It very well might help in this regard but the risk of Carbon dioxide laser treatment (not fractional CO2) may not be warranted if there is not enough sun damage to see clearly. The risks include scarring and long term redness and thinning and whitening of the skin. Fractional laser resurfacing such as Fraxel... more
Laser resurfacing as a preventative cosmetic procedure?
Does laser (CO2) resurfacing have any benefit in the removal of sun damage that is not yet apparent? It obviously has great potential in improving evident pigmentation problems, but what about deeper spots that have not yet manifested themselves on the skin's surface?
5 answers to “Laser resurfacing as a preventative...”
A: Laser resurfacing can absolutely be done as preventative measure
Laser resurfacing along with chemical peels, dermabrasion, dermasanding, can all remove cells that have accumulated sun damage over the years. The removed cells are then replaced with cells that are new from deep within the hair follicle which "resurfaces" the skin that has been treated. There are... more
A: Sun spot prevention
The best preventative measure to keep healthy skin is to avoid th sun and wear sun block. You should also not smoke. Other than that, I would not use lasers prophylactically.
A: Don't take laser resurfacing too lightly
It would not be appropriate to use a laser prophylactically to treat sun damage that has not yet become visible. Lasers are commonly used in aesthetic medicine but there are risks to any procedure and the benefits need to outweigh the risks to be reasonable proceeding. The main risks of a laser... more
A: Any exfoliative procedure can treat sun damage
LAser resurfacing is one method of exfoliation that removes top layers of the skin that have been damaged. Actinic damage however can affect all layers of the skin and even penetrate into the dermis. If any resurfacing procedure treats to deeply, scarring can result. To some degree, this has generated greater... more
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2 posts
3 Jul 2009
Thank you Drs. Rand and Placik for your expedient replies. Perhaps you could clarify a source of my confusion. I have seen UV pictures taken before and after laser resurfacing procedures. Commonly, I have observed that there is a vast improvement of UV damage as evidenced by the "after" shot; often much of this damage is not visible in the "before" pictures taken in daylight/fluorescent lighting. Are these spots that are visible only via UV photography contained in the epidermis? If so, why are they not evident in regular lighting?