DiscoverBeauty

The appearance of our hair has a dramatic impact on the image we project to the world.  Though the social norms for hair differ for men and women, and between individuals who are young and old, its presence makes a statement about us.  Women and men alike invest significant amounts of time and money on hair care products, hair treatments, hair styling, and more recently even hair extensions and hair transplantation to optimize the appearance of their hair.  It is therefore not surprising that hair loss can be a devastating problem.

Fractional resurfacing was introduced in 2004 and has become widely popular in the last few years.  The technology stands as a radically different approach from classic standard laser resurfacing which removes the entire upper layer of skin one layer at a time. 

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), laser hair removal popularity has nearly doubled in the last decade, ranking as the second most popular non-surgical cosmetic procedure performed in 2009. This trend continues, with more and more men and women opting for this permanent hair reduction technique. Understanding how these systems work for hair removal is important, as there are several methods of removing hair with various lasers and light-based energy devices.

Since the advent of fractional resurfacing in 2004, the popularity of laser resurfacing has increased dramatically. Classical laser resurfacing, used in the past, involved removing the top layers of the skin (the epidermis and parts of the dermis) in the same treatment. These lasers included the Carbon dioxide (CO₂) and erbium yag (Er:Yag) devices. The entire surface area of the skin was treated with each session of classical resurfacing, requiring weeks to heal and sometimes even longer. Many patients had residual redness of the skin that could persist for months. Late complications of these classical procedures also included discoloration of the treated skin, including lightening or darkening from the normal skin color. The results of these classical laser resurfacing procedures could be incredibly positive, with tightening of the skin and a major improvement in wrinkles, but the procedure was often fraught with complications. Because of these side effects, many physicians opted not to perform these procedures in their office and the search for a safer way to treat wrinkles began.

Laser resurfacing took the cosmetic world by storm in the mid 90’s with the invention of carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser resurfacing.  This treatment involved removing the entire superficial skin layer all at once and is commonly referred to as an ablative (taking away or removing) skin treatment. It significantly improved wrinkles and tightened skin.  In 2000 the Erbium laser was introduced as an alternative ablative laser treatment. Both standard CO₂ and Erbium laser resurfacing remain the most effective treatment for significant wrinkles caused by sun damage.