Introduction
Laser therapy session (License: CCO, SA 4.o international]:
Wikipedia Commons Beauty trends today are in such numerous forms that I've lost count. Growing up in a city surrounded by women desperate to maintain flawless skin appearances, it started to dawn on me at a quite early stage the sole importance of skin beauty as a lady.
Different forms of treatments have been used over the years by people ( ladies in particular), to achieve the much desired flawless and never aging celebrity look. For example, the use of topical creams containing hydroquinone is commonly used to achieve a fairer and much lighter skin tone and also the use of kojic acid, arbutin, vitamin c and many more. But when it comes to aging, most can't escape the end result of mortality.
Laser treatment therapy was first introduced in the 1990's and today is the most trending form of skin treatment.
It is the use of laser beams to rejuvenate skin cells and treat skin blemishes such as acne scars, dark spots, wrinkles and even age spots.The lasers are sources of high light intensity that focus on small spots of the skin marked out for treatment and removing the skin layer by layer. It is also commonly called laser peel.
Not everyone is a good candidate for Laser treatments. Some dark skin types and people with acne issues should have to see a dermatologist to know if laser treatment is a good choice for you. While the intake of some medications like Ibuprofen, Aspirin and vitamin-c can cause blood thinning and damage the results of the procedure. However, laser therapy has been recommended to treat the following skin conditions:-
- Acne scars
- birthmarks
- moles
- hyper pigmentation
- chickenpox scars
*Enlarged oil glands on the nose.
This treatment procedure are of the following types:
ERBIUM
This treatment is used for skin problems like acne scars, moles, sun damage, fine lines, acute pigmentation. This is commonly recommended for lighter toned Hispanic, Asian and African-American women because it has proven to leave lesser discoloration. It's side effects are minimal as it focuses on surface level problems thereby causing minimal damage to the surrounding tissues. Some of the side effects include:
- Redness
- Swelling and
- bruising.
co2 fractional laser (License: CCO, SA 3.0 unported]:
Wikipedia Commons CARBON DI OXIDE LASER
This has more side effects than the Erbium type. This therapy is commonly used for skin rejuvenation procedures for treatment of problems like skin cancer, sagging skin, birthmarks, deep set wrinkles. The side effects of this laser therapy time has made it to be replaced by fractional mode lasers. Scarring, pain, itching and burning sensation are common side effects of this kind of treatment.
The two types of skin laser treatment discussed above are known as the Ablasive Laser Treatment. They work by using large heat to remove the surface layer of the damaged skin.
ALEXANDRITE LASER
This laser type works on a principle of Photothermolysis i.e the use of light to heat to damage affected tissues with little or no damage to the surrounding tissues. It is used to treat skin pigmentation, pigmented lesions, and birthmarks. One common side effect is pain during the procedure, Swelling, redness and also change in skin pigmentation.
PULSE DYE LASER
These are non ablasive lasers that use mainly heat. This penetrates into the skin and helps to treat problems like redness, rosacea.
YAG LASER
The Yag laser is made up of a crystalline medium that emits wavelength of high energy light. The medium is known as Neodymium-doped Yttrium Garnet.
When focused on the problematic areas it causes damage to the tissues and destruction of the cells. It is used to treat vascular lesions, pigmented lesions, hair removal procedures, tattoo removal. The progress of this laser treatment is really slow and there is a high chance of reoccurence.
LASER TREATMENTS AND SKIN AGING.
As we grow older, our skin begin to show signs of aging like elasticity, water loss, volume loss. These signs are normal physiologically changes that occur with aging.
Laser treatments can be used to:
REVERSE THE SIGNS OF AGING.
In order to enhance skin tone and texture, the use of laser treatments help to build new collagen so that results are visible and permanent.
To treat some signs of aging like oily skin, therapy with v beam lasers can help to reduce the production of sebum in the skin.
Fine lines and wrinkles are also by skin lifting and dermal fillers like restylane and juvederm can also be used.
Summary
Although the trending remedy to skin problems, Laser skin treatments also has some side effects. Different individuals are better suited with some techniques while others are not. For example, Erbium is best used on African-American women with a lighter skin tone. It is advised that an appointment with a dermatologist will help in determining the treatment option that best suits you.
References
SKIN LASER TREATMENT. Retrieved on May 18th, 2018.
LASER TREATMENTS AND AGING. Retrieved on May 18th, 2018.
LASER SKIN RESURFACING Retrieved on May 18th,
BENEFITS OF LASER TREATMENT Retrieved on May 15th.
Image Sources.
All images are from wikkicommons licensed under creative commons and eligible for commercial use.
I'm a proud member of the Steemstem community which promotes quality posts in the technology, science, engineering and mathematics fields on the Steem blockchain. To join us on discord click here