Skin Resurfacing: Chemical Peels, Laser Treatments, Fraxel, iPixel and Dermabrasion

Skin Resurfacing: Chemical Peels, Laser Treatments, Fraxel, iPixel and Dermabrasion

Skin resurfacing is one of the ways to make the skin look younger and smoother. Many people are surprised to find out the dramatic results that can be achieved with skin resurfacing, which can help correct the signs of aging and other skin imperfections, including the following:

• Wrinkles
• Sun damage & hyperpigmentation
• Skin tone & texture
• Age spots and liver spots
• Acne scars
• Facial scars
• Melasma
• Skin tags, moles and lesions

What is Skin Resurfacing?

Skin resurfacing is a specific type of skin treatment that falls under the wider category of skin rejuvenation options. Skin resurfacing describes the various ways that the outside layers of the skin can be resurfaced to reveal younger, smoother looking skin. There are several categories of skin resurfacing options:

• Chemical resurfacing: From superficial no downtime peels, to deep TCA or Phenol peels, these medical grade chemical peels utilize a carefully selected combination of ingredients to resurface the skin.
• Laser resurfacing: This type of resurfacing uses short, concentrated pulsating beams of laser light to precisely removing skin layer by layer -  we go into this type of resurfacing in detail on this page so keep reading. Laser resurfacing can be "full field" which mean 100% of the outside layers of the skin is removed, or "fractionated" which means a percentage is removed. You may be familiar with Fraxel and iPixel which are fractionated resurfacing treatments. Continue reading to learn about why our Halo Hybrid Fractionated Laser is superior to Fraxel and iPixel because it combines both an ablative and non ablative laser beam into one treatment.
• Mechanical resurfacing: such as dermabrasion which uses a wire brush, diamond (called a burr or fraise) to remove the upper layers of the skin, or a superficial form of this treatment known as microdermabrasion which uses a spray of microcrystals to remove dry, dead skin.

The best skin resurfacing option for you will depend on your objectives, medical history and tolerance for downtime. Please take advantage of our complimentary Comprehensive Skin Consultation to meet directly with our medical aesthetic specialists.

Laser Skin Resurfacing in Vancouver, BC

Laser technology has transformed the way we think about facial and skin rejuvenation. The team at 8 West Clinic provides a variety of laser skin resurfacing options for the Vancouver, BC area patients, from superficial laser peels with little to no downtime, to deep treatments that reveal new tight skin with a week or more of downtime.

How Effective is Laser Skin Resurfacing?

Laser skin resurfacing is extremely customizable and effective for treating wrinkles, and improving the overall tone and texture of the skin. There are many different types of laser treatments and a quality consultation with a skin and laser specialist is essential. Dr. Buonassisi and his team will make recommendations based on a detailed exploration of your health and skin history, taking into consideration your lifestyle and tolerance for downtime. Your laser skin resurfacing treatment will be totally customized to you and your skin. There are light peels which have little to no downtime, all the way to surgical grade peels that have longer downtime and reveal totally new skin.

Depth of Peel Explained: The Deeper the Peel, the More Damage Done, the Better the Result and the Longer the Downtime.

A key consideration for understanding laser treatments is the relationship between how dramatic your result will be and the length of downtime you will have. Your consultation will include a discussion about where the ''target'' lives in your skin, developing an understanding of how much of an improvement you wish to see, followed by a discussion of how much time you can take off work and social activities. Your treatment will be customized to your specific needs.

Layers of the Skin and Skin Resurfacing

We specialize in skin and know it inside and out. During your complimentary Comprehensive Skin Consultation, we will educate you about the layers of your skin and show where each "target" lives and what treatments are used to go after them. The skin has 3 main layers, and your consultation will include a discussion of how deep your laser resurfacing treatment needs to go to achieve your goals.

• The Stratum Corneum: Just .01 - .02 millimetres thick, this is the very outside layer of the skin. Over time as we age, everything about our skin gets thinner aside from the stratum corneum.
• The Epidermis: This layer is .05 to .2 millimetres thick and this where pigment such as reds and browns live.
• The Dermis: .3 to .8 millimetres thick, this is where the fiberblasts that create collagen live.

Understanding the relationship between damage done and degree of change is key to assessing, with our help, what type of laser resurfacing treatment is best for you.

• Superficial peels: such as the NanoLaserPeel™, precisely remove just the outside layer of the skin to reveal brighter, fresher skin. Superficial peels have little to no downtime and are done in a series to produce a cumulative improved result.
• Moderate depth peels: such as ProFractional™ Laser or the Halo™,  the world's first Fractionated Hybrid laser penetrate deeper into the layers of skin, producing a more dramatic result but with 2 - 5 days of social downtime. When compared to Fraxel or iPixel, Halo produces better results in fewer treatments and combines the power of both an ablative laser and a non ablative in one treatment. Halo is the first treatment of its kind for visible, high-impact results.
• Deep peels: such as the Contour TRL™ are considered surgical grade laser peels, have a longer downtime (approximately 1 week), and reveal completely new skin while significantly improving wrinkles and other skin irregularities.

Take One Step Closer to Loving Your Skin

Contact us today or call (604) 733-1669 to schedule a complementary skin consultation. We are a team of skin and face specialists that love what we do. We work with the most powerful medical grade laser devices available today. Let us teach you how to Love Your Skin.