The Newest in Skin Resurfacing and Rejuvenation is Now Available
Over time, skin ages and loses its youthful appearance. Wrinkles appear around the eyes, fine lines bloom around the lips, and age spots surface on the hands. While some of these factors are natural, many of the visible signs of aging are caused by the sun. Repeated sun exposure can also cause what are commonly called age spots, or liver spots. They don’t have anything to do with your liver, but have everything to do with sun. An ‘age spot’ is actually a solar lentigo – a small bit of pigmentation caused by sun exposure.
Today, dermatologists now have available a large array of light-based strategies to treat aging and photoaged skin. The newest technology currently available is the fractionated laser devices. If you think facial resurfacing procedures are just cosmetic, think again. Facial resurfacing techniques – medical treatments that improve the look and feel of skin – are popular with patients looking to treat signs of photoaging (premature aging caused by ultraviolet exposure) like wrinkles, fine lines, leatheriness, discoloration, and sagging skin. But research now shows that facial resurfacing used restore skin’s youthful appearance may help prevent skin cancer, too.
The use of lasers involves recruiting a single specific wavelength of light to treat a plethora of skin conditions. Historically, most lasers for this purpose were fully ablative, meaning they removed the skin’s top layer to reveal a softer, smoother skin surface. The downside of this traditional technology was the longer recovery time following the procedure.
Fractionated lasers are among the newest technologies in laser photorejuvenation. “Fractionated” means that the light energy is broken up into and delivered as neat columns instead of being transmitted in a large bolus (a single, large, concentrated dose) as is common with traditional lasers. This allows for deeper levels of penetration, quicker and better healing, and more evenly distributed results.
The fractionated ablative laser (10,600 nm; one example is the Active FXTM laser) removes the top layers of the skin, allowing newer, healthier skin to grow. The results are often dramatic, with tightening of the skin and the removal of superficial wrinkles, sun spots, and some broken blood vessels. The healing time after the procedure is approximately five days and very well-tolerated.
If you are interested in this new and exciting procedure, please contact our office at (856) 596-3040 to schedule a no-obligation consultation.
http://www.skincancer.org/healthy-lifestyle/anti-aging/what-is-photoaging
http://www.skincancer.org/healthy-lifestyle/anti-aging/light-for-light