Wrinkles are inevitable, but they’re not inescapable. These days, it seems like there’s an infinite supply of treatments claiming to reduce or remove wrinkles. The difficulty becomes separating the ones that work from the ones that don’t.
Today, we’re answering, “does laser skin resurfacing reduce wrinkles?”
To start, let’s consider what wrinkles are, and how they form.
How Wrinkles Form
Wrinkles—creases, or folds in the skin—are a natural part of ageing. They can start as fine lines, but deepen over time.
Wrinkles form as the result of a combination of factors. As we age our skin:
- Loses elasticity
- Becomes thinner
- Dries out
Those are the main, unavoidable causes of wrinkles. But other factors can accelerate their formation as well.
Exposure to sunlight is a major contributor. UV light breaks down collagen and elastin fibres, causing the skin to lose elasticity faster. This reduces the skin’s ability to bounce back, leading to deeper, lasting wrinkles.
Smoking and drinking can also cause early, or more severe, wrinkles. Smoking reduces blood flow to the skin, while alcohol dehydrates the skin, drying it out faster.
Facial expressions can also play a role. Every time we squint, frown or smile we create a groove under the surface of the skin. When we’re young, the groove bounces back quickly, but this recovery slows over time.
So while we should embrace our “laugh lines” to an extent, repeated facial expressions can end up leaving permanent marks when we’re older.
How Laser Resurfacing Works on Wrinkles
Laser resurfacing is becoming a popular way to remove wrinkles. That’s because it’s fast, effective, and non-invasive. This makes it a popular alternative to a facelift. Laser resurfacing works on wrinkles by making your skin act like younger skin.
Skin resurfacing lasers perform a laser peel, which is basically a more advanced chemical peel.
The laser removes the top layer of skin, while simultaneously heating the layers underneath it. The removal reduces the appearance of wrinkles and the heat helps to promote collagen and elastin production.
This allows your skin to “bounce back” better than before. Meaning smoother, more youthful-looking skin.
Lasers are effective for anti-ageing skin treatments on the dermis and epidermis, where wrinkles are found. The fastest results occur where the wrinkles are more shallow, on the outer layer of skin (epidermis).
The deeper the wrinkles, the more treatments you may require. However, even a single laser resurfacing treatment will have visible results in reducing the appearance of wrinkles.
Other Issues Laser Resurfacing Treats
Cosmetic laser therapy isn’t just for wrinkles. As mentioned above, it’s an effective treatment for a variety of signs of ageing on the dermis and epidermis.
Some of the other common applications of laser resurfacing include:
- Scar Reduction
- Removing Cosmetic Skin lesions
- Reducing/Removing Hyperpigmentation & Age Spots
- Skin Tightening
- Removing Stretchmarks
- Reducing Sagging Skin
Types of Lasers for Wrinkle Reduction
The right laser and laser technician make a big impact on the effectiveness of your laser wrinkle reduction treatment. Clinics use a variety of lasers for wrinkle reduction like CO2 and Erbium lasers. But the most trusted and effective options are BBL and Halo Hybrid Fractional Lasers.
BBL
BBL is BroadBand Light therapy, which uses pulsed infrared and visible light energy to heat up the skin. The laser technician can adjust to a variety of wavelengths depending on skin tone, skin type, and skin condition.
BroadBand Light therapy is immensely versatile and offers several different treatments. The most popular applications include BBL Correct, Forever Bare, Forever Clear, and Forever Young.
For wrinkle reduction, BBL Forever Young is the best option. It helps to reduce the wrinkle-forming effects of sunlight on your skin, training the skin cells to act like young cells.
Halo Hybrid Fractional Laser
The Halo Hybrid Fractional Laser is the ultimate in laser wrinkle reduction. It uses dual wavelengths (one ablative, one non-ablative) in each treatment.
These separate wavelengths work together to provide a more effective laser resurfacing. It also reduces the number of sessions, since you get two treatments in one!
The effects of the Halo Hybrid Fractional Laser can be fast, penetrating deep for lasting results.
The ablative wavelength also has an immediate effect on the outer layer of your skin. The non-ablative wavelength then penetrates deeply, regenerating skin fibres below.
The two together work to create dramatic, lasting wrinkle reduction.
Laser Resurfacing Wrinkle Reduction Clinic in Newmarket
Plastic Surgery Skin Clinic is Newmarket’s trusted source for safe and effective cosmetic laser therapy. Our clinic has plastic surgeons on staff to assess your best options, and ensure you get the optimal treatment for your skin and your goals.