CO2, Fraxel or Thermage for Eye Area?

Fractional CO2 laser is an excellent tool for skin rejuvenation in our center in Santa Monica. We use the fractional multi-depth ablative approach to help resurface the skin, recontour acne scars, improve incisional plastic surgery scars, and reduce surface irregularities from skin tone to dark pigmentation. Our approach utilizes a multi-depth approach that targets melanocytes in the epidermis and collagen fibroblasts in the dermis. This approach can be combined with a TCA Peel in a process known as a sapphire peel. Fractional laser is excellent for acne scars and contour scars in the skin. Patients are advised to undergo skin protocols with Melarase creams before and after treatment to help reduce pigmentation. Melarase AM, Melarase PM, and Melapads can seriously improve surface sun damage and UV related pigmentation. After the laser, we expect redness for a few weeks as the skin improves. PRP and Hydrafacial enzyme facials can further improve skin quality after fractional co2.

Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

Hello.  As a consumer, it is difficult to determine which laser procedures are going to benefit you most.  But on the flip side, it's our job as practitioners to choose good patients for the procedures.  In some cases this means suggesting a treatment that the patient did not envision.

In this case, your best option for a young patient like your self with crow's feet may actually be Botox or Dysport rather than a laser.  If the other wrinkles you speak of are under the eyes, then you may also want to consider Restylane or Juvederm in a procedure called the "tear trough" injection.  

In many cases we find that consumers have unrealistic visions of what lasers can accomplish and especially when the issue has to do with lines caused by muscle contraction or lines caused by volume loss, most often, injection procedures are a better option to reach your goal.

 

We are located in Los Angeles and offer free consultations.  A link to our website is below.   

All of these devices may be employed to improve the eye area. CO2 laser can be utilized to improve skin texture,  fine lines, and sun damage, and is especially good at the hard to reach area under the eye. Fraxel can be similarly used around the eyes to improve skin texture and help alleviate sun damage but with less down time relative to the CO2 laser, although usually you would need more than one treatment to achieve the best results. Thermage can be used to treat upper eyelid laxity and elevate the brows. Unlike CO2 laser and Fraxel, Thermage will not improve brown spots, although there is no downtime and it is a one time treatment. Ultimately, multiple devices may be utilized to achieve the desired level of improvement.

For any facial wrinkles CO2 laser will be the most aggressive, giving the most tightening with a single treatment.  I rarely see the need for this laser in 20 somethings however. The kinder gentler way utilizing either Thermage (no downtime, one time treatment) or Fraxel (some redness and swelling for 3 or 4 days, multiple treatments) may in fact be more appropriate. The final decision would be made after an evaluation. There may be alternatives other than laser to provide an improved appearance.

I am so sorry to hear that you have had negative experiences.  The best advice is to see a reputable physician and to be clear on your needs.  Expectations can sometimes be greater than what can be delivered so a frank conversation to determine a realistic result needs to happen before the treatment is done.  Hope this helps.