Skin Tightening Lasers - How Long Do Results Last?

As you may know, Total FX is a fractional carbon dioxide resurfacing that targets superficial skin layers with the Active FX and deep dermis with Deep FX. These treatments act to stimulate the growth of new collagen by creating a thermal injury. After the treatment, improvement will occur over a period of months.
But how long does it last? This depends on many factors. While the treatment will set back the aging clock on your skin, the clock continues to tick. The rate of aging that takes place will dictate how long it would take to return to the pre-treatment state. The rate of aging depends on both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The intrinsic factors include genetic influences. Extrinsic factors include sun exposure, smoking, skin care regimen, and other environmental forces. These aging mechanisms may be different for everyone, so the length of time any treatment will last will also vary. In general, it should take more than a year to age through the treatment- and it can certainly take several years for some people.
Total FX has yielded excellent results in my practice and patients have been very happy with this treatment.

Morpheus 8 is a non-invasive skin and soft tissue tightening treatment that is consistently amazing in our patients. We use the Morpheus to exact fractional induced RF into the skin or tissue in order to tighten collagen and stimulate contraction of the tissue. For acne scars, it is quite useful to build collagen in patients who have atrophic scars but is not very productive for ice-pick scars which require TCA Cross. For tissue tightening, Morpheus is ideal for the face and neck and we often combine it with CO2 laser or Ultherapy to further enhance results. Chemical peels and skin resurfacing should be done at least 5 to 7 days after, but can be performed earlier, depending on treatment severity. Avoid exfoliating skin treatments before Morpheus and expect a period of 2-4 weeks for skin contraction to set in.

Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

Most tightening lasers work by heating up the dermis and stimulation collagen formation (we often

use ultrasound or radio frequency). The new collagen production can take up to 6 months to be



complete and the results can last for a few years (few studies have 2 year followup and clinically I have



seen efficacy up to 5 years in a selected patients) . However, the degree of skin tightening may be very



subtle and varies from patient to patient significantly. In other words, the results are not always



consistent and if you are looking for a significant improvement that is longer lasting, the gold standard is



a facelift. If you are against surgery, you may also want to look into InstaLift which is also a good



temporary lifting procedure with minimal downtime. I would urge you to get a consultation with a local



board certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon to help you assess your specific needs.