Facial Resurfacing
Quick Facts About Facial Resurfacing
- Used For: Correction of facial wrinkles, skin discolorations, and facial scarring using laser energy.
- Down Time: 1-3 weeks
- Side Effects: There is a temporary healing phase where the resurfaced areas need to reepithelialize (regrow the top skin layer). There is a pink color to the healing skin that is eventually replaced with the permanent new skin. Some patients, depending on their skin color, may experience some temporary lightening or darkening of the skin.
- How It Works: Using either dermabrasion, chemical peeling, or lasers (or a combination), the top layer of skin is removed to allow new, fresh skin to grow in its place. Techniques used include Laser (Fractionated CO2, Erbium), Chemical Peel (TCA, phenol), and Dermabrasion.
- What to Expect: Depending on the level of peel, recovery times vary. For lighter laser or chemical peels, recovery time may be less than a week. For deeper peels or laser or dermabrasion, healing times will be longer. Initial swelling will occur for a 2-3 days. As the swelling improves, the healing phase continues as the pink color will start to fade. Makeup and sun exposure should be avoided while the new skin is healing. At the 2 week mark, many patients can begin camouflaging the pink color with a mineral powder makeup.
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