Fractional Laser Rejuvenation: Description of the Procedure

All women dream of preserving their beauty and youth for as long as possible, using various methods. Modern medicine does not stand still and is actively developing in the field of cosmetology, offering all kinds of procedures and operations for rejuvenation.

Techniques that make it possible to hide the obvious signs of aging without surgery and cosmetic injections are well known and in demand. Fractional laser rejuvenation in the modern world is considered to be one of the most effective methods to deal with age-related skin changes.

Fractional laser: what it is

When you point the laser at the skin, a burn occurs that goes deeper. Regenerative processes are activated, which contributes to achieving the desired result. The procedure is also known as laser treatment.

With the fracture technique, the beam is divided into several micro-beams. The effect on the skin takes the form of a network. After such exposure, the burns look like a large collection of microdots on the unaffected skin.

Important! This significantly reduces the damage to the skin and promotes its quick healing.

The unaffected skin cells actively divide after the laser treatment. At the same time, collagen and elastin are created, which ensure youthful skin.

What is fractional photothermolysis and how does it work?

Fractional photothermolysisis ​​a process of destroying focal tissue by heating it with light energy (laser).

The effect is due to two phenomena:

• First, the old tissue is physically destroyed and removed, and a new one grows in its place, free of any defect;
• Second, skin cells are activated by heating, a phenomenon called "heat shock" occurs when cells begin to function as young and actively rebuild the skin's collagen-elastin framework.

Ultimately, the skin is not only tightened and freed of age spots, but also smoothed: Scars and wrinkles are smoothed, stretch marks disappear, pore sizes decrease, it becomes denser and more elastic.

The visible effect is already noticeable after ONE procedure, and a pronounced rejuvenation result is observed after several procedures. In addition, there is a good lifting effect several months after the procedure.

Procedure types

There are two types.

1. ablative. Exposure to the laser causes tissue dehydration, creating an open micro-wound and injuring cells nearby. A lifting effect can be felt during the recovery process, but there is a risk of infection.
2. Not ablative. With such radiation, the skin remains intact, water from the tissue does not evaporate and microscopic wounds do not occur. The process of the appearance and healing of burns takes place under the epidermis, which eliminates the risk of infection. However, the result of such a taper is less noticeable.

Important! One or another technique is selected by a specialist, taking into account the individual characteristics of the patient's skin.

Applied devices

The consequences depend not only on the skills of the doctor, but also on what kind of hardware the salon or clinic has made available. In most cases it is a technique made in Europe. They are sold in specialty stores or on the manufacturers' official websites. Renting is possible for a single use.

Only professional equipment is used, it's quite expensive. These aredifferent types: both ablative and non-ablative (the work surface is pressed against the skin or held at a distance).

Problems that can be fixed this way

Post acne. Such scars are a very common problem that involves physical and emotional stress. The procedure can reduce the appearance of acne scars. Different skin resurfacing methods are used depending on the type of scar.

wrinkles around the eyes. Expression lines and dark circles under the eyes are the main indications. It won't be possible to remove all of the wrinkles in one operation, but their depth will decrease and they will be less noticeable. For a noticeable result, you will need 4-5 procedures.

Important! Dysport injections help mimic wrinkles, which can also reduce the likelihood of new wrinkles appearing in the future.

wrinkles around the mouth. Considered the most severe type of wrinkle. To get rid of them, continuous laser grinding is used. This method helps to shorten the duration of the rehabilitation period, but it requires more sessions (4-5).

Important! In order to achieve maximum results in a short time, you can combine the procedure with the introduction of fillers.

What is the advantage of fractional photothermolysis over radio waves and photolifting?

In contrast to laser treatment, fractional photothermolysis does not remove the epidermis immediately on the entire surface of the skin, but rather "fractionates" it - in even micro-areas, each one millimeter in size. At the same time, healing takes place quickly and without negative consequences, as there is no extensive wound surface and intact skin remains between the micro-areas. The widely used photo and radio wave lifting is based on heating collagen fibers without removing the epidermis.

Merits

The main distinguishing feature from other methods is the ideal ratio of efficiency and security.

Main advantages:

• the ability to influence any part of the body;
• extensive list of indications;
The
• laser affects around 20% of the damaged skin area.
• recovery speed (3-6 days);
• Accessibility of the procedure for dark-skinned patients;
• long-lasting effect (more than 1 year).

Important! The only downside is the inadequate disclosure of all the characteristics of fractional laser tapering as the technology is relatively new.

Instructions for use:

• wrinkles;
• insufficient skin elasticity;
• pigmentation;
• scars;
• enlarged pores;
• stretch marks.

Measured values ​​

Anyone who wants to rejuvenate without serious braces can use this method.

Fractional laser treatment combats many imperfections on the face, including:

• strong wrinkles on the forehead;
• nasolabial folds;
• crow's foot thread around the eyes;
• epidermis, "flowing";
• skin pigmentation, scars, scars, spider veins;
• problem of enlarged pores, acne.

Laser therapy has been shown to be very effective in eliminating all of these problems.

