Fraxel DUAL Fast Cleanup for Sunspots and AKs

Posted: September 21, 2013

-Fraxel DUAL – Post Summer Clean-up

We’re all guilty of enjoying our Orange County lifestyle and why shouldn’t we? We live in the most coveted area of the country. But that lifestyle comes with a cost to our skin.

There are a number of options to get soft, smooth and spot-free skin back after a summer of beach and pool and outside life. Clearly the quickest option for improving sun damaged skin is laser. The dual wavelengths of Fraxel DUAL not only hasten the removal of sun spots, but also smooth the skin.

The extra-special wavelength named Thulium is pigment-specific with FDA approval for both pigment removal and the treatment of actinic keratosis (an especially troublesome UV-induced skin condition that, left untreated or ignored, can herald skin cancer).

Tracy began to see the dark spots on the sides and the front of her face in photos that she would take with her six year old daughter. She felt her skin was papery, her pores looked huge and her sun damage was becoming more evident every day.

Tracy shares her feelings about her “new” skin once she had the Fraxel DUAL treatment.

HOW DOES THE FRAXEL DUAL WORK?

All lasers have a “target”.  Sometimes this target is water, other times it is red pigment or brown pigment. The heat from the laser then will create a desired response. In the case of the Fraxel DUAL’s thulium wavelength, this target is pigmentation. The energy of the laser beam shatters the pigment granules, making them so small that the body will easily let them rise to the surface and shed.

In the process, the thulium laser also has the effect of obliterating abnormal cells such as those in actinic keratoses lesions. (Actinic keratoses are rough patches that often turn deeper brown with sun exposure. They feel a little like dried glue and are sometimes removed with liquid nitrogen which freezes the tissue.)

I like to use Fraxel because you get an overall texture improvement, lessened pigmentation and the removal of actinic lesions without the blistering or risk of pigment loss that comes with the freezing technique.

WHAT A FRAXEL DUAL TREATMENT IS LIKE

You’ll have your skin numbed prior to the procedure with a lidocaine gel. This makes sure you are as comfortable as possible. The laser handpiece scans across your skin and feels like tiny pin pricks – sometimes a little hot, but easily tolerable.

The treatment is fairly quick and a face takes about 20 minutes. If I treat your face and chest, double that time.

Speaking of the chest, Fraxel DUAL is a superior way to get rid of spots and blotches on the chest – and the arms and hands, too.

Sunscreen is applied after the procedure and you’ll be given some simple post procedure steps. Protect your treated skin from the sun. You’ll see some darkening of the pigment and then it will shed – not in a peel, but what can be described almost like tiny coffee grounds.

A treatment series is the best way to get the most benefit, generally 3 to 5, but sometimes fewer.

Additional Before and After Photos