Every summer I do my best to protect my skin – I wear sunscreen (almost) always, and I carry a hat – even when I don’t wear it. I’ll admit that I am not perfect! If you’re like me, and had a wonderful summer full of outdoor fun, every fall you are probably thinking “Well – that was great! Now how do I repair all this sun damage?”
The good news? RESTOR has added a new laser – called the LaseMD – that can remove both sun damage and melasma (which always gets worse in the summer months) with no pain and only a day or two of redness which can be easily covered with make-up!
Even better – unlike the IPL laser (that removed sun spots but not melasma), the LaseMD also is a collagen-building laser that resurfaces, improves tone, quality and texture, and removes fine lines. Sound too good to be true yet? Then I’ll add this: it can be used on any part of the body – which was a godsend for me! I have always wanted something that could treat my hands and arms safely – since they are starting to look about 10 years older than my face (a.k.a. “my real age”) which was unacceptable!
How does LaseMD work, and why is it better?
Lasers have been used to improve the skin for decades. The original CO2 lasers came out in the 1970’s– they are ablative lasers (think disintegrate) that take off the entire surface layers of the skin, creating what amounts to a controlled burn, forcing the skin to completely regrow. The results were amazing, if all went well, but there were risks. Scarring, hyperpigmentation (darkening of the skin) or worse–complete hypopigmentation (loss of color in the skin – which is often permenant) were not uncommon, and they hurt. A LOT. Then came fractional CO2 lasers, which destroy the skin in small bits, leaving adjacent skin intact from which it can regrow more safely. These are still widely used today– BUT there is still a risk of those same complications and pain. At RESTOR, our guiding principle is that nothing in aesthetics is worth that kind of risk of permanent harm.
LaseMD is what is called a Fractional Non-ablative Laser (1927 nm Thulium if you must know!). Fractional non-ablative lasers cause the same tiny grid of controlled wounds to the skin, but do not destroy it. They are much safer, and can achieve similar results to the ablative lasers, without the risks and pain. But many of the earlier ones were underpowered (and unable to deliver results) or inflexible – limiting the types of treatments you could do.
Finally, the LaseMDcame along. This laser has the best of all worlds! It can preform a low-energy no-downtime treatment (called the LaseMD Glow) which gives gentle improvements in tone and texture, and can be used to clear melasma from the skin. It also has high-energy settings allowing it to perform a full resurfacing treatment which will remove not only sun damage, but fine lines as well! (We call these the LaseMD Refine and LaseMD Restor treatments.) And it has everything in between to allow us to cater the treatment to different purposes and skin types. There is essentially zero pain during the procedure, and it can be used anywhere on the body – face, hands, arms, decolette, etc. Anywhere that has sun damage and lines can finally be treated safely! I know it is going to sound silly, but I love this laser. I did my arms just a couple months ago and I am thrilled! My skin looks amazing after just one treatment and I can’t wait for more!
