How Long Will Redness After CO2 Laser Persist?

Redness, or erythema after a CO2 laser is common and a sign of your body creating new collagen. The duration of your erythema is going to be dependent on the parameters of the treatment you received: whether it was fractionated versus continuous, the amount of energy used, the density of the fractionation, etc.Almost everybody has some amount of redness for up to eight weeks, but beyond that we start considering the redness prolonged. Remember though, this is not necessarily a bad thing, those who tend to be red longer tend to get better results because it is a sign of them creating more new collagen.It is worth noting that redness and hyperpigmentation after a CO2 laser are different things. The retinoid that you are describing is not going to do anything for your redness, and may even make it worse. Retinoids and hydroquinone are targeted to hyperpigmentation, not redness.To guarantee you're receiving the highest level of care, seek out a dermatologic surgeon, oculoplastic surgeon, facial plastic surgeon or plastic surgeon who is board certified and fellowship trained in one of these "core four" cosmetic specialties.

Typically, in our patients post CO2, redness is the most intense the first 10 days, however it takes weeks after that for the skin to fade from bright red through shades of pink and then back to natural skin pigmentation. We begin the use of hydroquinone 2 weeks prior to our treatment, stop the night before and restart 3 weeks post treatment. 
**redness for many weeks is normal

We tell our patients to expect 10 to 14 days of social downtime with a pink to red undertone with any Fractional CO2 treatment. Everyone's healing time varies, so in your case it seems that your skin is taking longer to heal completely. The redness should be lightening each day and you should expect the redness to be gone around the 6 week mark. Make sure you are moisturizing your skin and I would stop some of the aggressive products you are using to see if there is a difference. 

Redness can very by a few key factors. # 1 your baseline skin tone. Different skin tones react to laser light differently. # 2 the settings of the laser. We choose the laser settings based on skin tone and goals of treatment. That would be the discussion you had with your surgeon preoperative.The vitamin A (tretinoin) is likely contributing to your redness. Discuss with your surgeon and maybe there is a different topical treatment that they could offer if your goal is to clear the redness ASAP.Hope this helps,Best of luck.DrC

Thank you for submitting your question. From reading your question, it sounds that you had some hyperpigmentation after laser resurfacing and began treatment with a hydroquinone and retin A products.  Persistent use of hydroquinone and retin A can also cause redness.  PLease be examined by ypur surgeon. If the redness is from the CO2 laser then that will fade away over time.  If the redness is caused by the hydroquine cream and retin A then stop using it or use less frequently under ypur drs supervision. Best wishes.

I would expect the redness to continually improve with each week after the CO2 treatment.  Most of the time, you can further soften the degree of redness with makeup.  You can also consider trying IPL to further target the reds, but I would wait a few weeks to allow the tissue to heal beforehand.

Often, the fractional co2 laser will have to be followed by a series of pulse dye laser treatments to reduce the redness.  The redness is a positive sign of continued neocollagenesis. Best, Dr. Karamanoukian

Hi Cinderella--Worst case scenario is probably 6 months. Something to consider is the irritation from the topical products that you are using. Irritation from the products is most likely prolonging the course. You should talk to your doctor about changing products or adding something to sooth and moisturize the skin. Take care, Dr. Groff

First of all, you need to know that everyone is somewhat different in their response to the CO2 laser. Most patients I treat see a significant reduction in redness by four weeks or 6 at the latest. This, in your case, is complicated by the retin-A which will cause some redness of its own. This is also the reason for the dryness and flakiness. I would continue to avoid the sun, apply sunscreen and ask your doc how much longer you need to be on the retin-A.

Thank you for your message! Redness can persist for even longer than 3 weeks after a CO2 laser resurfacing procedure. That being said, redness and hyperpigmentation are two different things, though you can have both. The hydroquinone and retinols may help with the hyperpigmentation down the line, though may irritate the skin in the short term and make the redness worse! I would recommend following up with your provider so they are able to assess the area in person as well!