Treating Signs of Aging with the CO2 Fractional Laser

As fast as time seems to fly by these days, the signs of aging can be upon you before you realize what has happened. All you need to do is compare a photo of yourself that was taken yesterday with one that was taken a few years ago, and you may very well find yourself asking, “Where did those wrinkles come from?” To really answer that question, it is necessary to understand a little about a substance in your skin called collagen. The good news is treatments like CO2 fractional laser resurfacing are designed to treat some of the most visible signs of aging.

Collagen is a protein that helps to hold tissue together. It is found in the dermis, which is the layer of the skin just under the epidermis. Collagen also gives the skin fullness and helps to keep it tight. When you begin to age, your body will not produce the substance at the same rate it did when you were young. This will cause its levels to diminish and the skin to become loose and begin to sag. The sagging will result in wrinkle formation.

As if the looseness and sagging of the skin were not enough, it loses its ability to bounce back to its normal size and shape when it is stretched, too. This is because of a lack of elastin, another protein that is found in the lower layers of the skin.

If you have these signs of aging and want to recover your youthful appearance, you should ask our team of professionals about the benefits of the CO2 fractional laser. It works by stimulating the lower layers of the skin to produce more collagen than the body would produce otherwise. The levels will then begin to return to quantities that are closer to what they were before the lines and wrinkles began to develop. This will, in turn, restore fullness to the skin, making it free from wrinkles.

CO2 fractional laser treatments work by penetrating the outer layer of the skin with microscopically-sized pulses of light in order to focus the energy on the deeper layers. When this happens, the energy is converted to heat that is absorbed by the dermis. It is the heat that causes the growth of collagen to begin. As it grows, the wrinkles will gradually start to leave.

Our team at Metro Dermatology can evaluate your skin and give you further advice as to whether or not CO2 fractional laser treatment can give you the results you want. With offices in Elmhurst, Englewood, Flushing and the Bronx, some of our most popular treatments include BOTOX® and Dysport®, Thermage®, laser hair removal, Excimer laser therapy, skin cancer surgery and wart treatments. Contact us today to schedule a consultation for the CO2 fractional laser.