TCA Vs. Laser for Sun Damaged Skin?

Thanks for your very good question. This is a question that gets posed quite a bit, and the answer is always a good one. Both TCA and IPL are excellent choices for reversing signs of sun damage and evening out skin tone. The combination of the two will give even better results. I will explain: TCA is an optimal choice for patients with lentigos or mottled hyperpigmentation due to chronic sun exposure. It will work extremely well in renewing the skin and delivering a porcelain white, fresh,... more

I believe that you can get a lot more accuracy of depth of treatment with the laser. with sun damage and wrinkles, a deeper treatment is necessary, and lasers are more accurate.

Of course, this choice between TCA and laser would have to be individualized to specifically suit your skin type and skin issues. Generally, a TCA peel is often considered adequate to improve skin tone and address uneven pigmentation or even actinic keratoses (precancerous, sun-damaged skin). Patients are very pleased with the results of this much simpler treatment which generally has a quicker recovery time than laser resurfacing. On the other hand, the more significant the sun damage... more

For sun-damaged skin and pre-cancers, you have several options. One of the best treatments for this is application of aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a chemical sensitizing agent followed by activation of this chemical with blue light, red light or intense pulsed light (IPL). Two treatments with a 1 month interval between treatments can give you considerable improvement. TCA peels can also work, but the more effective medium-depth peel has a few more days of recovery time than the... more

While TCA peeling and numerous lasers improve the discoloration from sun damage, only ablative treatments that are more aggressive like fractional CO2, dermabrasion, and fully ablative laser treatments help eliminate pre-cancers. These mean downtime of at least 7 days. IPL, which is a non-laser pulsed light treatment, is usually the gold standard for red and brown blotches from sun damage but not for skin cancers It has no downtime but requires 3-6 sessions. Pearl or other mid-range... more

TCA peels unless done very deeply are not adequate to remove sun damage and pre cancerous lesions. Deeper TCA peels have a history of causing irregular pigmentation and scarring. The most modern up to date technique is called Photo-dynamic therapy which is excellent and effective. A cream called Levulan is applied to your face. After about an hour, the cream is selectively absorbed by the damaged skin cells. The Levulon sensitizes the damaged cells to light. Several different lights such as... more