Will pinkness ever fade after CO2 laser?

Question

I had CO2 laser treatment for acne scars exactly 2 months ago. Everything went okay during the healing time, but since then my face has a slight pinkish tone-not angry red, just a different shade from the rest of my body where my skin has a yellowish undertone (I dont't have ethnic skin). A bit sensitive to water, moisturizer etc. Is this normal? Will my skin ever return to its original color? Will I ever be able to tan in the sun again (using sunblock of course)? Why is this even happening?

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

After CO2 laser, you should consider adding pulsed dye laser to your regimen; in addition, use a scar gel such as Plato's Scar Serum. Best, Dr. Karamanoukian Los Angeles

Jody Comstock, MD · Answer

Thanks for your question. Although you didn't
specify exactly what type of CO2 treatment you had, if you underwent a
treatment with any ablative laser, you could indeed be seeing some residual
redness at 2 months post-treatment. If you had treatment with a fractional CO2
laser, most redness created by the treatment should be resolved by now. We
often see more persistent redness in patients who have a tendency toward
redness on their skin and who may have had earlier sun damage.  Although ongoing redness isn't uncommon or
harmful, I recommend seeing the doctor who gave you the treatment to find out
if you're healing on schedule. He or she may recommend a treatment with a
different device or a topical treatment to help restore your skin to its normal
tone. Best of luck.

William LoVerme, MD · Answer

Some redness is common after CO2 laser. A fractional laser, such as Deep FX or Active FX, will leave redness for a shorter time than one that wipes out the entire upper surface of the skin. Even with the fractional lasers, redness is a factor of how close together the laser points are (density) and power or depth of the laser treatment. In my practice we pre treat for a few weeks with retinols which increase the cell turnover before the laser and the patients tend to heal faster. For those patients develop some redness after laser we have them use a dilute white vinegar and water solution which is kept in the refrigerator and applied on a facecloth two or three times per day. Please ask your doctor about this before trying. Sensitivity to any other skin treatments or creams is also common after laser treatments and for at least the first two months we only let patients what we specifically give them in the office. We make this part of the cost of the laser treatment so that we know that the patients have the correct and non irritating creams after their procedure. Intense Pulse Light IPL treatments are sometimes also used to tone down the redness after any procedure of this type. Again, Please ask your doctor about these procedures befoer trying any of them.

Davin Lim, MBBS, FACD - Account Suspended · Answer

Did you have fully ablative CO2 or Fractional such as Deep FX, Active FX or CORE CO2? With all ablative laser treatments (especially CO2), expect some redness. How red you will be will depend on the depth of the laser, the coverage, you skin type, and your product use, and your pre-post existing skin condition (such as rosacea or flushing- blushing). All of these can be solved by your laser Dermatologist- Plastic surgeon, as they can assess why you are still red, and correlate this with your procedure. If I have persistent redness at 2 weeks, I undertake a full history and examination, review your products and in the majority of times treat you with V Beam laser to fade the redness. All the bestDr Davin Lim Laser DermatologistBRISBANE, Australia

Will pinkness ever fade after CO2 laser?

Answers (4)

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