Lasers are some of the coolest tools for skin spruce up…… when used correctly. The trouble is that there are so many “lasers” out there. It’s difficult for the public to chose which laser is best for them and where to go to find it because of all the options. At Johnson Dermatology we have 4 lasers, each one with its own unique purpose. As always, coming in for a consult is always best because often times people who want peels get lasers or people who want lasers get fillers or people who want creams get peels. We have lots of options and each individual might need a combination of treatments or one over the other. Since we are skin experts we are good at you telling us what bothers you and us suggesting a treatment plan that gets you results. With that being said, here is my JD laser run down for dummies.
1. Pulsed Dye Laser- Think of this as a laser for anything red. It works great for broken blood vessels on the face or those “red moles” called angiomas. We use it for small varicosities of the legs, acne, red or pink scars, stretch marks, redness of the face and red birthmarks. This is one of the least painful lasers in my opinion. There is no downtime. Sometimes, depending on how tough we set the settings, you can have some redness or even bruising. For most things we tell people to expect 3-5 treatments one month apart. We use this laser if you have bruising that we want to go away faster than your body will get rid of the bruise.
2. YAG laser- We use this laser for skin tightening and hair reduction. For hair reduction it only works on dark hairs because the light is targeting pigment (dark) and if the hair is white then the light has nothing to target. We tighten stretch marks or that crepe-like skin of the neck, face, chest or abdomen. With this laser expect 3-5 treatments monthly to get expected results and then a touch-up about once a year (give or take). In my opinion, this laser hurts a little more than the PDL but it’s quick so you can do it. We also have a “painless ” hair reduction laser. In my opinion this should be called a “less-pain” laser, it still hurts but less than the YAG for hair reduction.
3. ATV laser- This is our tattoo removal laser. It works best on black ink. If you have colored tattoos come in and let us take a look and we can tell you what type of results to expect based on the colors. This dude hurts! We generally numb you with lidocaine injections before your treatment. Number of treatments varies and cost is based on the size of the tattoo. We also use this laser for brown spots. Expect the area lasered to look pretty rough for a week or so. If you have a brown spot on your hand lasered with the ATV it will look like a blistery sore and then as that heals it lightens and brightens and takes the spot with it. I have seen varying reactions after tattoo lasering but most people have some blistering or at least sore spots over the next week after treatment.
4. Sublative “laser”- This one isn’t actually a laser as in it doesn’t use light to work. This device uses micro-needling combined with radiofrequency. This treatment option can come with some down time. It is awesome for stretch marks, scars such as acne scarring and for tightening of fine lines. I have never seen acne scars improved like I have with this device. One of my favorite things this one does is lines and bags and drooping of the eyelids. Because this isn’t a “light laser” we can get very close to the eyes and it makes a huge difference in the tightness and wrinkles around the eyelids. After receiving this treatment you can have some redness, swelling and little squares of red dots where the skin was penetrated for about 5-7 days. Some people have no downtime and others have a full week of recovery, each individual is a little different and each area of the body we treat is a little different in terms of reactions to the treatment. I usually recommend you add TNS growth factor to your aftercare regimen with this device to enhance results even more so we have some packages that include that skincare product. This “laser” can be used on all skin types including dark colored skin.
I get a lot of questions about lasers so I hope this helps. You can not be tan when you get treated or you run the risk of discoloration so if you are interested now is the time, before Summer hits. We have packages that make each individual treatment cheaper too.
“We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining – they just shine. “-Dwight L. Moody
So this week let your light shine, or let us shine a light on you that helps your inner light shine! Either way, keep it skintastic! Happy Easter to all! -Nina
