Laser skin resurfacing works by taking energy from a laser beam. By doing so it can help to rid of wrinkles, scars and rejuvenate your skin. More commonly people undergo the procedure to the face but it can also be performed on other areas around the bodies surface. People often have laser skin resurfacing joined with a facelift.
As with other similar procedures such as dermabrasion or a chemical peel, laser skin resurfacing attempts to strip the skins top layer which then allows new cells to come through and thus leaves your skin looking younger. It’s usually performed at a surgery or a local doctors but can also be performed at a hospital.
The medical procedure varies in time and could take as little as a couple of minutes or up to a few hours. The laser is controlled and run up and down the area of treatment with the surgeon also controlling how deep the beam penetrates.
The doctor will use either a pulsed carbon dioxide laser which is the more powerful and used for major corrections such as whole areas of the face. This is due to the fact it can cause discrepancies in the skin’s color. Or erbium: yttrium aluminium garnet Er:YAG will be used which is more used for correcting smaller areas and for those with less light skin tone.
Dressing will stay for a few days after surgery and you’ll be advised to wash with cetaphil soap two days into recovery. Using Vaseline is also important, you will likely be told to soak the skin area where the resurfacing has taken place in water for around twenty minutes in set times throughout the day. If pulsed carbon dioxide laser treatment has been used then the recovery will be longer than with erbium: yttrium aluminium garnet.