Laser skin care comes to masses
Procedures less costly, down time reduced
Once reserved for sci-fi shows and coercing your overweight cat into some form of exercise, lasers are the hot new kid on the skin-care block.
True, laser treatments have been around for a while, but their historically high price tag, pain factor and necessary downtime kept lasers exclusive to either those with a lot of time and money to spare, or those with serious skin conditions. The rest of us were left to flounder in a sea of mediocre facials concocted from various botanicals that are admittedly very relaxing, but dubious in their efficacy.
Thanks to recent advances, the masses are casting aside the facials our mothers swore by in favour of lasers that can address a multitude of skin problems, ranging from acne scars and uneven pigmentation to sun damage, large pores and fine lines.
“Instead of going for a spa facial, you can have a mini laser facial, which gives you so much more bang for your buck than investing in foo-foo treatments that make you feel good, but don’t do anything,” says Dr. Jack Kolenda of Verso Surgery Centre in Oakville, Ont.
Not only has the technology become more advanced — a number of non-ablative lowerenergy fractional lasers entered the market over the last few years — so has the way medi spas combine them with other treatments and “cosmeceuticals” (cosmetic products that use active ingredients, such as vitamin C or glycolic acid, to achieve medical or drug-like benefits) to increase results and decrease downtime.
“We’re evolving toward multiple treatment solutions, not just getting a laser and that’s it,” Kolenda says. “It’s combining treatments like fractionated lasers with IPL, platelet-rich plasma therapy and radio-frequency treatments.”
“The way we approach lasers has changed a lot,” says Dr. Diane Wong of Toronto’s Glow Medi Spa.
“We do a lot of ancillary treatments pre- and post-procedure
“Instead of going for a spa facial, you can have a mini laser facial.
DR. JACK KOLENDA VERSO SURGERY CENTRE
to try and decrease side-effects and get improved results.”
Dr. Wong’s team, for example, combines Fraxel (a fractional laser treatment) with Selphyl, popularly dubbed the “Vampire Facelift” and made famous by Kim Kardashian. In layman’s terms, they draw blood from a patient, spin it in a centrifuge and apply the resulting plateletrich plasma on the face to reduce the redness and burning sensation often experienced after Fraxel.
Dr. Kolenda’s clinic incorporates Skinceuticals products into their patients’ pre- and posttreatment regimens with significant results.
“Think of the laser treatment as making holes in a leaky roof, which is your skin” he says. “When you put Skinceuticals on top of it, the absorption rate is so much better.”
A major breakthrough product came in the form of CE Ferulic, a combination of antioxidants and vitamin C. When combined with ablative or non-ablative laser treatments, skin absorbs it at 17 times the normal rate.
“Doctors used to put nothing or only some petroleum-based occlusive to create a protective skin barrier after laser treatments,” says Amy Chen, communications and training lead for Skinceuticals. “Now, we can reduce downtime by up to two days.”
But Wong warns that the laser trend has spawned a crop of unqualified operators offering dirt-cheap, inferior treatments that come with significant risks.
“These are medical devices and they’re intended to be done under medical supervision. Laser burns are becoming more common because it’s being done in facilities and by people that aren’t well-trained in this area.”