Noticed a few more lines and wrinkles lately? If you'd like to lose your lines and wrinkles, laser skin treatments are very effective. Laser skin resurfacing removes the top layer of your skin to uncover the smoother, fresher skin underneath.
The treatment softens deep lines and fine wrinkles until they disappear, leaving your skin smoother, fresher and more youthful.
Wrinkles occur because all layers of the skin become thinner with increasing age, some of the thinning is due to changes in the dermis, and with increasing age there is a progressive loss of the main support tissue, collagen, and damage to the elastin fibres in the skin.
The upper layer of skin, the epidermis, also becomes progressively thinner with increasing age, continuous contraction of the tiny facial muscles attached to the deeper part of the skin also lead to wrinkling, producing permanent "laughter lines" around the eyes and frown lines on the forehead.
Laser skin resurfacing treatments can promote regenerative changes in the epidermis and an increase in the amount of collagen in the dermis. These changes also generate a greater distribution of melanin and also an increase the blood supply to the skin. It has been claimed that the increase in skin collagen, following laser skin treatment, is a permanent phenomenon.
Most facial wrinkling can be improved by skin resurfacing using the CO2 and Erbium: YAG lasers. The effect of these lasers depends on the severity of the wrinkling and the type of results expected to be achieved will be discussed at consultation.
Patients with mild wrinkling may expect the majority of their wrinkles to go, patients with a severe degree of wrinkling will usually see a marked improvement in their wrinkles, but it would be unusual for them to disappear altogether and a combination treatment may be required. Please be advised more than one laser treatment may be necessary to achieve the best results.
The CO2 and Erbium: YAG lasers restructure the skin by applying very high laser power in very short bursts to the affected area. Because of the sophisticated technology involved, there is minimal damage to the skin and so the risks of scarring are very low.
Laser skin treatment with the CO2 and the Erbium: Yag laser may only require a local anesthetic cream which is applied to the areas that are going to be treated. Paracetamol tablets taken one hour before the skin treatment, and six hourly afterwards, can be also be helpful.
Once the anesthetic has worked, the eyes are protected with moist gauze and special goggles. The laser skin treatment is usually completed within thirty minutes to an hour but depends on the number of laser passes that are necessary. Around the mouth, two to five
In addition to laser skin resurfacing, other effective skin care treatments include L-ascorbic acid or a course of glycolic peels, which can commence six to twelve months after the laser procedure if required.
It is very unusual to develop scarring following the use of the resurfacing lasers. The skin treatment lasers have been designed to very exacting technological standards to try and ensure as far as possible that scarring is not a possibility. However, very rarely, a minor degree of scarring has been reported in a small minority of patients, this can be rectified by using a different laser
The most common post-operative complication is post-laser therapy hyper-pigmentation. This increased pigmentation in the skin is much more common in people who tan easily. This almost always happens in black and Asian skin and caution should be taken if treatment is to be carried out in people with this skin type. Glycolic acid peels can be an alternative to laser for people with darker coloured skin.
Pro.med specialise in darker skin tones have lasers systems designed for resurfacing the skin without causing hyper-pigmentation
Hypo-pigmentation can also occur after laser resurfacing treatments. In this condition the skin has less pigment and will look paler than previously. This is usually mild and best treated with sun blocking creams. SPF 30 is recommended.
Following a skin resurfacing procedure, the treated area will look red, sore and swollen. This is because the top layers of the skin (epidermis) have been punctured and thermal heat is trapped underneath the skin. It is normal for the treated area to look slightly burnt and a few blistered areas may be visible. This is the healing process beginning to work and the recovery is very quick
The swelling will subside within four to five days, but patients may experience some crusting as the skin begins to heal. If crusting is experienced, then the affected area may, very carefully be cleansed/soaked with a clean flannel and tepid water. DO NOT attempt to dislodge or pick off any of these crusts, as the delicate new skin underneath will become scarred (full aftercare instructions will be given on the day of the procedure and can also be viewed in this section).
It is quite usual for the treated area to remain red for several weeks after the procedure. This is absolutely normal and is one of the positive signs that the laser skin treatment has worked. The redness is due to an increased number of blood vessels in the skin, which will help to keep it healthy in the future. Eventually the redness will fade. This may take between six weeks and four months (in exceptional cases), and patients may initially benefit from the use of our L-ascorbic acid and glycolic acid products, which will help to reduce the duration of any redness.
To minimise the risk of pigmentation, it is extremely important that you use a sunscreen of SPF 30 for at least six months following laser skin treatment, to protect the skin from harmful ultraviolet rays. We advise the use of sunblock, which is available from Pro.med clinics. The best results are seen six to ten months after the laser skin resurfacing procedure. It is quite possible to repeat the treatment on any remaining wrinkles on your face. It has been found however, that most patients are satisfied with the results of the initial laser procedure and because of this, requests for a second skin treatment are uncommon.