Laser Skin Resurfacing Houston, TX

Non-ablative lasers treat moderate sun damage as well as acne scars and melasma. They work well for fine lines, improving skin texture and producing a glow. The procedure is relatively painless, requiring some numbing cream prior to the treatment and downtime is minimal. The best candidates are people who have minimal or moderate wrinkling or sagging and are willing to have more than one treatment to achieve their goals.

Ablative lasers produce more dramatic results in just one treatment but the procedure requires more downtime. For this treatment, patients are usually given IV sedation or anesthesia. In some cases, patients can be given numbing cream for about an hour and lidocaine may be used to further numb the skin. In some cases, nitrous oxide might be used to make the patient more comfortable. Since the top layer of skin, the epidermis, is removed, the underlying skin is raw and more painful than the skin after a non-ablative laser treatment.. Patients who request this procedure are those with significant wrinkling and sagging and who may have deep acne scarring. These are patients who can stay home from work to recover, but once they’re healed they don’t require another treatment.

The time it takes to heal from laser skin resurfacing depends on the type of laser used. For those undergoing the treatment with a non-ablative laser, downtime is minimal. Since the outer layer of skin remains intact, patients may experience mild redness or swelling for a few days to a week, but most patients can return to work and their regular routine on the same day. For those undergoing an ablative laser treatment, downtime is about 2 weeks. The skin will appear red and raw, similar to a bad sunburn, and some patients may experience oozing, redness, and swelling. Most patients experience stinging like a sunburn for about 24 hours, but don’t have pain that requires pain medication. An antibiotic ointment is applied to the skin for 7 days, then an occlusive ointment, followed by a bland moisturizer around day 10-14.

Laser skin resurfacing works great for mild to severe skin conditions. It treats fine lines to deep wrinkles, sagging, skin texture, skin tone, dynamic wrinkles such as crows feet and smokers lines, and acne scars. For my patients, I use either Lumenis CO2 for fractionated or fully ablative resurfacing or Lutronic LaseMD Ultra for nonablative resurfacing. Depending on the extent of sun damage, hyperpigmentation, wrinkling, sagging or scarring, I will recommend one of these lasers. No matter which laser we choose we will be using thermal destruction to strategically damage cells so they slough off and allow fresher skin to emerge while collagen is stimulated.