What is laser treatment or laser surgery? Lasers have become a popular topic of discussion, but there is still a lot of misunderstanding about what lasers can do in different contexts. We hope to address popular questions about laser treatments.
Laser treatments are a frequent topic of discussion in the context of beauty and anti-aging, but what exactly does it do?
The use of laser technology has become popular in dermatology, both for treating conditions and for making cosmetic improvements. There is a popular misconception that lasers are a singular technology that does a specific thing, or makes the skin look generally better. Each laser has its applications, advantages, and disadvantages, and can be used in a variety of ways depending on what the patient is looking for. Contexts in which lasers are used in dermatology include hair removal, tattoo removal, acne treatment, eczema treatment, psoriasis treatment, vitiligo treatment, or cosmetic treatments to smoothen skin.
In the context of anti-aging, how does laser help to smooth the skin or improve the appearance of the skin?
Laser resurfacing or photo-rejuvenation is one of the most popular ways in which lasers are used. Lasers are used to reduce wrinkles, reduce uneven skin tone from sun spots, broken blood vessels, and smooth out the skin. Lasers cause damage to the skin, but in a controlled manner. The laser induces the skin to heal by creating new cells which replace the old skin. This new skin replaces the previously damaged skin, improving superficial unevenness of skin tone caused by sunspots, and reducing the appearance of wrinkles. Chemical peels use the same principles of damaging the skin to induce new skin cells to replace old damaged cells. The advantage of lasers is that the surgeon often has more control over the extent of damage that it causes to the skin cells.
