Laser Skin Resurfacing

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Skin resurfacing can produce some of the most wonderful changes for skin problems including wrinkles, scars (including acne scars), pigment irregularities, sun damage and poor complexion. Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion among patients as to what type of resurfacing procedure is necessary to accomplish the desired improvement. 

 There are a lot of new procedures being advertised and many are promising the world with no downtime. In some situations, these claims are valid, in others they are not. When it comes to wrinkles, scars, and advanced sun damage, only true resurfacing procedures will accomplish the goals of most people. 

Skin resurfacing is best categorized by depth of resurfacing superficial, medium, and deep. There are three basic means to resurface skin: laser, dermabrasion, and chemical peels. Each is capable of resurfacing at any depth. However, laser resurfacing offers the most precision and control as well as faster recovery. The degree of improvement is directly related to the depth of resurfacing; the deeper the resurfacing, the better the results, but the longer the down time.  

Superficial resurfacing is best accomplished using our Scition erbium laser adjusted to remove just the top layer of skin. This is called an Artic Peel and produces a very nice improvement in complexion, tone, and pigment irregularities. This laser peel takes one to two days to recover from. Makeup can be worn during recovery. A series of these treatments combined with bleaching creams and Retin-A produces long lasting improvement in your skin. This treatment is best suited to those with mild signs of aging and sun damage who are looking to improve both tone and texture but don't have deeper lines, wrinkles or extensive sun spots.

Our Micro Laser Peel, a medium depth resurfacing, is the best way to treat mild to moderate wrinkles as well as more advanced pigment and texture problems such as Melasma and acne scars. These peels are done with the Sciton erbium laser and can be expected to make long term improvements in your skin. A medium depth peel is typically done as a single treatment and requires about five to seven days of healing time. This is a very popular peel because of the dramatic improvement with a still reasonable healing time. The effects of this peel are long lasting, though you may want to repeat a peel like this every year or two to keep your skin fresh. 

Deep peels are the gold standard of skin resurfacing. With a deep peel dramatic improvement in wrinkles, pigmentation problems, surface irregularities, and scars is achieved. You should expect two weeks of healing before wearing make-up and about six weeks for total healing.

 A new treatment regimen which allows us to approach the results of the deeper laser peels without the longer recovery time is to combine the proven Micro Laser Peel with the new Sciton ProFractional laser treatment. The ProFractional laser punches deep, microscopic holes that are surrounded by healthy skin. This stimulates a more robust wound healing response and therefore more collagen formation resulting in smoother, tighter, and healthier skin. When combined with the Micro Laser Peel the results are synergistic, that is the sum of the whole is greater than the parts. Most patients have a long weekend recovery time from this procedure. 

The effectiveness of all laser resurfacing procedures are enhanced with the use of high quality medical grade skin care and botulinum toxin treatments such as BOTOX® Cosmetic and Dysport®. Botulinum toxin weakens the underlying muscles allowing the skin to heal without the cracks and wrinkles caused by muscle activity.

To learn more about our Sciton laser resurfacing, click here.