Last blog I discussed the benefits of skin rejuvenation with fractional laser treatments and in combination with other laser treatments. Now let’s talk about the day of and the days following your treatment.
Upon arrival, you will be invited into our nice locker room where you can change into a robe for your treatment so there is no worry about getting numbing cream on your clothes. Next you remove any makeup and will wash your face. Following photos to document your progress, numbing cream will be applied to the areas to be treated. For very light setting treatments and some maintenance treatments, no numbing is needed. (I routinely do these treatments with no numbing)
We have 2 waiting areas to wait for the numbing to take effect – you can relax in a lounger or sit in an area more appropriate for working on your computer or reading. You may want to bring a book, magazine or tablet for this time. After 45-60 minutes, the numbing is removed and the laser treatments started.
If a pretreatment was planned, this is done first. Vbeam for redness, IPL, or GentleLase for brown spots for example. Then immediately after this the fractional laser is done. You can feel mild heat and stinging as the laser is moved over the skin in a series of at least 4 passes. With the numbing you will likely not be bothered by this at all. When the treatment is done, your face will be red and puffy and will feel hot. If a separate brown spot treatment was done, we can likely see brown blotches where the dark spots have darkened from that treatment. You can rest in our lounge again with ice packs until the heat sensation cools. You can put makeup on right away or at least sun block or a tinted sun block.
The heat sensation will subside over the next hour as will the redness. Your face may continue to feel puffy for several more hours and even into the next day or two. If blood vessels and redness were treated with the Vbeam this swelling will be exaggerated. After 1-3 days you will start to notice a texture change in your skin. These are the tiny impacts of the laser that can be felt almost like fine sandpaper. If you have a magnifying mirror you may be able to see the individual impacts. These will stay there for about 5-7 days. You can also have a coffee ground looking appearance where the laser treated brown discolorations in your skin. These will go away with the sandpaper feel.
Once the impacts have cleared the skin in about a week, you will notice brighter, smoother, less blotchy skin. Collagen renewal has been stimulated so fine lines and wrinkles will improve over the next 3-9 months. Remember a series of 3-6 treatments is ideal for best results and a good skin care regimen to help your skin respond to the renewal process and defend against ongoing damage from pollution and sun.
