Freshen Your Skin with Fractional LASER

Serving Chattanooga, Tennessee

he key to preserving a youthful facial appearance lies in an organized approach to the problems of aging. Three changes occur as we grow older. We tend to lose volume or fat in our faces. Both this volume loss, and the Earth's pesky gravity, lead to a downward displacement of our facial skin and muscles (sag). Finally, sun exposure and aging negatively impact the quality of our skin. Any plastic surgeon accustomed to treating the aging face will approach his patients with techniques and treatments which address all three issues. Facelift is only one of several techniques that can be used successfully. Quality injectables have added a new level of easy management with respect to facial volume losses and some areas of active wrinkling. However, predictable, minimal down-time, skin treatments have been harder to find.

As we age, our skin thins. This thinning can lead to the fine type wrinkling that causes our skin to resemble crepe paper. We also undergo pigment changes with spotting and freckling that makes our complexion sallow and uneven. The actual immune action of our skin weakens and we develop more spider veins and early skin cancers. All of which is decidedly not a youthful appearance.

For skin care, I always recommend that my patients begin to employ a retinol or Vitamin A product as well as a fruit acid solution as part of their usual skin care management. I tell them that sun protectants and skin care should be a part of their daily management. Classically, various acid-type peals were and are still recommended.

About 12 years ago, I became involved in the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) LASER treatment of aging skin. At that time, the LASER systems available produced great results. But, they required a significant anesthesia to perform, and a good bit of down time to heal. The CO2 LASER was used to burn off the top surfaces of damaged skin allowing the deep surfaces to heal into a more youthful appearance. The extended period of healing was difficult for patients to accommodate with their work schedules.

I would like to introduce you to FRACTIONAL LASER TECHNOLOGY. This fascinating concept employs all the best elements of the old LASER techniques while almost eliminating the old LASER period of healing. FRAXEL LASERs treat the skin with a burst of tiny LASER perforations which are programmed by a computer. The treatments take no more than a half hour and are usually repeated monthly for about three months. The clinical result is that skin quality improves markedly. Pigment evens, fine lines are softened, and spider veins recede. Most of all, downtime from treatment contracts to about the time needed to heal a sunburn. Redness and swelling usually resolve by day three with minimal risk of blistering and scarring.

What's more is that the safety of FRAXEL technology has widened the application of LASER skin care to the neck, hands, and décolleté. These areas were strictly "off limits" to previous LASER treatment. It also provides reliable results in the management of difficult problems like acne scarring. This technology has become a mainstay in the battle against aging. Coupled with today's volume enhancing injectables, and modern face and eyelifts, FRAXEL skin treatments should bring us one step closer to the goal of halting and even reversing the effects of aging on our faces. For more information regarding FRAXEL LASERS and skin care management visit our website at REFINEDLOOKS.COM.