Whether you’re looking to reduce wrinkles, minimize scars, or improve overall skin texture, CO2 laser treatment could be the answer.
What Does Fractional CO2 Laser Do?
Fractional CO2 laser is a cosmetic procedure that improves skin texture, tone, and overall appearance. The laser ablates the top layer of skin removing sun damage as well as creates microscopic channels in the skin, known as microthermal zones. These processes stimulate the body’s natural healing response, which promotes collagen production and triggers the replacement of damaged skin with new, healthier tissue.
Key Benefits of Fractional CO2 Laser Treatment
Who Is a Good Candidate?
Fractional CO2 laser is a versatile treatment suitable for patients of various ages and skin concerns. Ideal candidates include those looking to improve fine lines/wrinkles, scarring, and/or dark spots. It is safest for patients with lighter skin tones (Fitzpatrick I-III).
The Procedure
A fractional CO2 laser procedure can be performed in the clinic or operating room. Here’s what you can expect during the treatment:
The laser treatment is customized based on skin, treatment areas, and goals. The laser can also be performed in the OR setting and combined with additional facial rejuvenation procedures such as eyelid surgery or facelift surgery.
Recovery Process
Please contact the Appearance Center to consult with a qualified practitioner.
Not only are we wrapping up the summer, but September is Skin Care Awareness Month. We of course remind you to remain vigilant about sunscreen, but we also want to help you to start taking even better care of your skin with some of our in-office procedures.
Here are our three favorite ways to improve skin texture and appearance, from least to most invasive:
PEEL
Indications: Pigmentation, active acne, sun-damaged skin, fine lines and wrinkles.
How it works: Chemicals penetrate layers of the skin and promote rapid cell turnover and collagen synthesis. It also clears dead skin cells and oils. This helps create brighter, more even, and smoother skin. Select ingredients also work to reduce dark spots or treat active acne lesions. Best results are achieved with a series of peels.
Recovery: You will likely have significant peeling, especially 3-4 days after the peel. Most peeling resolves by about a week.
Cost: Varies by area, $
MICRONEEDLING
Indications: Acne scarring, surgical scars, loss of collagen from aging.
How it works: Small needles puncture the superficial layers of the skin, inducing collagen and elastin production. This results in brighter, tighter, and younger looking skin. A growth factor serum is simultaneously infused into the skin punctures, enhancing collagen production.
Recovery: For the first week you will experience redness. Avoid sun exposure for one week after treatment.
Cost: Varies by area, $
FRACTIONAL CO2 LASER
Indications: Sun-damaged skin, fine lines and wrinkles, acne scars, lighter skin tones.
How it works: Fractional CO2 laser creates micro punctures in the skin while also delivering thermal energy. This removes damaged tissue and stimulates tissue shrinkage while inducing collagen production. Collagen remodeling continues for 3-6 months. Best for lighter skin types not prone to dark spots.
Recovery: This will depend on how aggressive your treatment is. You could have redness for up to a month during healing. Depending on your healing, you may be able to wear makeup after 1 week.
Cost: Varies by area, $$ – $$$
The fractional CO2 laser creates tiny “columns of thermal destruction” in the skin that stimulate the growth of new, healthy skin cells to replace old, damaged cells. This procedure treats wrinkles, discoloration, sun damage, age spots, and acne scars. Instead of removing skin layers with chemicals, the CO2 laser removes skin layers by vaporization.
During your treatment, one of our physicians will apply the Fractional CO2 laser to the area chosen for resurfacing. The laser will eliminate surface damage, while concurrently heating the underlying tissue, causing it to increase collagen production. Depending on the scope of the treatment area, your laser session may take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours.
WHAT DOES THE CO2 LASER TREAT?
The Fractional CO2 laser is used to address a wide range of skin conditions, including:
In addition, the Fractional CO2 laser can be used to treat other visible areas of the body, such as the neck, chest, or hands.
BEFORE & AFTER IMAGES
The jawline can be a crucial part of facial aesthetics. A strong jawline in men is often associated with attractiveness and confidence. For women, a jawline can represent youth and beauty.
Allergan (the maker of BOTOX and JUVEDERM) has just released a filler created specifically for the jawline. This long-lasting filler is now available at aesthetic practices for patients over the age of 21 with moderate to severe loss of jawline definition.
VOLUX is a slightly more cohesive and thicker formula than JUVEDERM VOLUMA. Both of these fillers build volume and create a lift beneath the skin, but while VOLUMA is FDA-approved for the chin and cheeks, VOLUX is FDA-approved to treat the chin and jawline.
The procedure only takes a few minutes, and any swelling is dramatically improved within 48 hours. Results last between 12 and 18 months.
All of our providers are expert injectors and can help you to assess your jawline and other aspects of facial aesthetics. Call us to schedule a consultation.
Dermal fillers, also called injectables, are a safe and effective way to enhance your appearance without the need for invasive surgery or downtime, but results are very dependent on the injector. At the Appearance Center, our providers are highly-trained medical professionals, familiar with the unique anatomy of the face, and have had extensive training and years of experience.
Dermal fillers can be used to address a variety of different cosmetic concerns – restoring lost volume to depleted areas, creating more attractive facial contours, and improving symmetry.
FIGHT THE SIGNS OF AGING
As the skin is subjected to elements over time, the appearance of a face changes. Dermal fillers reverse this by giving a person back the facial volume they may have lost. These fillers can also make the cheeks look more contoured, give a more defined jawline, and overall make a patient look refreshed.
One of the great things about dermal fillers is that virtually no recovery time is required. After their treatment session, patients can usually return to most activities right away.
More good news: The results of dermal fillers are not permanent. If you don’t love your results from dermal filler injections, take heart knowing the effects are temporary.
