What Laser is Best for Removing Freckles?

Fractional laser is an amazing and highly effective treatment in our office. We use the laser treatment to help with acne scars, large pores, fine wrinkles, tissue collagen loss, scars, sebaceous hyperplasia, active acne, and for brightening dark pigmentation. Although there are very strong fractional lasers such as CO2 laser, we use lighter treatments for corrective skincare and maintenance of results. Our Thulium fractional laser, clear and brilliant laser, and Ultra Thulium laser are excellent options in our clinic. We also perform CO2 fractional and erbium depending on skin tone and tolerance for downtime. Patients do have to use a Melarase cream before and after treatment to help further reduce pigmentation after laser. Dark spots can improve with these treatments. I recommend fractional laser for incisional scars as well, especially after plastic surgery.

Best,
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

Thank you for your question. Usually we see freckles fade in 2-3 treatments with IPL.  If you still have the freckles, you can have laser treatments with KTP 532 or 755 Alexandrite, which both are very good with your fair skin type.  Prior to your treatment, we always want our patients to use a bleaching cream.  This helps to preserve and maintain the benefits of the laser treatment, and provide some persistence in the color reduction.  Sunscreen also helps to maintain the benefit.  Seeing a Board Certified Dermatologist or Plastic Surgeon who can assess your condition, and determine if you may need advanced laser therapy or advanced chemical peels would be a good option for you at this point. I hope this helps.

Generally speaking a Q-switched Alexandrite laser is an excellent way to remove freckles.  I agree that the profractional erbium laser would work with the right settings.  I have found Cutera's Pearl laser will work excellent.  It is erbium glass and I would recommend the non-fractional setting.  A 20% TCA peel will also do an excellent job of removing lentigenes.  I find that most fractionated therapies do not polish the skin as well.  Nonfractionated therapies (peels, Pearl, flat beam erbium) do the best job of giving the skin a polished look without any pigment ... at least temporarily until you see sun.  Fractionated treatments offer a more natural look with removal, shrinking & lightening of freckling but without giving you a completely white polished look.    

A great topical regimen followed by a series of mild peels does a great job of minimizing freckles and polishing the skin with almost no downtime.  I would recommend a series of Vitalize Peels in conjunction with Skin Medica's tri-retinol complex and dermal repair cream.

No matter what you do, freckles will come back with time as a function of sun exposure.  Sunscreen is important and topical retinoids will do a great job of helping you keep your results.