Sun damage, wrinkles and other signs of age can effectively be treated with one of the two fractional technologies. The range of treatments vary in aggressiveness, downtime, and results. The most aggressive treatment, CO2 fractional, can produce dramatic improvement for severely damaged skin with a single treatment procedure, but will require more downtime and after treatment wound care. The less aggressive non-ablative fractional treatment can produce significant results for mild to moderately damaged skin over the course of several treatments with little to no downtime or wound care required.
The non-ablative fractional lasers have lower energy levels than ablative lasers (which resurface or remove the outer layer of skin completely), and try to cause damage within the dermal layer of the skin without removal of the top layers of skin. That is to say that the laser treats the layers of skin under the surface without damaging the surface too much. This lessens the recovery period after the treatment and reduces the number of complications that can occur.
The lasers heat in the dermal layers causes collagen to be produced which helps reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles. Non-ablative lasers are effective at treating small to medium wrinkles.
The fractional CO2 laser heats water within the surface layers of the skin, causing both the water and the tissue of the skin to turn to vapor. Every time the laser passes over the skin, some of the outermost layers of the skin are removed in a precise and controlled way to the appropriate depth.
The skin then heals over a period of time, as new layers of collagen are produced. The treatment results in an improvement in the appearance of sun damaged or acne scarred skin. In addition, the post treatment skin will have a healthy look along with a better texture and tone.
This intensive treatment can significantly reduce the appearance of lines, wrinkles, and pigment (or skin color) changes on the face, neck, and other parts of the body. They can be used in sensitive areas, such as lines around the lips, eyes and even eyelids, or over the whole of the face. Acne and other types of scars and certain stretch marks can also be improved.
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