Laser Skin Resurfacing

Specialist Skin Resurfacing Clinic Perth

• Laser resurfacing is also known as ablative skin resurfacing, Sciton laser, Sciton Profractional laser, Contour TRL and the laser peel.
• Laser resurfacing treatments are great for improving sun damage, pigmentation, lines and wrinkles, skin tightening, acne scarring and treating ageing concerns.
• Traditionally the areas treated include the face, neck, chest (décolletage), cheeks, forehead, around eyes (crows’ feet), around mouth (smokers’ lines) and hands.
• Down time required for this treatment ranges from 7-14 days, with pinkness persisting for several weeks.
• Results from skin resurfacing treatments are permanent, however results vary from person to person.

Laser Resurfacing is a treatment to reduce lines and wrinkles, skin laxity, uneven pigmentation, acne scarring and other scarring. It is ideal for the face, neck, chest and hands, and restores healthy, younger-looking skin in just one or two treatments. For treatments on the neck, chest and hands, a lighter resurfacing treatment is performed (ProFractional Laser Resurfacing). For these areas two or more treatments will be required.

The Erbium Laser works in several ways to reduce scarring and reverse the signs of ageing. Erbium resurfacing may be performed over the entire skin surface, or as a fractional treatment which targets a matrix of tiny columns of skin. Full resurfacing removes the upper layers of the skin (stratum corneum and epidermis), and in stronger treatments may also remove skin from the next layer (the dermis). Removal of old epidermal cells markedly improves superficial pigmentation and fine lines or wrinkles. As the laser penetrates the dermis, deeper lines and wrinkles and scarring are targeted. Fractional treatments produce microscopic channels shrinking excess skin and boosting collagen production in the deep layers of your skin, plumping the skin from the inside out. Fractional treatments may be preferred for delicate skin areas such as the neck and decolletage, or when shorter down-time is desired. The overall results of erbium resurfacing are:

For fine lines and light-to-moderate sun damage on the face, excellent results will usually be seen after one treatment. For more advanced sun-damage or ageing, acne scarring or other scarring or treatments in off-face areas, two or more treatments are recommended.

Before the treatment, a local anaesthetic cream will be applied to the skin and left for approximately 90 minutes. Oral analgesics, local anaesthetic injections and Entonox gas will also be used as appropriate. As the laser is passed over your skin, you will feel a warm to hot prickly sensation. Treatment time for a full face is approximately 40 minutes.

Immediately after the treatment, the skin will be cleaned and cooled and a soothing balm will be applied. You will have a burning sensation similar to sunburn for several hours. Your skin will also feel tight, but in most cases, there will be little pain. There will be some mild swelling and sometimes pin-point bleeding, which will dry overnight. Your skin may show a fine pin-point pattern as a result of the fractional laser beams.

For up to a week after the treatment you will see notable redness and moderate swelling, as well as a prominent dry scale/crust on the skin surface. Vaseline should be applied to the face at this time to keep it moist and provide a protective barrier. Peeling will occur after 4-6 days. While the redness will improve markedly from this time, some pinkness can persist for several weeks. This is easily covered with mineral makeup.

Significant improvement in the tone and texture of the skin will be apparent 2 – 3 weeks after treatment, with collagen stimulation continuing for 3 months.

The Week After Your Erbium Laser Resurfacing.

Warning: This is a strong treatment and looks terrible for the first 3-4 days, then rapidly improves.

We’ll Take Good Care of You…

As you can see from the images above, there is significant down time after an Erbium Resurfacing Laser, but don’t worry – our lovely team will take good care of you and your skin throughout the recovery process.

After your treatment we will give you a take-home kit with everything you need to care for your skin in the weeks that follow your Laser Treatment. We also provide a week’s supply of anti-viral medication at no charge. This is to prevent an outbreak of cold sores which, if it occurs, can be severe after Laser Resurfacing.

We like to keep a close eye on you after your treatment, and encourage clients to come in 3 – 4 times (or daily if desired) in the week following your Erbium Laser so our nurses can examine your skin and make sure you are healing well. During these visits we also offer complimentary Dimalux LED light therapy, which helps to speed up healing and reduce redness.

The price for Laser Skin Resurfacing depends on the area treated. Finance is available for all of our treatments through MAC Credit. Finance can also be used to cover travel expenses and accommodation for clients outside of Perth.

In general, Erbium Laser resurfacing is very safe, though some side-effects can occur:

• Redness will be seen in the week after treatment and this can persist for some weeks afterwards.
• Oozing and crusting is expected for the first 3 – 5 days after a resurfacing treatment. We will give you all you need to care for your skin after the treatment.
• Cold sore outbreaks can occur – antiviral medication will be provided to prevent this.
• Temporary increase in pigmentation can occasionally occur, and is more likely in darker skin types.
• Mild acne outbreaks can occur in susceptible individuals.
• A period of skin redness follows resurfacing and may persist for some weeks or months in strong treatments.
• Blisters are very rare but can occasionally occur. These are temporary.
• Bacterial or fungal infections are rare but are possible with any deep laser treatments.
• Loss of pigment or scarring is very rare.

Read more about our other facial treatments including for Erbium laser, skin resurfacing and IPL skin rejuvenation