What are the benefits and side effects of Laser on facial skin?

Thank you for your question on lasers. Essentially, lasers can be divided into 2 main categories, non ablative, aka pigment lasers, and ablative, aka resurfacing lasers.

Pigment Lasers: Good for skin tone issues

What are the benefits of pigment laser treatment?

1. Lightening of your pigmentation (freckles, age spots, acne marks, tattoos) in general 60 to 90%. Pigments absorb the laser energy. These pigments gradually shatter into smaller fragments and are naturally cleared away by the body.
2. Control of pimples and acne, reduced breakouts and improved oil control. Laser energy can aid in oil control via shrinking oil glands, eliminate P-acne, which is the bacteria that cause pimples and acne, and reduce further breakouts.
3. Brightened, glowing and radiant skin. The laser helps even and lighten your skin tone and makes it brighter and clearer. It cleans the face, removes dead skin cells, oil, impurities.

What are the side effects of pigment laser treatment?

In experienced hands, the risks of a laser treatment are smaller:

1. Laser toning: Generally leads to mild redness.
2. Spot treatment: May result in tiny swelling or brown spots for 3 to 7 days after the treatment.

Is there any downtime?

Essentially no, which is the amazing thing about pigment lasers. A mild facial flushing might be present for 15mins after the laser.

Resurfacing Laser: Good for skin textural issues

What is fractional Skin resurfacing?

1. Fractional laser treatments create micro-thermal zones deep into the skin. The laser vaporizes the microscopic columns of skin while leaving the surrounding tissue untreated.
2. The body’s natural healing process creates new, healthy collagen to replace the columns of affected tissue. Once healed, skin texture improves and lines soften.
3. The results are gradual and people can continue to see improvements in their skin for several months after their last fractional laser treatment.

What are the benefits of fractional laser resurfacing?

Fractional laser skin resurfacing has three significant benefits compared to the traditional laser skin resurfacing:

1. Safety: The fractional array of microbeams is gentler than traditional ablative skin resurfacing.
2. Comfort: Each tiny microbeam focuses on a small area.
3. Downtime: Downtime is controlled, on average 3 to 5 days.

What can you expect after a treatment?

1. Immediately following the treatment, the skin will be red, and feels like a mild sunburn.
2. These effects are normal and temporary and indicate a successful treatment.
3. You may also experience a bronzed look once the redness subsides for approximately 3 days. The bronzed skin will eventually flake off revealing fresh new skin.

What are the potential complications of laser resurfacing?

1. Milia, which are small white bumps, may appear, temporarily in the laser-treated areas during healing.
2. Cold sore may occur, especially after laser skin resurfacing around the mouth.
3. Facial swelling may occur. Patients are encouraged to sleep on an extra pillow at night to help reduce the swelling after laser resurfacing. Cold compress application is also helpful in the first 24-48 hours.

So I hope this answers your question, and you find this helpful. Have a good weekend!