The only limitation is that multiple procedures may be required depending on the severity of the imperfection.

What is the facial electroporation method and expert feedback on the effectiveness of the procedure? Read here the details of the yellow peeling - what it is and for what purpose it is done.

procedure

Before the procedure, the beautician can prescribe anti-infectious and antibacterial drugs for prophylaxis for several days.

Important! On the day of the procedure, it is worth completely avoiding physical stress, alcoholic beverages and smoking.

Before the fractional rejuvenation, the skin must be cleaned well and treated with special anesthetics. Sometimes this is not necessary.

Laser exposure can cause a slight tingling sensation. The duration of the procedure varies between 10 and 60 minutes. The number of sessions required is individually assigned to each patient. A soothing cream should be applied at the end of exposure.

In the future, the skin will need special care.

1. Apply a moisturizer to your skin several times a day for 10-14 days.
2. Protect the skin from UV rays for 2-3 months.
3. Do not use scrubs for 2-3 weeks.
4. Give up cosmetics that contain retinol and salicylic acid for 2 weeks.
5. Try to give up or stick to bad habits during the recovery period.

Watch out!It usually takes 3 to 7 days to restore.

Reviews and Results

According to the reviews of most patients, non-ablative laser rejuvenation is really very easy to tolerate and gives excellent results. After 3-6 sessions, performed every 2-4 weeks, you can rejuvenate by 5-10 years without taking long breaks from work and without serious inconvenience in the recovery period.

The technology makes it possible to preserve the top layer of the epidermis as much as possible.The protective properties of the skin are partially retained, and you can go outside safely for 2-3 days without forgetting to protect yourself from ultraviolet radiation. She successfully tackles most of the early signs of aging. However, in order to permanently remove mimicking wrinkles in the frontal area and nasolabial folds, it is advisable to introduce botox after completing the rejuvenation course, which does not allow the muscles to contract and create new skin folds. The lifting effect with proper facial care lasts for up to 3-5 years.

Skin changes

After the procedure, redness, swelling and discomfort may occur for 2 days. If this condition is difficult to tolerate, pain relievers can be used to cool the offending skin area.

Over time, the skin may appear slightly tanned.

Important! Don't do anything - normal skin color will return on its own after a few weeks. For a week, the skin dries out and flakes off.

Possible unpleasant consequences

Don't worry if your skin turns reddish and "burns" after the first procedure. This does not indicate the inaccuracy of the procedure, but is considered the body's natural response. After 2-3 hours there may also be swelling around the nose and eyes.

Important! To get rid of it faster, you should pay attention to the rapid removal of fluid from the body (eat less salty and spicy foods, take a diuretic).

The next morning many are horrified to see the blood on their skin. It can get hard and turn into a crust. This is also seen as a natural response. In this type of procedure, the top protective layer of skin is removed - a new one appears under the crust. Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to touch with your hands and try to tear off the crust. Otherwise there is a risk of infection and scars may appear on the face. The crust will peel off on its own once the tissue has healed. This can be observed after 5-7 days, so be patient. After another month, the skin of the face has a pink tint and is also sensitive to light - you need to stock up on protective creams.

Post-procedure side effects are no exception. A rash, mild scabies, and a different skin color may appear in certain areas of the face. Over time, this will pass, but the sensations are quite uncomfortable. High risk of side effects in patients with excessive skin sensitivity.

The beautician prescribes care after fractional thermolysis individually, but there are general recommendations. All you have to do is wash your face with clean and slightly warm water (in no case hot). Forget about peeling and peeling for the duration of the recovery period. You can not stay in the open sun for 7-10 days, after which it is worth using special creams. It is important to get proper sleep, diet, and rest. If you follow all the instructions, after 2 weeks you can forget about the unpleasant sensations.

Contraindications

To avoid unpleasant consequences, you should make sure that there are no contraindications.

Absolute contraindications are:

• pregnancy and breastfeeding;
• tendency to scarring;
• chronic infectious diseases;
• oncology;
• serious problems with the immune system;
• exacerbation of psoriasis.

Among the relative there are:

• high blood sugar;
• kidney disease;
• mental health problems;
• unwillingness to follow a specialist's recommendations;
• last tan.

Important!Only beauticians with experience and skills can be employed with the procedure.

Preparation and execution

It is extremely important to find a highly qualified specialist who will perform the procedure using non-ablative technology. Because of its sensitive effects on the skin, there is simply no one-size-fits-all technique that is suitable for everyone. And we need to choose an individual program for each patient, taking into account the age and condition of the skin.

Before the meeting

The preparation phase can be very short. With the non-ablative method, you don't have to wait for the tan to go away. You can also work on skin with small, non-purulent pimples or acne (the condition will improve significantly after the procedure). The most important thing is that there are no contraindications.

A few days before the first session, it is very important to avoid damage or severe skin irritation in problem areas. Therefore, it is better to abandon cosmetics containing alcohol, and not peel them.

