It has become exceedingly difficult to keep track of and treat all the various blemishes that may plague our skin. From the environment in which you live to harsh skin products to old age, so many different factors can make taking good care of your skin a real challenge.
A long list of laser treatments can address these concerns plaguing patients of cosmetic procedures. This article will simplify things by explaining the various types of treatments and how they treat separate conditions. Review our primer article if you need a refresher on what laser skin treatment is.
CO2 Laser
This type of laser will help treat deep skin flaws like scars, wrinkles, and warts. First introduced back in the 1960s, carbon dioxide lasers fall under the category of ablative laser treatments, which deliver an intense wavelength of light that removes the outer layers of your skin. These types of skin treatments are ideal for those looking to conceal deep acne scars that prove to be exceedingly challenging to hide. By poking holes in the skin and promoting the regeneration of collagen, CO2 provides a significant improvement in generally fewer sessions than other laser treatments.
Other features that this more aggressive treatment can effectively treat or remove include face lines and wrinkles, loose skin, precancerous lesions, and undesired tattoos. Note that ablative procedures come with more severe side effects, such as a more extended recovery period, pigmentation, itching and burning sensations, skin redness, and scarring.
Erbium Laser
Erbium lasers can be either ablative or non-ablative. Non-ablative lasers can penetrate the outer layer of the skin with minimal effects to instead work on deeper regions. Erbium lasers specifically help to remove moderately deep lines and wrinkles with fewer side effects than CO2 treatment. Like carbon dioxide lasers, abrasive erbium lasers can effectively treat facial lines and wrinkles, precancerous lesions, and acne scars, as well as other features like skin laxity and age spots.
Pulsed-Dye Laser
Ideal for reducing red areas or hyperpigmentation to improve color balance, this type of laser works by targeting and effectively shrinking blood vessels. Pulsed-dye lasers are non-ablative and will feel like rubber band snaps and are safe for use anywhere on the face or body. This treatment can reduce not only redness, but also hyperpigmentation, broken capillaries, rosacea, stretch marks, and fine lines around the eyes.
Because this procedure is akin to a round of short blasts of light, you can expect minimal downtime, but this benefit is balanced by the need for several sessions for effective results. Side effects are minimal but can include temporary pigmentation and the appearance of minor bruises.
Fractional Lasers
Fractional lasers are used to treat a small region of the skin by breaking laser energy up into a vast amount of small beams. These can be ablative or non-ablative and are used to help patients minimize the appearance of age-related blemishes. Other features treated by this procedure include pigmented lesions and acne scars. Because carbon dioxide lasers produce relatively severe side effects, many conditions are now being treated with fractional lasers instead. A new treatment, fractional CO2, provides many of the same benefits with a slightly shorter recovery period.
Nd: YAG Laser
Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet is a man-made crystal that is pumped by high-frequency light and then placed into a device that amplifies the power of the laser. Another example of a non-ablative laser, Nd: YAG delivers a near-infrared wavelength that can help to break down cells with high doses of heat. These penetrate deep into the skin, allowing for the treatment of deep vascular lesions, pigmented lesions, and spider veins, as well as for removing tattoos and hair. Note that the success rate with these lasers is relatively low, pain may occur during the treatment, and redness, swelling, and itching all may persist for up to a week afterward.
Alexandrite Laser
This type of non-ablative laser also emits infrared energy but at a higher frequency than Nd: YAG lasers. Considered to be a red light laser, these will cause damage to the target area via a process called photothermolysis (roughly translated to using light to heat and destroy a region). Alexandrite lasers are useful to treat several skin features and disorders such as brown spots from sun exposure, birthmarks, pigmentation, and pigmented lesions. Getting treated by these lasers will cause the destruction of a small area of your tissue while leaving surrounding areas unscathed. Again, pain during the treatment, along with redness, swelling, and itching afterward can all be expected.
Intense Pulsed Light
Intense pulsed light, often referred to as IPL, technically does not use lasers but can treat many of the features treated by them. Some of these concerns include sun damage, acne, rosacea, and hyperpigmentation, as well as helping with hair and tattoo removal. Light-based treatments come with considerably less downtime than laser ones, but again, this comes with the tradeoff of multiple required sessions.