Let's face it, life is more stressful than ever these days. The usual pattern for a person is now to graduate high school, go to college, enter the work force, and work hard until they reach retirement. In fact, life goes by so fast that many people, aside from the occasional sunscreen and/or makeup, don't pay much attention at all to their skin.
So, it should come as no surprise that damaged skin requires some sort of dermatological procedure, such as Fraxel, to fix it. If you have not heard of Fraxel before, don't worry; it is still considered a relatively new procedure. However, despite it being so new, the technology behind it results in a non-invasive and safe procedure.
What kinds of things does Fraxel fix, anyway? You'd be surprised, because there are actually a bunch of different skin problems that this procedure can fix. Also, while this procedure is most often used on middle-aged and older people, under the right circumstances it can be used on people as young as teenagers.
This procedure is basically meant to erase the most common skin problems that people suffer from. For example, we all know that acne is a very annoying problem, and the scarring it can leave can also be quite disfiguring. However, this procedure will get rid of those acne scars and thus leave a smoother complexion.
After all, isn't that what people want – a smoother complexion? Another thing that many older people want to get rid of is age spots. These spots, which resemble raised moles, are an increase of pigmentation, which is often caused by sun damage. Obviously, another thing that many older people suffering from is wrinkles.
How does Fraxel treat these skin problems? In order to understand the science behind this procedure, you must first have an understanding of a picture's anatomical composition. A photograph is really thousands of tiny fragments, called "pixels" put together. When something is out of joint in the picture, the pixels might need to be adjusted, one by one.
The same strategy is applied to this procedure. The lasers that are being used are extremely small, and they target certain areas of the face at a time. The reasoning for this is that it is better to take the skin repairing one section at a time, because this way, the skin will heal faster, and the patient will thus have a shorter recovery time.
Speaking of time frames, this procedure will not be accomplished in its entirety in just one session. Rather, it will take anywhere from three to five sessions on average, with a couple of weeks in between each session. The exact time frame will be decided upon by the doctor during the consultation.
As for the pain, that should be minimal since a topical anesthesia will be applied to the area being treated. However, since the goal of the procedure is to simulate the growth of a new epidermal layer, a sunburn effect will be visible for a short time.