You should also stop taking anticoagulants, tetracycline antibiotics, and retinol. On the day of the session, it is better not to apply any creams on the face at all.

Technology

The process is quite comfortable and takes 10 minutes to half an hour. The patient is not in severe pain, so the use of local anesthesia is usually not necessary. However, this is allowed for people with a high threshold of sensitivity.

The procedure execution diagram looks like this:

• The patient is comfortably laid on the couch.
• hair must be tucked under a disposable hat;
• the face is thoroughly cleaned of cosmetic residues;
• a cooling conductive gel is applied to problem areas;
• The head of the device is slowly moved over the skin.
• When the button is pressed, a laser beam is generated.
• After treating the entire surface, apply a mask with panthenol.

You can safely go home within 15 to 20 minutes of the end of the session.

Rehabilitation phase

After the laser treatment of the skin, a light crust forms. The timing of its disappearance depends on the characteristics of the recovery process of a particular type of skin. It also affects the rehabilitation phase. The duration is 2 to 4 weeks. In this case, it is not necessary for the patient to be constantly monitored by specialists. However, it is worthwhile to steadfastly follow all the prescribed recommendations for a month, namely:

• give up physical activity;
• don't go to the solarium, the baths, the saunas;
• does without decorative cosmetics for a while;
• protect yourself from mechanical stress.

Important! In order to achieve the desired result and keep it for a long time, it is worth visiting a beautician regularly. It won't hurt to go through a whole series of procedures that consist of 4-5 sessions.

Method action

The laser beam penetrates from a few micrometers to 3-4 mm deep into the skin. At the same time, its surface layer is not completely destroyed, although the natural protection is significantly weakened. The result of such an exposure is:

• Reducing the depth of expression lines;
• almost complete elimination of smaller ones;
• noticeable skin tightening;
• restore the sharpness of the face oval;
• reduction of fenders and double chin;
• Elimination of flat pigmentation;
• Smoothing the skin relief;
• removal of spider veins and meshes;
• narrowing of enlarged pores;
• increased skin tone;
• Improvement and alignment of the complexion.

After non-ablative rejuvenation, patients look visually fresher. And after a competent treatment, you can "erase" the face for 5 to 10 years. At the same time, there are no wrinkles, scars and other traces as in surgical interventions.

Procedure duration

The duration is determined by the size of the area affected by the laser. The chin takes about 15 minutes and the whole face takes no more than 80 minutes. If only a laser cleaning or a surface resurfacing of the upper layer of the skin needs to be carried out, this takes much less time compared to correcting deeper layers.

Fractional CO2 laser

With fractional radiation rejuvenation, precise techniques are applied to the epidermis in order to correct age-related skin problems. The principle is the basis for most modern cosmetic devices. Fractional CO2 laser is popular and is considered the most innovative development.

Important! The procedure is abbreviated as "fraxel".

Working principle of fractionated CO2 lasers

The basis of laser operation is the mechanism of a point effect, only the upper layers of the skin are heated, and intact areas of skin remain between the "damaged" points. Rejuvenation with the help of such a laser is superior to outdated methods in many ways, when the entire surface of the skin was injured and the likelihood of infection, burns and other side effects was many times higher.

The effectiveness of the technique is explained by the formation of microthermal areas in the tissues, which represent the epicenter of active processes of cell regeneration. The regeneration not only extends to these areas, but also affects healthy tissue.

Important! After fractional rejuvenation, the skin regenerates much faster than the effect on the entire skin of the face, and the effect lasts for several years.

Fractional lasers are a relatively new development that already has specific development stages.

Level 1.Creation of an erbium laser which is used in the non-ablative form of fractional laser tapering. The surface layer of the skin is not affected during its application, the effect only occurs on the deep layers. The procedure has received a lot of positive reviews from beauticians and patients.

Important! After a while, some flaws in the device were discovered, so they had to start improving it.

Level 2. The advent of the fractional CO2 laser. It differs from erbium in that it is operated with gas mixtures. During the operation of the device, microthermal pillars appear, affecting absolutely all layers of the skin. The process of cell division begins around them, new ones appear. The advantages of this technology lie in the possibility of influencing even the most complex scars. You can also use this method to deal with deep wrinkles and porosity of the skin. Lasers also help to achieve a more noticeable result of skin rejuvenation, which is the main goal of this type of procedure. The device can easily deal with deep wrinkles, scars and pronounced skin defects. Laser beams are quickly absorbed by water, which evaporates instantly.

Important! The device also enables areas such as the décolleté, eyelids and neck to be influenced.

Nowadays, most anti-aging drug manufacturers are developing similar lasers. By the way, every patient can buy one or the other type of device himself. When buying a device with a fractional laser, it is important to pay attention to its technical description and properties: energy density, size of the microthermal surface, etc.

The fractionated CO2 laser is characterized by its ease of use through simple control and the possibility of selecting different geometric shapes and sizes of the illuminated area.

Important! If you want to buy such a device for rejuvenation, you should pay attention to the reliability of the manufacturer and the supplier, since lasers are quite complex from a technological point of view.