1 1/2 years post C02 of neck and chest area - how can I treat red areas? (Photos)

Question

I still have red wings of both eyes laterally and my chest area looks terrible since the ablated area want blended so I now have a two tone look which is very unbecoming when wearing bathing suits etc . Wondering what can be done for both issues ?

Mark Beaty, MD · Answer

Thank you for sharing your photos. Based on what I can see, the lighter areas on your chest are consistent with hypopigmentation following CO₂ laser resurfacing, while the redness at the outer corners of your eyes appears consistent with persistent post-laser erythema.

For the neck and chest, I generally prefer an Erbium laser or a TCA peel because these treatments have a lower risk of permanent pigment changes compared with fully ablative CO₂ laser resurfacing. Unfortunately, once hypopigmentation develops, there are no predictably effective treatments to restore the lost pigment. Cosmetic tattooing (medical micropigmentation) may be worth considering to help blend the color difference and improve the overall appearance.

Persistent redness after an aggressive laser treatment can also be frustrating. While some patients continue to see gradual improvement over time, persistent erythema can occasionally last much longer, and there is no consistently reliable treatment to completely reverse it.

Bryan C. McIntosh, MD · Answer

The redness appears to be impaired, inflamed skin. I like products such as ZO SkinHealth Daily Power Defense, Hydrinity Restorative Serum, Plated Intense. All of these work in very different ways to calm and soothe the skin. Your chest skin appears to have loss of melanocytes after the laser treatment. This skin is not able to tan in the same way as untreated skin, and there is not anything that can be done to improve this other than avoid tanning any of the skin (which any physician would advise).

1 1/2 years post C02 of neck and chest area - how can I treat red areas? (Photos)

Answers (2)

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