LASERS & TREATMENTS

Turn Back The Clock
Anti-aging Laser Treatments

By Elizabeth Rostan, MD

Filed Under

Quick Look

AGING SKIN

Around age 30, our skin stops producing collagen. Aging and sun damage lead to collagen loss as well as loss of elastic tissue in our skin. Collagen can be thought of as the strength of our skin and elastin the stretch or rebound of our skin. This collagen and elastin loss continues and leads to fine lines, sagging skin, wrinkles, and texture changes.

VISIBLE SIGNS

As we age, skin visibly changes in several way and a lot of it has to do with things beyond your control-

BELOW-THE-SKIN

Effects and changed appearance of your face.

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Loss of fat above the skin

(cheeks, chin, nose and eye area)

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Loss of elasticity/ Sagging skin

(hands, decollete, cheeks, eye hollows jowls and sagging neck)

LET’S TALK SKIN

Don’t be alarmed! Wrinkles are a natural part of aging but this aging is greatly accelerated by sun exposure. A few lifestyle changes you can start early 20s – 30s that can help minimize wrinkles:

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Today we will focus on the laser treatments used to rejuvenate and renew skin and help you understand how we think of these treatments as the fountain of youth and bring some understanding to the many options of lasers.

Goldilocks System
A Family Of Fractional Lasers

Start a good skin care regimen, sun avoidance and collagen stimulating treatments sooner rather than later (just like your savings accounts).

I like to refer to the family of fractional lasers as the Goldilocks bear family:

Laser Toning

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Laser toning refers to these treatments I have been describing that are designed to “wake-up” the skin – stimulate collagen and renew the deeper part (dermis) of your skin so that on the surface it looks more radiant and fresh

Laser toning can be achieved with a variety of devices:

  • + IPL (intense pulsed light)
  • + Low energy q-switched laser
  • + Vbeam pulsed dye laser
  • + Fractional Non-ablative Laser (the Hollywood facial)

How to Choose?

A Fractional Skin Rejuventation Treatment

Before

Start antiaging skin care routine and avoid sun

Priming

Change into gown, remove jewerly, wash face and take your photos. Numbing gel is messy so don’t have your best hair or expect your hair to get quite messy.

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.

During

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.

After

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.

Result

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.

The Most Out Of Your Skin Care
for your anti-aging laser treatments

After a collagen stimulating laser treatment, your skin rebuilds and restores collagen, elastin and intracellular materials. There are skin care products that enhance and support your skin’s healing response. We feel these are essential to getting the most out of your anti-aging laser treatment. for your anti-aging laser treatments

Peptide Creams and Serums