For cosmetic surgeons (and patients!), laser skin resurfacing is one of the most exciting, breakthrough enhancement procedures available today. In minutes, a laser beam gently guided by our expert Denver facial plastic surgeons can repair skin damaged by years of sun, wind and time—and dramatically emphasize beautiful contours when performed during facial surgery. Dr. Smith and Dr. Bovenzi have been extensively trained on a large number of laser types. They can best advise you during your consultation which type of laser resurfacing is best for your skin.
An ideal complement to any cosmetic surgery, laser resurfacing uses new laser advancements to deliver precise results deep into the dermis of the skin. From the inside out, laser skin resurfacing creates healthy skin that appears younger and shows off the angles of your new surgical enhancements. The best part? Once fine lines are smoothed, new skin regenerates softer and more youthful-looking than ever before.
Laser Resurfacing
At Smith Cosmetic Surgery, we are laser experts. We use a variety of laser types and strengths based on your specific needs. The CO2 laser is our most popular laser type. The CO2 laser treatment regimen comes in different strengths and this way we can tailor your settings for you. The strongest setting is the ablative CO2 laser. This has a dramatic effect on skin texture, quality, pigment evenness, and can erase very deep facial wrinkles. This ablative CO2 laser is done under anesthesia so our facial plastic surgeons can treat the deeper layers of your skin while keeping you comfortable. This type of laser resurfacing only needs to be performed once and can have amazing effects for your facial skin that cannot be replicated with any other method. This type of laser is commonly combined with facelift and mini facelift procedures to allow for the healing processes to run concurrently, minimizing your downtime.
The fractional CO2 laser treatment is a slightly lighter dose that can help treat your skin texture, quality, pigmentation, and light to medium depth facial wrinkles while allowing you to have the treatment while awake and with minimal downtime. We ensure you are at ease during your procedure by using topical numbing cream as well as using a cryo device that blows cool air to -20 degrees to help keep you comfortable during the quick 10-minute laser procedure. The fractional CO2 laser is done in an initial series of 3, done 6 to 8 weeks apart in order to allow your skin to heal but still add up the synergistic effects of the treatments to maximize your result. Afterwards, patients are recommended to have maintenance laser treatments to continue to fight signs of sun damage to the skin that can pop up over the years. These maintenance sessions involve one laser treatment every 6 to 12 months. This modality is also commonly combined with aging face surgery, with one of the 3 treatments done at the same time as the surgical procedure.
The science behind the CO2 laser resurfacing revolves around introducing controlled damage to the skin layers to “kickstart” your body to produce more collage, growth factors, and to remodel the treated areas to be resurfaced. This same principle applies to chemical peels, dermabrasion, and microneedling. These other options can be helpful for certain skin types. To find out which resurfacing is right for you, it’s best to set up a complimentary consultation with our office so we can give you personalized recommendations.
CO2 laser treatment is an ideal way to treat the surface of your skin, whether you are looking for preventive services, treating the beginnings of fine lines, or have had a long history of sun damage with deeper facial wrinkles. Our expert team can help you choose which laser treatment is best for you. At Smith Cosmetic Surgery, we also have Alexandrite Laser, YAG Laser, and IPL treatments. These can be used for spot treatments or for a more general rejuvenation:
The Alexandrite laser (Aka Alex), specifically targets brown spots, and can often treat stubborn brown spots that are resistant to lightening creams and other resurfacing methods. This laser treatment can be done with numbing cream and does not require anesthesia.
The YAG laser can also be done in the office and is used to specifically target small blood vessels. One of the most common areas treated are the blood vessels next to the nostrils which can become more prominent with age.
IPL is a great minimal downtime skin treatment that can be done to both the face and body to help give a more glowing and refreshed skin surface while evening skin tone. IPL treatment is done in the office with numbing cream applied beforehand.
There is a lot of information about different laser types which is specific to each individual. To find out which treatment may be best for you and get an expert opinion, you may set up a complimentary consultation by calling our office at 303-741-2211.
