Skin is the body's largest organ. Over time, it takes abuse from the sun, toxins, bad diet, gravity and hormones. Collagen also begins to break down and causes lines and wrinkles to form around the eyes, lips and brow, leading to a loss of skin's former youthful and healthy glow. Many cosmetic treatments can help, but facial light therapy is one of the gentler, less-invasive treatments, evening out the complexion and reducing fine wrinkles and large pores.
Considerations
Ideal candidates for facial light therapy, or "photo rejuvenation," are those with sun-damaged skin, hyper pigmentation, enlarged pores or flushed red faces. Patients who are not good candidates are those with a history of skin cancer, herpes, porphyria, use of immunosuppressive medications, hormonal or endocrine disorders including diabetes, bleeding coagulopathies or use of anticoagulants, keloid or hypertrophic scarring, very dry skin, very dark skin, and anyone who has an active infection or is currently pregnant or nursing.
How it Works
Photo rejuvenation is a minimally invasive procedure that treats the needed areas while leaving surrounding tissues intact. The treatments work by delivering pulses of intense light through very specific filters to the skin that then convert light energy to heat the treated area. This stimulates the formation of collagen and elastin to tighten the skin and improve overall skin tone, texture and appearance.
Treatments
A photo rejuvenation procedure can take from 15 to 45 minutes, depending on the size of the area to be treated, administered in your doctor's office. A total series of five to eight treatments is required, as determined by the amount needed and the condition of your skin. You'll notice a mild warming sensation of the skin during treatment, and after treatment there may be some redness and slight swelling that will disappear over the next few hours. Repeat treatments of the same area are typically performed after three to four weeks.
Benefits
The light targets the skin's pigment and blood vessels, sparing other structures of the skin. This means that unlike other treatments, photo rejuvenation results in practically no down time. The results can be apparent even after just one treatment and include smoother skin, reduced redness, reduced pore size and reduced wrinkling. Although usually performed on the face, photo rejuvenation can also treat the neck, back, chest and hands.
Downsides
For those people who are more sensitive to pain, a topical anesthetic may be required. Some temporary bruising and redness may occur, as well as short-term darkening of age spots. In rare cases, burns, blistering, crusting, drainage, swelling, scarring and pigment may occur. You'll have to avoid excessive sun exposure, tanning beds or sunless tanning creams for at least two weeks before your appointment. After treatment, you'll need to use a high factor (30 SPF to 35 SPF) sunblock to protect the treated area from sunlight exposure for at least one month, preferably longer.
Costs
The cost of photo rejuvenation treatments varies depending upon the area of the country, but an average per treatment is around $500. This price usually only covers the doctor's fees and not other miscellaneous costs. Be sure to get the base price plus associated extras during your consultation before you agree to treatment. Most medical insurance plans won't pay for photo rejuvenation unless it's for a specific skin disease or condition, but many cosmetic surgeons have financing options available.
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