles. They also come in handy when tackling hyperpigmentation.
Expectations: Non-ablative lasers enter the skin in a fractionated motif linked with considerably shorter downtime. A substantially shorter downtime compared to ablative laser treatment. Patients can expect to have a mild discoloration for roughly three days.
Effectiveness: Non-ablative lasers are tremendously effective at rejuvenating beauty to the skin. However, they often demand multiple treatments for effective results.
3. Broad-Band Light Treatments
Treatment Targets: They are extremely good at improving color balance by decreasing hyperpigmentation. These techniques are well-suited for reestablishing a glowing complexion.
Expectations: The beauty of these techniques is that they are associated with minimal downtime. It is primarily a round of short blasts of light.
Effectiveness: Though little downtime is linked to these techniques, multiple treatments are necessary for fantastic outcomes.
Preparing For Laser Resurfacing
- Start by checking with a dermatologist to know if you qualify for the procedure.
- Inform your doctor whether you get cold sores around the mouth. The procedure can cause breakouts in vulnerable people.
- If you go ahead and have the procedure, the dermatologist will request you not to swallow any drugs, which can impact clotting for about a week before surgery.
- Smokers are advised to stop for a fortnight before and after laser skin resurfacing. Tobacco prolongs the healing duration.
- The dermatologist might recommend antibiotic medication in advance to curb bacterial infections.
What To Anticipate During And After Laser Skin Resurfacing
The laser skin resurfacing procedure is conducted by a dermatologist. It is an outpatient treatment. The dermatologist might treat the wrinkles individually or treat the whole face. For small facial regions, the dermatologist will numb the facial areas to be treated with a local anesthetic. You will need general anesthesia if the whole face is undergoing the procedure.
Treating some facial parts takes roughly half an hour. An entire facial procedure demands virtually two hours. After the treatment, the dermatologist will dress the treated facial regions. After a day, you have to clean the treated facial areas four times and apply an ointment to inhibit scabs’ formation. Also, note that it is typical to swell after the procedure. The dermatologist might recommend steroids to regulate swelling around the eyes. An additional pillow can also mitigate the swelling.
How To Take Of Your Skin After Laser Skin Resurfacing Treatment
Below, we have listed several ways of taking care of skin after laser treatment, including:
1. Stay Out Of The Sun
Immediately after a laser skin resurfacing procedure, the skin is pretty sensitive. Any contact with ultra-violet (UV) rays is expected to be worse than it ordinarily would be. To mitigate the threat of distress and other types of skin damage, you must reduce your sunshine duration after the procedure. Seek shaded areas when you are outdoors. It is wise to put on a hat to keep the sun’s UV rays at bay.
In addition, ensure you wear sunscreen daily. Get a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 and reapply it frequently across the day. UV rays penetrate through windows too, and that is why you should always protect your skin.
2. Mildly Wash The Area
It is vital to keep your recently treated skin clean. Hence, you must get creative to achieve proper cleansing, depending on how severe the procedure was. The dermatologist may suggest washing the skin with a saline solution during the first few days after the process.
4. Mitigate Swelling
After the laser skin resurfacing procedure, redness and swelling are expected, especially after ablative treatments, impacting the epidermis. Ice and cold compresses can help mitigate swelling and reduce redness. They also soothe irritated skin.
5. Keep The Skin Moisturized
The dermatologist will likely suggest a certain kind of moisturizer after the procedure. It is usually the norm to apply petroleum jelly after an ablative procedure. The petroleum jelly helps hydrate the skin, and it also creates a shield that keeps germs at bay.
6. Avoid Strong Ingredients
If you apply strong skincare products laced with retinol, stop using them for a few days after the laser skin resurfacing procedure. Skin recovery is a delicate process, and any strong ingredients can cause harm to the recovering skin. The dermatologist will let you know the proper time to resume your regular skincare routine.
7. Keep Your Head Elevated
Sleeping with your head up helps decrease swelling after the procedure. Try elevating your head using pillows and sleeping on your back for a few days. And during the day, you are advised to avoid bending forward.
Final Thought
Laser skin resurfacing treatments are outpatient procedures, which are non-invasive and take a shorter duration to heal. You don’t have to stay at home for a month during the healing process—it’s just that your skin will be red, raw and scab over as it heals. Soon after you will feel comfortable.