Filler technology enables results to last six to 18 months although there is variation between individuals, as well as according to the type, quantity and depth of the dermal filler placed within your skin.
In many cases, a skilled cosmetic eye can make more immediate corrections or improve upon your previous results. Our providers are also experienced with correcting over-filling or wrong-site filling done at other locations.
A Rhinoplasty, or nose job, is surgery performed to alter the way your nose functions and looks. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, nearly 220,000 rhinoplasties are performed yearly, making this the most common facial plastic surgery procedure. Rhinoplasty can simultaneously help you improve breathing and achieve a more balanced appearance
IS RHINOPLASTY RIGHT FOR ME?
A common medical reason for rhinoplasty is difficulty breathing through the nose. Nasal obstruction can cause problems with exercise, disturb sleep, contribute to snoring and sleep apnea, or interfere with other activities. If medical treatments (such as nasal spray or sleep apnea treatment) fail, surgery may be the next step. Rhinoplasty done for medical reasons such as these is often covered by health insurance.
WHAT ABOUT COSMETIC RHINOPLASTY?
Patients often ask, “While you’re in there, could you make other changes to my nose?” The answer is yes. The most common requests are reducing a nasal hump, refining the tip, or correcting asymmetries. These cosmetic changes, which are not covered by insurance, are frequently combined with functional rhinoplasty so there is only one recovery.
“I just want to look “x” years younger” is a common request in the dermatology or plastic surgery office. One way to accomplish that is to restore facial volume. Most of us may not initially recognize volume loss in our face because we see ourselves everyday. But the changes become stark when we look at old photographs. Restoring volume is an important and common approach to helping patients achieve the results they desire.
Hyaluronic acid injections, commonly known as “fillers,” are a popular way to increase facial volume. Injectable filler is relatively quick to perform, has minimal downtime, and provides immediate results. The main downside of filler is that the results are temporary, typically lasting between 6 and 18 months.
A more permanent way to increase volume is fat transfer. Fat is usually collected from the abdomen and strategically injected into areas of the face. It requires from 1 to 3 separate injections spaced 6 weeks apart to achieve results. Fat integrates well and the results last, which probably sounds great. But is there a catch?
Potentially. An important consideration of fat grafting is that the fat acts like the donor site (abdomen), not the recipient site (face). While people lose weight and volume in their face as they age, they often gain weight in other areas, including the abdomen. As a result, if the patient gains weight over time, the fat in the face will grow too. A well qualified doctor or PA will be able to make the appropriate judgment regarding the volume of fat appropriate to inject.
Because of fat’s potential to grow, the best candidates for fat transfer tend to be older patients, of stable weight, and if applicable, post-menopausal. Otherwise, filler is a great option to add volume and can be tailored as the patient ages.
Keloid scars can occur after ear piercings. They are typically large raised, firm nodules that occur at the site of the piercing. They can become painful and physically disfiguring.
The cause is thought to be epithelial (skin) entrapment along the piercing tract. This can occur if the piercing gets inflamed or is allowed to seal. Trapped skin proliferates uncontrollably and causes inflammatory scar reaction. Cartilage piercing is particularly sensitive to this complication.
Initial treatment involves injection of steroids into the keloid. If that does not help, injection with a chemotherapy drug such as 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is done. If that does not work, then surgical removal of the keloid is needed. Re-piercing of the ear can be performed approximately one month after surgery. After re-piercing the ear, it is important to keep the area clean, by cleaning with hydrogen peroxide. Frequent twisting of the earring also keeps the hole open. Most patients do very well after removal and re-piercing of the ear. Rarely, recurrence of the keloid scar may occur. With close follow-up keloids can be prevented with steroid injections.
Patient presented with multiple caused by piercings (left). Initial treatment with injection of steroids (center). Ear is seen after surgical removal (right).
Eyelid surgery, or “blepharoplasty,” has become incredibly popular since the pandemic thanks to the “Zoom Boom,” and to increased mask requirements, which make the upper face and eyes a focal point during everyday conversation.
Blepharoplasty is intended to enhance the upper and/or lower lids, to create a more refreshed, youthful look. For the upper lid, the procedure involves making an incision in the natural crease of the eyelid, and then removing and reshaping the skin, muscle, and fat that deflate and droop with age and sun exposure.Blepharoplasty can also be performed on the lower eyelid. As people age, the tissue that holds the fat in place can loosen and the fat can protrude, giving the appearance of bags under the eyes. These bags can be repositioned and reshaped.
Does insurance cover cosmetic eye procedures?
Generally, cosmetic services are not covered by medical insurance. But in some cases, like the patient shown below, if an eyelid’s drooping is severe and affecting vision, upper eyelid surgery may be covered. Simple tests can determine whether the condition warrants insurance coverage.
Diagnosis: Ptosis
This patient presented with droopy eyelids, also called ptosis (toh-sis), that may occur due to trauma, age, or various medical disorders. Ptosis can affect one or both eyes, and can be present at birth or develop later in life.
Depending on the severity of the condition, droopy upper eyelids can block or greatly reduce vision depending on how much it obstructs the pupil. This patient had ptosis repair (covered by insurance) at the same time as an upper blepharoplasty. This was followed by a CO2 laser treatment to the eye area. |
Dr. Karlin, Dr. Daines, and Dr. Madorsky perform eyelid surgery. Please call our office to schedule an appointment, or use the in our website. |
Dr. Adam Aronson has joined our team! He is a Board Certified Dermatologist with an interest in cosmetic treatments that can compliment and enhance healthy skin.
Dr. Aronson specializes in injectable treatments, dermal fillers, advanced skin care, laser treatments and chemical peels.