Fractional Lasers

Fractional Lasers

Fractional lasers are designed to combine the merits of aggressive laser resurfacing (effective) and gentle, non-ablative laser procedures (safe). Fractional lasers work on the innovative principle of fractional photothermolysis. What this means is that instead of resurfacing – and in effect damaging - the whole area, only microscopic columns of skin are targeted. Healing therefore occurs at a much faster rate and side effects are fewer than if the whole area had been treated; as the "healthy" untreated tissue surrounding treated zones helps to fill in the damaged area with new cells. Heat produced around the laser columns also stimulates collagen production resulting in a younger and healthier looking skin texture.

 
Fraxel machine
Fraxel machine
CoLaGEN Laser
CoLaGEN Laser

At SkinCentral we have two fractional laser systems:

  • Fraxel laser using 1550nm for coagulating micro-columns
  • CoLaGEN laser using CO2 for vaporizing micro-columns

Fractional lasers are particularly good for:

procedure

The procedure:

  1. Laser
  2. Epidermis
  3. Dermis
  4. New Collagen

Fractional Laser: The procedure

Some pain should be expected. A numbing cream is applied to the area to be treated for at least one hour prior to the treatment. A cold blast of air offers additional comfort during the Fraxel treatment. Treatment times are between 20-30 minutes.

Although a very light Fraxel treatment requires little down time, we recommend that Fraxel and Fractional CO2 laser treatments be carried out at more effective levels, as conditions like deep acne scars will not respond as well to light treatments. Therefore in most cases, redness, swelling and "browning" can be expected for the first three to four days, followed by some pinkness (which can be easily concealed with make-up) for about a week after treatment.

The number of treatments (usually spaced out at four week intervals) depends on the condition to be treated and the degree of desired improvement. For depressed acne scars, typically 6-8 or more treatments are needed; whereas for around the eyes, usually only two to three sessions are needed to see an improvement in skin firmness and wrinkles.


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