In skin rejuvenation, ablative refers to the removal of the top layer of skin (epidermis) in order to improve skin appearance. Ablative skin treatments may be performed with lasers, chemicals, or controlled surgical scraping or sanding and are often performed to improve wrinkles, acne scars, and overall skin texture.
Laser resurfacing and chemical peels, including the phenol peel and TCA peel, are the most popular ablative skin rejuventation options, however dermabrasion and dermaplaning techniques also continue to be practiced by physicians.
Popular ablative lasers:
Because the top layer of skin is "ablated" or removed, the healing time after traditional ablative laser treatment, chemical peel, or dermabrasion can be longer than treatment with an ablative fractional laser, non-ablative laser, or superficial chemical peel.
Fractional lasers ablate smaller portions of surface skin than traditional ablative lasers, such as standard CO2 lasers.
More about ablation on RealSelf:
- Ablative laser vs. non-ablative skin resurfacing
- Cost and benefit of fractional vs. fully ablative laser?
- Risks from ablative CO2 laser resurfacing
- A real patient story about fractional ablative laser resurfacing