Do Halo (and other lasers) thin the skin and therefore cause you to age faster long-term, in exchange for the short-term result?

Thank you for your question, lasers like halo build collagen and improve the look of the skin long term. if done properly without burn.
For facial rejuvenation,  I would suggest a combination approach of 
1) skin care with products and PRP/microneedling
2) PDT light therapy few times a month with growth factors
3) laser treatments like clear and brilliant regularly and a few times a year Fraxel/halo Viva, Co2/Erbium
4) Sculptra injections a few times a year for collagen production with fillers like juvederm/restylane/belotero/radiesse/bellafill
5) thermage/ultherapy for yearly skin tightening with or without PDO or cone based instalift threads for lifting
6) botox every 2-3 months to stop movement lines and prevent lines at rest
7) deep microneedling RF like Fractora/morpheus8 for tightening of the skin
8) Vascular laser like vbeam/excel V or BBL forever young treatment every quarter (3-4 months)
Best, Dr. Emer.

Most lasers including the Halo laser improve the amount of collagen in the skin and therefore actually thicken and tighten the skin, they don't thin the skin. The trick is maintaining the improvement that a laser like Halo or a deep resurfacing gives patients. We always recommend regular BBL treatments that have been shown to maintain the youthful appearance of the skin over a very long time period. Getting a Halo periodically can also help.Andrew Campbell, M.D.Facial Rejuvenation SpecialistQuintessa

No, in fact the opposite! Our skin gets thinner as we age as we produce less collagen and elastin beginning at age 25.  Collagen and elastin keep the skin firm and flexible.  Unfortunately, thinning skin is part of the process of aging.  Aging, sun exposure and genetics all play a role.  Halo and other ablative lasers help strengthen the building blocks of your skin.  Controlled heating in the dermis induces new collagen and elastin formation, replacing the older damaged tissue and improving texture, lines, wrinkles, and laxity. 

Thanks for posting your question. Actually, lasers will help improve the skin and slow down the aging process by building collagen. There is a wealth of scientific studies that show this can happen. Of course nothing can stop the aging process, but Laser can help reverse signs of aging and with good skin care (avoiding the sun and not smoking) you can keep a lot of the changes! Best of luck, Dr. M

Actually, just the opposite. There is now >20 year data on BBL and I had the very first Halo prototype from 12/14 - the patients who do these treatments 2-4 times per year look younger when they started, both in pictures and on biopsy and also have thicker skin with more collagen and elasticity. Finally, there are several studies showing Halo decreases numbers of AK's (actinic keratosis). My website shows an entire gallery of people who have been doing regular skin treatments for 5+ years - they speak for themselves!