Fractional Laser Treatments for Sun-Damaged Skin

Individuals with skin that has been damaged by the sun often do not realize it until those dark spots begin showing up. Fortunately, when this happens, you can minimize the appearance of these spots with fractional laser treatments.

Sometimes called age spots, sun spots are actually places with more pigment than the surrounding skin. Pigment is produced by a substance called melanin. When you are exposed to the sun, the skin produces additional melanin as a way or protecting itself against the harmful UV rays of the sun. This extra melanin is what produces the tan.

xWhen the skin is exposed to excessive amounts of sun repeatedly over the years, the melanin gets to the point that it becomes concentrated in spots and remains there even after the tan has faded. As a result, treatments for sun-damaged skin will target those areas of concentrated melanin in order to give the skin a more even tone.

Laser treatments are often given to remove these sun spots. The heat from the laser will safely destroy those cells and the body’s healing process replaces those cells with healthier ones that do not contain the added melanin. If effect, these treatments will break down excessive melanin.

Fractional laser treatments work by sending very small columns of laser energy deep into the skin to eliminate the pigmented cells in the epidermis. Since the treatments only target small columns of the skin, there is plenty of tissue that is left undisturbed. As a result, healing takes place much faster than it would if all of the tissue was treated. This allows individuals to get back to their normal lives quicker with much less discomfort.

These laser treatments can the help skin in other ways also. As the skin begins to age, it produces less of two substances called elastin and collagen. Elastin is what gives the skin the ability to return to its normal shape and position when it is stretched. In other words, elastin gives the skin its elasticity. Collagen, on the other hand, is a protein that gives the skin its fullness.

When the collagen and elastin levels are not what they once were, the skin can become loose. In addition, it will not return to its former position when normal movements result in constant stretching of the skin. The result is skin that can begin to sag and develop wrinkles over time.

Fractional laser treatments help with loose and wrinkled skin by stimulating the production of additional elastin and collagen. This returns the levels of those two substances to what they once were. The end result is skin that has a younger look.

If you have sun-damaged skin or skin that is otherwise making you look older than you are, you should have a conversation with our specialist at Skin Renewal of Tulsa about your treatment options. You might even want to ask about the advantages of fractional laser therapy via the Co2re Face treatment. Contact us today to schedule a consultation at our office in Tulsa!