Lasers are all around us these days. From helping get an accurate yardage on the links at English Hills to scanning our groceries at Meijer, lasers are on the job. How about revitalizing our skin? Yep. That too.
At Elite Plastic Surgery, we offer the Sciton ProFractional-XC laser for skin resurfacing with great results and little downtime.
What is ProFractional-XC therapy?
The goal of ProFractional laser therapy is to improve the overall appearance of the skin. Sunspots, age spots, pigmentation issues, dry areas, and other sun damage issues can be treated with ProFractional therapy.
ProFractional-XC therapy is “fractionated” laser resurfacing, meaning that only a fraction of the skin’s actual surface is treated.
How does it work?
The Sciton laser is adjusted by your Elite aesthetician for your particular issues being addressed. The laser then ablates thousands of pinpoint channels through the epidermis down into the dermis layer of the skin. These microscopic channels are surrounded by untreated tissue, which promotes rapid healing. If you like metaphors, think of it as when the greens at English Hills are aerated. The punctures are surrounded by healthy grass that gets to work fixing the holes.
The real key to laser resurfacing, however, is the body’s response. Although the holes are only the size of a pore, the body perceives these tiny punctures as a wound and responds correspondingly. This wound response is the production of new collagen (the body’s proteins that are responsible for the skin’s underlying support structure) and skin cells in the “wound” area. This creates new, firmer skin that is free of blemishes.
The procedure
A numbing cream is usually all that is needed for patient comfort. Once the skin is cleaned and the numbing cream applied, the laser handpiece is moved across the treatment areas ablating the skin. A normal procedure takes just 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the treatment area.
After treatment, you will likely have some mild redness and your skin will feel as if it has been lightly sunburned. The tiny channels begin healing almost immediately, completely healing in just a few days. As your skin heals, you will notice a general tightening effect, but the true benefits of the collagen remodeling take from four to six months to fully show themselves.
Want to give your skin a little rejuvenation during this cold Grand Rapids winter? Come see us at Elite for a ProFractional treatment. Contact us at (616) 459-1907 to schedule an appointment.
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