How Does Skin Look a Month After Laser Resurfacing?

Thank you for the great question. The appearance of your skin following laser resurfacing is based on the type of laser device used, the depth of ablation and your skin texture. With more superficial treatments (such as Erbium or Fraxel), your skin may appear healed in 2 weeks. With more aggressive lasers (CO2), the skin will usually look good only after 2 months. On rare occasion, topical or oral steroids may be used for excessive redness. You do not have to stay indoors but sunlight exposure should be kept to a minimum for several months following laser skin resurfacing. I hope you find this helpful. Good luck.

the answer to your question depends on which laser or device is being used to resurface, the depth of the treatment, the density of the treatment, was there overlapping or stacked pulses, etc. Fraxel Restore, the nonablative laser, can create significantly different convalescence among patients depending on the energies used for superficial photodamage or deeprer acne scarring. Usually after a week there are no residual changes. Fraxel Repair, or ablative fractional carbon dioxide laser can leave redness that fades to pink and finally clears in several months. Portrait plasma technology creates fast healing and the pink color can last for two months or slighly longer. Superficial, medium and deep chemical peels also create different results. In general, after the pink color is gone at rest, expect for a few more months that the reddish hue can return temporarily after being exposed to a hot environment, stepping in from the cold weather, coming out of a shower, after eating spicy food and drinking alcoholic beverages, possibly red wine being the most stimulatory for this color change. Once there is complete reepithelialization (new skin) makeup can be used to hide the redness.

Each and every person heals differently. For example, patients have a certain skin type which is classified by the way it reacts to the sun (Fitzpatrick skin type). Your Fitzpatrick skin type is a very important factor in how aggressive your surgeon can be and how you will heal. Also, patient's with red hair will typically have a prolonged inflammatory phase in their healing and will have a longer period of a reddish hue to the skin.
It also depends of the type of laser used (ablative vs. fractionated vs. nonablative). For ablative lasers, Erbium lasers heal more quickly and with less redness than carbon dioxide lasers....ON AVERAGE...as long as the depth of penetration of the Erbium laser stays within suggested guidelines (300 microns or papillary dermis). Carbon dioxide lasers will generally cause more postoperative erythema (redness) which can persist for several months. Fractionated lasers will heal much more quickly because they perserve more of the healing capacity (pilosebaceous units) of the skin. With fractionated lasers, most patients can return to make-up (mineral make-up is suggested) in about 5 days with some postoperative redness for several weeks. Nonablative lasers will require very minimal downtime.
Skin care is vital for any recovery period and the quality of the skin care can make a significant difference in your recovery period.
Finally, sun exposure after laser resurfacing can be very detrimental to your healing. It is absolutely crucial to avoid any sun exposure after laser resurfacing for an extended period of time.
I have a book of before an after photographs which I show to all my potential patients. We have a series of pictures which show the daily healing after laser resurfacing and then the healing at week and monthly intervals. My patients find this very helpful.