It isn’t necessary to sit through years of aging, just waiting until the day you decide to have cosmetic surgery to rejuvenate your face. As we’ve discovered through the past several years of research, there are innumerable ways to slow the aging process. Sometimes, patients can do such a good job of this that they forego surgical lift procedures altogether.
If you’ve started to explore how you can maintain your skin right now, your progress may be obstructed by the plethora of treatment options you have. Should you get BOTOX or dermal fillers, or maybe a combination of the two? Should you undergo light or laser treatments, or should you rely on some type of skin resurfacing to promote attractiveness? According to research, skin renewal that increases tone and brightness can do a lot for your overall appearance. Here, we discuss how to navigate the various options for skin resurfacing so you can better understand which treatment might be right for you.
What is Skin Resurfacing?
Several modalities are used to resurface the skin to restore a more youthful complexion. Ultimately, any method of skin resurfacing works by removing the outermost layers of the epidermis, the cells that have sustained the most damage. When these cells are removed, the younger cells that lie beneath are revealed. Furthermore, removing the upper layer of cells encourages ongoing regeneration of healthy new skin cells.
Degrees of Resurfacing
You may have heard of laser skin resurfacing and envision the old days in which CO2 laser devices removed a substantial thickness of skin. The original form of laser resurfacing was aggressive enough to require general anesthesia and a few weeks of downtime to allow scabs to heal. While the process may have been somewhat challenging, the results were phenomenal. Today, we have multiple resurfacing options to meet patients’ needs and preferences. These include:
- Chemical peels. These treatments can range from light to deep, providing customization to meet particular needs. Downtime after chemical peel treatment depends on the depth reached.
- The use of a mechanized diamond burr removes a precise thickness of skin cells to decrease the appearance of scars, dark spots, and wrinkles. Dermabrasion removes a layer of skin, which will result in redness that lasts a week to ten days. Ointment will need to be applied daily.
- Fractional CO2 laser resurfacing. Named the greatest anti-aging breakthrough in the past decade by WebMD, fractional laser resurfacing is a gentler version of the conventional method that caused extensive redness, swelling, and peeling. There is no downtime after treatment, but the skin may feel sunburned and peeling may occur.
- Venus Viva. This innovative device targets deep skin cells with NanoFractional Radio Frequency (RF) and SmartScan technology, which selectively heats dermal tissue to incite a repair response through which collagen is remodeled. There is no downtime after treatment.
Skin resurfacing is a great way to manage your aging process. Learn more by calling (801) 776-2220.