Lasers can be used to treat unwanted hair, pigment, broken blood vessels, leg veins and tattoos. The skin can also be rejuvenated with lasers and the appearance improved by reducing fine lines and wrinkles , minimizing surgical and acne scars, and reducing stretch marks.
Many of these skin conditions can also be treated with IPL (intense pulsed light).
Lasers can renew the skin by enhancing collagen and elastin production resulting in the reduction of fine lines and wrinkles providing a smooth and youthful looking appearance. Lasers can also lighten pigmentation caused by sun damage on the face, neck, hands, arms and legs. For many people, unwanted pigmentation is one of the first signs of aging.
Fractional lasers apply light in tiny micro-beams to create micro-columns of treatment, which can be controlled by size, energy, depth and the space between each micro-column. By treating a portion of the surface of the skin, healing and recovery is faster with few risks.
Unlike ablative lasers, which remove the top layer of skin and part of the sub-layer, non-ablative fractional lasers keep the outer layer of skin in place, for faster healing and recovery.
Recently, the FDA cleared the use of the combination of ablative and non-ablative fractional lasers to create a new approach in aesthetic treatments* that takes advantage of the best of both technologies. This approach can provide dramatic yet natural looking results by improving fine lines and wrinkles and treating unwanted pigmentation with as little as 3 days of recovery.
* Palomar Medical Technologies , Inc. offers the only FDA cleared combination of fractional ablative and non-ablative laser treatment.
Unlike lasers that generally work with a single wavelength of light , IPL uses many wavelengths of specifically filtered light. Both lasers and IPL devices are designed to treat specific unwanted targets in the skin like pigment from sun damage, broken blood vessels or hair.
IPL can provide laser-like results on a variety of unwanted conditions. Treatment sessions are fast and easy, and little to no downtime is required for recovery. Depending on the level of treatment, you can have an IPL or laser treatment session on your lunch break and return immediately to work or your daily activities.
The Fitzpatrick Skin Typing is a visual examination and interview that is used to assess the melanin content of your skin. This information helps to determine the most effective treatment strategy using laser and IPL devices for treating a variety of skin conditions.
The Skintel™ Melanin Reader™ provides an additional element of treatment confidence by determining the average melanin density of skin, in a quantitative manner, prior to laser or IPL based aesthetic treatment - such as hair removal or photorejuvenation. Understanding how much melanin is in the skin helps the aesthetic professional to better choose the treatment settings on laser and IPL devices for enhanced treatment outcomes, while minimizing risk of over treatment.