CosBeauty Magazine #98

FEATURE
Laser skin
resurfacing
QUICK FACTS
• Used for overall skin rejuvenation
• Great for sun damage, scarring, lines
and wrinkles, anti-ageing, pigmentation
WHAT IS IT?
Laser is an acronym for Light Amplification
for the Stimulated Emission of Radiation
and is used in the beauty and aesthetics
industry for an array of treatments,
ranging from the correction of skin
irregularities, pigmentation and wrinkles
to hair reduction.
Laser therapies work by targeting tissue.
The target tissue for pigmentation is
melanin, for spider veins it is blood and
for wrinkles it is water. Each of these target
tissues absorb a different wavelength of
light, meaning a different laser is needed
for each specific problem.
The advent of fractionated laser – where
microscopic columns of skin are treated
while surrounding skin is left intact – made
it possible to achieve results comparable
to traditional CO 2
laser resurfacing (which
can take years off your appearance) with
fewer side effects and significantly less
downtime. These lasers work by creating
microscopic thermal injuries that trigger
collagen production, stimulating cell
renewal and plumping out the tissues.
While not a laser, Intense Pulsed Light
(IPL) is another popular light-based
therapy for skin rejuvenation. It penetrates
deeper into the skin than a non-ablative
laser and does not injure the surface,
so there is usually no downtime. It can
improve skin texture and colour as well
as reduce pore size. IPL can effectively
treat some types of hyperpigmentation,
including age spots and freckles.
WHAT DOES IT TREAT?
Specific to skin, the benefits of laser
treatment include improving evenness
of skin tone and texture, reducing pore
size and the appearance of lines and
wrinkles, pigmentation, rosacea and
scarring, and helping to reverse the effects
of sun damage.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT?
Fractionated laser resurfacing is typically
well tolerated. Numbing cream is
applied to help minimise any stinging
or burning sensation.
A milder treatment may take several
sessions, while one procedure is
usually sufficient for a more aggressive
treatment. You should expect some
redness, swelling and stinging like a bad
sunburn, depending on the type of laser
used (ablative vs non-ablative) and the
depth of treatment. This should continue
to dissipate over the hours and days
following the procedure. You may also see
some of the treated skin begin to slough
during the healing process, revealing the
new skin underneath.
Recovery time is generally between one
and four days, but it shouldn’t prevent you
from doing normal daily activities.
You should be able to see improvement
in the texture and tone of your skin within
the first week, but it will take around 3
months for the final results to be apparent
as new collagen and elastin is formed.