can I have laser treatment for wrinkles but without the downtime since the
mid-1990s laser treatment has become well established as one of the most
effective ways to treat wrinkles of course the term laser evokes
science-fiction imagery which implies immediate results with no downtime in
reality there are different ways that lasers can be used to help improve the
appearance of wrinkles based on principles which determine how the skin
heals after light energy is absorbed by different parts of the skin and how
different forms of energy interact with these parts of the skin one approach for
example is using a laser like the co2 laser which is absorbed by water to
remove the top layer of skin so afterwards a new smoother and more
youthful layer of skin can come in this is known as ablation in addition to
removing wrinkled and discolored skin the heat generated by the co2 laser can
cause the skin to contract and stimulate cells called fibroblasts to produce
collagen another laser technology which can improve the appearance of wrinkles
without any downtime is a non ablative laser when you learn about the existence
of these two very different options how do you decide what to do at a time when
a lot of lasers are aggressively marketed to be the best laser for
wrinkles every other day it's helpful to understand some principles of laser
treatment so you can see past the noise and the hype if your goal is to improve
the appearance of wrinkles I'll discuss how I apply customized strategies which
include lasers to help my patients improve their wrinkles without downtime
every day in my practice I'm Dr. Amiya Prasad I'm a Board-certified cosmetic
surgeon and Fellowship-trained oculofacial plastic and
reconstructive surgeon have been in practice in Manhattan and Long Island
for over 20 years I've been performing laser treatment since the mid 1990s with
the first fully ablative co2 lasers as technologies changed I continue to
integrate newer technologies such as fractional co2 and erbium laser as well
as more recent technological advances such as long pulse erbium and nd-yag
laser in addition to non ablative technology such as q-switch laser I also
perform radiofrequency treatments like peleve particularly for darker skin
types who are not laser candidates I was also among the first proponents of using
platelet-rich plasma or PRP for improving skin quality when the first
fully ablative co2 lasers were used in the 1990s the outer layer of facial skin
would be removed leaving the skin raw the aftercare was essentially burn
management downtime was for several weeks with intense redness lasting for
months once the new layers of skin came in and the wrinkles improved the
patients were mostly happy with their results this prolonged downtime as well
as conspicuous appearance in the first week to two weeks kept a lot of
potential patients away from this treatment fractional laser technology
allowed for shorter healing times for partially ablating the top layer of skin
and allow the skin to heal faster fractional laser treatments such as co2
and erbium are very effective in improving skin quality and texture as
well as stimulating collagen but they still require some downtime although
much less than fully ablative laser treatment so how can we apply the
benefits of laser technology without any downtime by first understanding the
underlying problem the skin we're trying to address I look at it this way the
skin which is about two millimeters in thickness is made up of two
the dermis and the epidermis the dermis is the backbone or foundation of the
skin this foundation is supported by cables made of collagen aging health and
environmental factors caused breakdown and loss of collagen loss of collagen in
the skin has an effect on the skin like the brakes and the foundation of a
structure that would be like a building lines or wrinkles which are present at
rest refer to as static lines can be the result of loss of support caused by loss
of collagen a universal goal in the claim of superiority for every new
technology in the stimulation of the skin to produce collagen if you look at
the claims made by technologies such as laser or radiofrequency and micro
needling they all list the stimulation of collagen production as being a
significant benefit much of this stimulation of collagen is based on the
physiologic response of the skin to a medically induced controlled injury the
skin recovers from injury by producing collagen there is however a limit on how
much collagen can be generated by your skin regardless of the technology this
concept is something that I have observed as being generally ignored by
practitioners it is common in our practice to see a patient
after they had several different laser treatments by several different
practitioners over the course of a few years I often find the skin to be
scarred or thinner than I would expect this is the result of over treating I
compare this injury to the skin to be comparable to the type of injury which
occurs if you force someone with weak muscles to lift weights that are too
heavy this means that a strategy for wrinkle treatment needs to be well
thought out before being implemented to improve the appearance of wrinkles laser
treatment can be used to stimulate collagen in the dermis to restore
support and new the top layer of skin to restore
even texture and color during my assessment I look at what my patient
wants to improve and determine the level of severity of the fine lines they're
interested in treating I explained to my patients that as a general rule the
deeper the lines the more aggressive the laser treatment needs to be practically
speaking I find that unless I'm doing a surgical procedure such as eyelid
surgery or facelift surgery when people are already taking a week or so off so
they have a period of time they will not be seen my patients generally prefer to
avoid procedures where the skin is ablated and they have to be out of
commission even for a few days for minimal to moderate depth wrinkles laser
treatment can be performed without ablation and without the downtime one
laser I use is a non ablative 1064 YAG laser the outer layer of skin is
preserved but the heat of the laser can penetrate into the dermis to induce a
collagen response and remodel the skin since wrinkles are often associated with
Sun induced skin discolorations I also treat these discolorations refer to as
solar disk crummiest and solar lenta goes I use the q-switch laser to treat
pigment at this level without ablation of the top layer skin in our office we
use the same q-switch laser for tattoo removal I then deliver platelet-rich
plasma or PRP to induce maximal collagen production within the body without using
heat PRP is a concentration of wound healing and growth factors present in
your blood PRP is prepared by drawing a patient's blood and then spinning the
blood in a centrifuge to separate the platelets the skin can benefit from PRP
with collagen stimulation improvement in blood supply increase in skin thickness
which ultimately results in a nice glow and luster to the skin which is fairly
unique to PRP while PRP is often injected into the skin or applied
topically after micro needling I find that a treatment we call skin boosting
by using a specially designed device effectively delivers PRP directly into
the skin without causing swelling bleeding or bruising PRP can also be
mixed with hyaluronic acid to provide a scaffold for the fibroblasts to place
collagen more effectively as well as adding hydration to the dermis to
improve the skin surface or epidermis without downtime we help our patients
with a procedure called HydraFacial HydraFacial uses water for the same
effect as microdermabrasion to remove dead skin cells from the outer skin
layer while avoiding irritation often associated with traditional
microdermabrasion glycolic acid and hyaluronic acid is often used during the
HydraFacial session which provides maximum benefit to the epidermis Hydra
facial also involves no downtime and the skin can look really good right after
the procedure more aggressive lasers have an important role in wrinkle
treatment as skin improvement fractional and partially a blade of lasers like co2
erbium and Andy AGG are still highly effective for combined treatment or
improvement of the dermis and epidermis although downtime is required anytime
the outer skin layer is partially ablated it can be for a limited time in
my practice I strive to help my patients with minimal to moderate wrinkles with
combined combinations of technologies such as non ablative laser PRP and Hydra
facial to get maximum results with no downtime I provide my patients with
perspectives and a strategy for maintenance consumers our bra
with aggressive messaging from companies who pay celebrities to claim that the
secret to their youthful appearance is the technology that the celebrity was
paid to endorsed you can potentially avoid getting your skin cooked and
damaged by finding an ethical and highly experienced doctor to be with you for
the long-term so you can achieve your goals and look your best I hope you
found this information helpful thank you for your question
you