What Photorejuvenation Can Do For You

There are many skin treatments available today and, over recent years, high energy pulsed CO2 and Erbium YAG lasers have become increasingly popular. The lasers do repair deep wrinkles by molding and re-shaping supple collagen and elastic skin tissue, but can be painful and slow to heal. Light facials or Photorejuvenation facials can also improve the problem of finer wrinkles, sagging skin, blood vessels and brown pigmentation spots. Photorejuvenation does not leave the patient with sores or scabbing, which means you does not have to take time off from everything to heal. It does require several treatments before the skin tightening and re-shaping can be noticed.

Should you anticipate much improvement? If you have very deep scars or wrinkles, you should consider a more aggressive treatment than Photorejuvenation. Those who have small, fine wrinkles or uneven blood vessel blotches or marks will see great results. As with any anti-aging treatment, the sooner you take action against the tell-tale signs, the more success you will have and the less deep wrinkles will form in the future.

Will there be any pain? If you decide to have your whole face treated, you may experience discomfort. It is not to the extent that you will need anesthetic injections, but some patients do like to apply cold packs or use topical anesthetic creams. What do I need to do beforehand? Prior to getting Photorejuvenation facial treatments, you will be given some steps to follow on caring for your skin. You should not wear any foundation or make-up and must keep your skin clean. You will be instructed to massage some Emla into your skin about half hour or so before the appointment, concentrating on the areas to be treated.

You also need to stay out of the sun, as any tanning before your Photorejuvenation can increase blotchy patches. How regularly can I have Photorejuvenation? Often the treatment program will be around five sessions over about a month. Some people may only need three treatments over two weeks. You will also be given recommendations for looking after your skin at home and would probably benefit from a yearly light maintenance facial. Are there any adverse effects? When you have a Photorejuvenation facial treatment, you will look like you have just done a hard aerobics session. Your skin will appear red and flushed, but won't be burned or scab as with laser treatments.

This will usually only last for a matter of minutes and, for some, a few hours after your session. If you have stretched or sagging skin, you may be a bit puffy as well. If you have had any brown blotches worked on, you will notice them go darker and eventually fall off. In some rare cases, patients do get some blistering that also heals not long afterwards.

Photorejuvenation facial therapies are milder on the skin than laser treatments and are perfect for people who does not yet have deep wrinkles or over stretched skin. It heals a lot faster and you only require maintenance about once a year after your program is complete. You will definitely see improvements in the appearance of fine lines, veins and blotches after Photorejuvenation therapies.

Barry A. S. Lycka is one of North America's foremost authorities on cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. You can find out more at http://www.barrylyckamd.com and http://www.restoringyouthonline.com. He is founder of The Ethical Cosmetic Surgery Association (http://www.ecsaonline.com).