2-8 weeks. The first change you will notice is a marked reduction of skin pigmentation, including age & sunspots. This is evident within the first week of fractional laser. Wrinkles & enlarged pores will decrease from week 2 to week 8 as more collagen is generated. In some cases (especially if fractional CO2 is added to your treatment), skin tightening can be seen after 4 weeks. Results will continue to improve up to the 3- 4 month mark. 

90% of our laser treatments for rejuvenation will require only ONE treatment. This is because we employ bespoke ‘densities’ & power levels. In most cases we combine two, sometimes three wavelengths in the one sitting. My favourite combination is to treat superficially with the LaseMD. This addresses skin quality including brown spots, age spots, sunspots & fine wrinkling while simultaneously providing gentle controlled heat to the deeper dermal layers. This first part of Hybrid Resurfacing takes 6 to 8 minutes to complete. The second part of resurfacing is done with a fractional CO2. This laser treats the deeper dermal tissue, resulting in more collagen production & contraction. The whole procedure takes 20 minutes to perform.

Hybrid laser resurfacing is the way forward, as it combines two of the best wavelengths especially suited for the skin concerns of Queenlanders- namely to address solar keratosis, pigmentation, & medium to deep wrinkles caused by extensive sun exposure.

I employ both chemical peels & lasers, depending on the job!

Peels such as glycolic, lactic, mandelic, salicylic acid & retinoic acid peels are still relevant in today’s tech world of lasers. For example, patients with acne, congested skin, & blackheads do best with peels. If you have wrinkles, pigmentation & enlarged pores, lasers, including fractional laser resurfacing provides better results.

To understand what are the best treatments for your skin condition, book an appointment with either myself or one of my clinical nurses or dermal therapists at Clinic Cutis.

Superficial scars respond best to laser resurfacing, whilst deeper scars respond best to a procedure known as surgical subcision. Though the LaseMD can address smaller, superficial scars, lasers including the eCO2, Ultrapulse, Mixto, & ProFractional Erbium are best employed for most forms of acne scarring. Additionally, treatments such as Genius RFM or Infini coupled with TCA CROSS will give better results than Fraxel or fractional laser resurfacing.

Fractional lasers are only one of many scar revision methods we employ. Remember, always treat the scar type with a modality, and never try to fit a device for acne scarring.

Melasma is a persistent form of facial pigmentation. Fractional laser resurfacing can improve some forms of melasma, however lasers including Spectra & Pico are better at treating this condition compared to Fraxel lasers. The LaseMD in super low settings can be used to treat recalcitrant dermal melasma.

*In my practice I reserve fractional laser resurfacing (in the context of melasma treatments) as third or fourth line therapy. Spectra & pico are more effective & more cost-effective treatments for the majority of patients. Fractional lasers may be more effective in dermal melasma. To understand what is the best treatment for your melasma, book a consultation with my clinical nurses @cliniccutis

Fractional lasers stimulate more collagen production than microneedling. Additionally lasers can improve pigmentation, enlarged pores, acne scars & wrinkles to a higher degree than microneedling. At Clinic Cutis we often perform hybrid laser resurfacing, meaning we combine different lasers in the one session to address both superficial and deeper concerns. A favourite combination of lasers is the use of LaseMD Ultra for surface concerns such as pigmentation, & CO2 for deeper lines & wrinkles. This treatment provides better results than 4 or more sessions of microneedling. 

Do we still use microneedling? Yes! Microneedling is best for providing microchannels in the skin & is especially useful for ‘transdermal topical delivery.’ Microneedling is my favoured treatment for mild forms of hypertrophic scars, in combination with anti-inflammatory topicals.

Yes, but to a limited extent. Lasers, including fractional lasers, can contract a limited amount of collagen. This is due to bulk heating in the dermis. The best wavelengths are CO2 & erbium, hence why I normally combine LaseMD Ultra or Fraxel with fractional CO2 laser. Adding a conservative CO2 fractional laser with fractional 1927 laser only adds & additional 24-48 hours to the downtime of laser, however the results are exceptional.

Yes. Fractional laser is my preferred method of shrinking enlarged pores in lighter skin types. Darker ethnic skin responds better to Pico lasers. The LaseMD Ultra can give wonderful results with as little as one to two sessions. Fractional laser reduces pore sizing by collagen contraction around the enlarged pore – hair follicle. Laser also regenerates new collagen over 4-8 weeks, in turn shrinking the size of pores. Use of AHAs as well as retinol post procedure can keep pore sizing down.

This form of laser resurfacing is well tolerated. We employ a Zimmer cooler to pre-chill the skin prior to laser. Additionally, we apply specialist strength numbing gel with all cases. If you have a low pain threshold, we have pain-aesthetic gas on hand.

Side effects are uncommon with this treatment as we only treat ‘portions’ of skin. A realistic side effect profile is as follows-

Infection: 1-3%. Higher rates seen in patients who have atopic eczema (staph carrier) as well as cold sore virus history. The latter can be prevented with anti-viral tablets starting the day of treatment.

Pigment flare: 2-4%. More common in patients treated for melasma, higher in ethnic skin types-darker skin.

Rosacea flare: 2-4%%. More common in fair skin patients with a history of rosacea. Easily treated with pulse dye lasers.

Scarring: Extremely rare <0.1%. Most often secondary to cold sore virus infection.