Pixel Laser Skin Resurfacing-Philadelphia-Shanti Medspa

Cosmetic physicians continue to search for innovative ways to improve aging skin. As the years go marching by , our skin starts to show wear and tear characterized by blotchy pigmentation, broken capillaries, and a sallow yellowish complexion. Our skin texture deteriorates with enlarged pores intersected with fine lines and wrinkles, in addition to the ravages of acne scars. Sun exposure, excessive alcohol, and poor diet simply accelerate this process of collagen and elastin loss. It has been estimated that we lose 1% of our dermal collagen each year after age 20 and that this rate of loss doubles in sun exposed skin.

The gold standard for wrinkle effacement is the CO2 (carbon dioxide) laser. A CO2 laser procedure burns the epidermis off, and heats up the underlying dermis during the ablative procedure. A patient who undergoes CO@ laser resurfacing requires anesthesia and also faces a long period of recovery due to the wound that is created in the process. Unfortunately, it is also not uncommon to have areas of lightening of the skin tone called hypopigmentation. this whiter skin can appear as blotchy areas without any pigment, and is is permanent. In addition, the patients skin also looks like something has been done to it as it appears similar to a mannequin. It is fairly easy to spot the women running around Palm Springs who have had this procedure done as they look like ghosts. Some even suffer with an entity called post laser resurfacing erythema which is an extended period of red, flushed skin. Unless you like to look like an old leather shoe, I don t think that the risks associated with this procedure are justified.

In order to overcome these technical drawbacks, doctors now have a new device called the Pixel laser to provide textural and skin tone improvements for their patients. this device creates thousands of tiny perforations in the skin, similar to pore sizes. this procedure is called fractional laser resurfacing The skin around each of these perforations remains intact, and the epidermis raipidly heals from the edge of these tiny holes only a fraction of the skin is resurfaced each time. The patient who undergoes a Pixel treatment will only be red for one or two days and does not require any anaesthetic for the procedure. Makeup can be applied immediately, so there is really no downtime, which is very attractive to most patients. Furthermore, hypopigmentation has not been described with this laser. the only downside of the procedure is that it must be repeated several times for optimal results because only a portion of the total skin surface is treated during each pass. However, it is my experience that patients prefer multiple visits with no downtime or risk over a single treatment that involves remaining home for an extended period of time in hiding.

Another benefit of fractional laser resurfacing is that it can be done on thin skinned areas such as the neck and decollete. CO2 laser resurfacing could not be done on these areas due to excessive scarring risks. Pixel treatments can be done on virtually any area of the body in a quick and painless office-based treatment with no anaesthetic required.

In our office, we use the Pixel laser skin fractional resurfacing on any areas of the body . We have been very pleased with the results of smoother, glowing skin with virtually no risk to the patient or any downtime. See a video of pixel treatment