I have a lot of patients with sensitive skin and they seemed to do well with resurfacing. Obviously, everybody is different and you would have to get a complete history and physical exam to make sure that you are okay to receive this particular treatment.
Here are some of the contraindications to having a resurfacing:
previous cancers or active skin cancers, on Accutane within the last 1-2 years, medications such as tetracycline, chloroquine, bleomycin, amiodorone, St. John's wart, recent sun exposure within the last 4-8 weeks, recent skin procedure within the last 4-8 weeks, previous chemical peel or laser within the last 6 mos to a year, skin koebnerizing diseases, autoimmune diseases, hiv, active infections, herpes, lupus, hormonal/endocrine diseases, bleeding disorders, history of keloid and hypertrophic scar formation, pregnancy / nursing, porphyria, previous radiation to the face.
In terms of whether they are permanent, this is a difficult question because permanent can mean forever and nothing lasts forever. Studies show that after a resurfacing, and this depends on how it is done and how aggressive, the results lasts around 8-10 years and then you will likely want to do this again.
