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Lasers might conjure up images of steel-splitting heat and sci-fi movie scenes but, suggested by a medical doctor or medically-trained therapist, ‘laser’ can be a good thing for your skin – a very good thing.
Dr Leon Goldman pioneered the use of lasers in dermatology back in the 1960s, and ever since then, laser-based treatments have gained popularity for targeting and relieving a whole host of skin concerns. Now, laser is known to treat a bunch of skin issues, from ageing and scarring to pigmentation and sun spot removal, along with getting rid of unwanted tattoos and improving your complexion.
Essentially, lasers deliver a single wavelength of intense, focused energy rapidly absorbed by specific molecules or proteins in the skin. Within the context of a treatment, this focused energy is used to target a particular area without damaging the surrounding skin.
As with any treatment or procedure, though, it’s key to do your homework first, seek a professional’s advice – like the medical aesthetic professionals at Skin Renewal – and clearly understand what you want to achieve.
Let’s get into the different types of lasers and what they could do for you.
Different wavelengths, different applications
The wavelength of the laser is determined by what you want to be targeted. For example, a different wavelength is needed to target water versus haemoglobin (protein in red blood cells) or even melanin (natural pigment). That’s because, when a laser beam is absorbed by water in the skin, the skin cells are vaporised, as opposed to when a laser beam is absorbed by haemoglobin, heat is transferred to the blood vessel walls, causing them to collapse or rupture, as opposed to when pigment absorbs a laser beam, the pigment is broken into smaller pieces and removed by your body.
There are four main types of laser to choose from:
- Vascular Lasers – Used to target haemoglobin, vascular lasers effectively treat superficial blood vessels (e.g. spider veins), rosacea, cherry angiomas, and vascular birthmarks.
- Pigment-Reducing Lasers – Used to target melanin or tattoo ink, pigment-reducing lasers are used to treat sunspots, tattoos, and pigmented birthmarks, such as port-wine stains.
- Hair Removal Lasers – Used to target melanin in hair follicles, lasers specifically for hair removal convert energy into heat, which damages the follicle, preventing the hair from growing back.
- Resurfacing Lasers – By targeting water within the skin cells, resulting in thermal damage, resurfacing lasers (non-ablative, ablative or fractional) cause a minor injury which forces the skin to generate new collagen, improving the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, scars, and even superficial pigment, throughout a series of treatments.
There are different types of resurfacing lasers:
- NON-ABLATIVE resurfacing lasers penetrate the second layer of the skin without disrupting the first layer: you may experience minimal discomfort, some skin redness and mild swelling, with a relatively quick recovery time.
- ABLATIVE resurfacing lasers penetrate the first and second layers of skin. It stimulates collagen growth, improving the firmness and texture of the skin. This is more aggressive than non-ablative lasers, with a longer recovery time.
- FRACTIONAL resurfacing lasers can be ablative or non-ablative. Rather than treating 100% of the skin’s surface, they treat a “fraction” of the skin. For example, a mild fractional treatment may treat less than 10% of the skin’s surface, and an aggressive fractional treatment may treat more than 50% of the skin’s surface.
As with any new skincare treatment, product or procedure, it’s essential to chat with a trusted aesthetics professional, like your Skin Renewal medical doctor or medically-trained therapist (who knows your medical history), to figure out if the treatment/procedure is not only aligned with your #SkinGoals but that you’re a good candidate for it, given your age, health, allergies or other wellness-related factors.
