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CO2 Laser Resurfacing — the Gold Standard

Years in the Nevada sun and what do you have? Sun damaged, weathered, wrinkled, dull skin. There are various treatments to address your damaged skin, but the gold standard in skin rejuvenation is the CO2 laser. Dr. Herte has been taking decades off her patients’ skin with the CO2 laser for over 20 years.

But as with most things in life, there are goods and bads about CO2 laser treatments.

Advantages of CO2 Laser Resurfacing

CO2 laser resurfacingWhy does Dr. Herte think this laser resurfacing is the best skin rejuvenation option? Because it works. CO2 laser resurfacing reduces visible skin wrinkling by over 50%. It is best known for dramatic improvements in deep wrinkling, but also does a great job on fine lines, general texture, and pigmentation issues. Acne scarring also responds well to CO2 laser resurfacing. While some people feel surgical dermabrasion is better for acne scarring, Dr. Herte prefers the CO2 laser for its better control options.

A side benefit of this type of laser resurfacing is that the heat produced by the procedure also creates a slight firming and tightening of the skin.

Disadvantages

CO2 laser resurfacing isn’t a quick process. It requires a large time commitment for recovery after treatment. Patients usually have up to two weeks of weepy, oozing skin, followed by weeks (possibly months) of pink, fragile skin. Sun exposure needs to be totally avoided during recovery and the skin is easily irritated.

Patients with darker skin tones are not good candidates for CO2 laser resurfacing. Why? The strength of the laser can overly reduce the patient’s normal pigmentation, leaving a paler facial complexion compared to adjacent skin.

Also, this procedure can only be used on the face, so if a patient has sun damaged neck skin or an olive complexion, they may see a line where the treatment ends. For those people, it’s a good idea to combine CO2 laser resurfacing with another procedure on the neck such as ResurFX Laser Resurfacing or a TCA chemical peel.

Want to really address your sun damage? Call Dr. Herte at 702-732-9600 and let’s discuss CO2 laser resurfacing.