Lasers: No Pain, No Gain?

Lasers have earned the status of "miracle treatment" for many skin concerns: rosacea, age spots, wrinkles, hair removal, scar treatments and more. But the idea of having a laser zap your skin directly, possibly in multiple succession? That would make even the toughest of us squirm a little.

Truth be told, in the land of lasers there is a common misperception that you have to grit your teeth and bare it. It's time to toss this idea. No matter what laser procedure on your calendar, you shouldn’t have to be gearing yourself up mentally for it by chanting the mantra “no pain, no gain.”

The key? It's simple: pain management. Pain killers, numbing creams and advancements in laser technology are all ways to minimize—even eliminate—laser-related pain. Your doctor should advise you on your best options based on his or her knowledge of the lasers in the practice and also be the one who provides those solutions. Laser companies also know that if they can minimize pain and enhance comfort, they’ll keep both patients and practices happy. For example, one way newer laser technologies can achieve this is with an attachment that literally cools the skin during treatment.

At the end of the day, you shouldn't find your laser treatments painful and uncomfortable. If you do, it's time to request a different laser or move on to a different practice!

Sun Damage? Un-Damage

As most of us know, the sun is the primary culprit of speeding up the aging process. Damaging UV rays create deeper lines around the eyes and mouth, an uneven complexion speckled with age spots and broken capillaries, and yes, that dreaded increased risk for skin cancer.

Granted, these days we're smarter: sunblock is part of the daily product regime, tanning is passe. But despite our best protection efforts, chances are at the end of the sunshine season, our skin could use a little help to combat the effects of the summer sun.

Meet the fractional erbium 2940 laser. Skin rejuvenation with this low energy laser improves fine lines and wrinkles, sun damage and mild skin laxity. (Got acne scars? It’ll improve the appearance of those too!).

The fractional technology available today offers several advantages over the traditional ablative technology of decades past. Because it creates limited damage to the skin, it's more comfortable, healing time is faster (which minimizes the chances of scarring, infection and long-term pigment changes), and downtime is limited to a few days as compared with 2 weeks for ablative laser resurfacing.

Here’s how it works: The fractional laser creates microscopic points of injury into the skin, leaving surrounding tissue intact. As part of the body’s natural healing process, new healthy tissue forms, boosting collagen in the skin and also creating a tightening effect. Once healing has taken place, skin texture improves and lines soften. Results are gradual and you can expect to see improvements over the 3 months following your treatment.

So as we bid adieu to summer, and turn our faces to post-summer skin damage repair, let's think fractional laser for facial rejuvenation.