It’s the treatment that takes millimetres off your skin surface, but years off your face – a safe, painless and highly effective procedure that really works. Laser skin surfacing is its name: the precise removal of damaged skin on the face with a laser light beam. What’s more, it’s also a very successful treatment for imperfections such as fine lines around the eyes or mouth, acne scars, blotches, chicken pox scars and sun-damaged skin.
How does laser skin resurfacing work?
A laser light beam is deployed in the procedure, which is extremely thin and precise: a tenth of the diameter of a hair follicle, in fact. When applied to the treated area, the beam not only removes the outer layer of skin, but also penetrates the surface and stimulates the production of younger, smoother skin.
Unlike other treatments of its kind, laser skin resurfacing is renowned for its lack of side-effects, such as discomfort, bleeding and bruising.
How long does laser skin resurfacing take?
In most cases, you’ll be required to arrive an hour before the procedure time, in order to receive an application of a topical numbing cream. A typical session lasts between 45 minutes and an hour, and the number of treatments depends on the condition of the skin: sun damage and brown spots usually take four treatments, and acne scarring removal takes an average of five treatments – which are spaced in intervals between three and six weeks apart.
Healing from laser skin resurfacing takes up to a week – or at least, you won’t be able to use make-up for that amount of time. You may feel a slight prickly heat sensation at the end of each procedure, but this soon passes.
For more information on laser skin resurfacing – and to get in touch with a professional practitioner – please consult our laser skin resurfacing page.