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Can Fractional Laser Skin Resurfacing Cause New Wrinkles?

asked 3 years ago by wrinklyundereye in paris, france
Latest answer by Rebecca Fitzgerald, MD
Question viewed 3,774 times
Tags: face, wrinkles, side effects

i see new wrinkles under my eye. i'm on day 4. from sunday i saw new vertical/diagonal wrinkles under my eyes that i didn't have. i had almost no wrinkles around the eyes, only on forehead and above lips. now eyes look worse. i called the doctor, but she says it's the dry skin that gives that effect. i'm doubtful. it looks like it's staying. of course she's going to say that it's not a problem to try to convince me that all is normal. is it normal for laser treatments and laser resurfacing to cause new wrinkles?

14 answers to Can Fractional Laser Skin Resurfacing Cause New Wrinkles?

Laser Skin Resurfacing

Due to dryness and skin tightening this can cause what might look like new wrinkles or slight folds but actually it is the way your new skin looks from swelling and conforming to the body. Give it time, 4 days out is way too early to jump to any conclusions, you still have the tightening to look forward to yet this early

Fernando G. Serra, MD
Clermont Plastic Surgeon

Healing Phase of Fractional Laser Can Cause Temporary "dryness" wrinkling

You can relax. Fractional laser won't give you new wrinkles. We all see more wrinkles with dry skin and any laser treatment uses high heat which tends to dry out the skin for a short time. Your body will equalize the cell hydration shortly. In the meantime, using a simple moisture cream will help - either one provided by your physician or approved - something without fragrance or any irritating ingredients. Many physicians suggest aquaphor - but get your... more

Rebecca Fitzgerald, MD
Los Angeles Dermatologist

Fractional Laser - Wrinkles

Depending on what type of fractional laser was performed, you will likely have a lot of swelling 4 days after the procedure. Swelling can make thin skin such as that of the eyelids have deep appearing folds. This is not permanent and resolves as the swelling comes down. Be patient with any laser procedure before evaluating the final results. Remember, sometimes the swelling looks quite good, eliminating many wrinkles. So bottom line is you must wait months before evaluating... more

Jacob D. Steiger, MD
Boca Raton Facial Plastic Surgeon

Lasers don't cause wrinkles

Four days after laser is well within the healing phase of the treatment. Newly lasered skin is often very dry and fragile in the first week or so depending on which laser was used. I have my Active Fx patients back in the office at a week and my aesthetician does a hydrating facial that refreshes the new skin. It makes a remarkable improvement. Remember, collagen is stimulated by resurfacing but it takes weeks for the collagen to grow. I think that you will... more

Susan Van Dyke, MD
Paradise Valley Dermatologist

New Wrinkles Unlikely After Laser Resurfacing

It is highly unlikely that any type of laser resurfacing procedure will create new wrinkles. These may be due to dryness (and if so, moisturize) or some kind of swelling after the procedure. As Dr. Kulick points out, don't evaluate your results so early, wait for the procedure to heal before you evalute your results.

D.J. Verret, MD
Dallas Facial Plastic Surgeon

Laser resurfacing does not cause wrinkles

This is likely post treatment changes that are temporary in nature until the skin has fully healed. Let mother nature kick in and see what everything looks like after you have healed.

Purvisha Patel, MD
Germantown Dermatologist

Wrinkling and laser resurfacing

Laser resurfacing can not cause new wrinkles. After only 4 days you are seeing temporary skin wrinkling that will disappear with proper skin care.

Boris M. Ackerman, MD
Newport Beach Plastic Surgeon

Wrinkles and Laser Resurfacing

No, fractionated laser resurfacing does not cause new wrinkles. In response to your question, it has only been four days since your procedure and it is too early to judge. What you see may be slight skin irritation but you will not see and appreciate your results until a couple of weeks later.

Sanusi Umar, MD
Redondo Beach Dermatologic Surgeon

Fractional laser Resurfacing

The short answer to your question is no; fractionated laser resurfacing will not cause new skin wrinkles. Adding to the preponderance of thought on this post, 4 days is far too early to judge your results. The concept of skin resurfacing is that some form of injury must be created within the skin in order to allow for collagen remodeling and wrinkle reduction. In the past, this was done with fully ablative techniques. What we have discovered is that treating a... more

Stephen Prendiville, MD
Fort Myers Facial Plastic Surgeon

Laser resurfacing and new wrinkles

It is only 4 days after your resurfacing and what I suspect is that you may be seeing irritation from the skin at the lids area and you are confusing them with wrinkles. Anyway, 4 days is a very short time to try to judge the result from resurfacing. You need at least 6 months to be able to appreciate the improvement that resurfacing will give you.

Gustavo A. Diaz, MD
Charlotte Facial Plastic Surgeon

Wait a couple weeks before judging the results of Fractional CO2 laser resurfacing

Do not expect to fully appreciate the clinical outcome of Fractional CO2 laser resurfacing until a couple weeks afterwards when the swelling, peeling, and redness have subsided. Stimulation of collagen can last up to 6 months so for most people, the clinical results typically continue to improve in subsequent months.

William Ting, MD
Bay Area Dermatologic Surgeon

Fractional laser resurfacing does not cause new wrinkles

4 days is too early to expect to see the reult of fractional laser resurfacing. Your eyelid muscles combined with swelling and dryness of the skin does make wrinkles look worse occasionally. But be aware that laser resurfacing removes wrinkles by building new collagen in the skin and plumping the wrinkle. The collagen building process after laser resurfacing does not really get started for 6 weeks, does not show visible results until 3 months and continues to improve results for a year. Relax. more

Brooke R. Seckel, MD
Boston Plastic Surgeon

Laser Resurfacing and new wrinkles

Laser resurfacing does not cause new wrinkles. It is not unusual to see new wrinkles immediately after a laser treatment. This is a result of the combination of the temporary dryness that can occur after a laser treatment and the swelling that can occur from the procedure itself. The dryness is easily treatable with a variety of moisturizers. Do not worry; this will improve with time.

David Goldberg, MD
New York Dermatologic Surgeon