Laser treatment can promote new growth of collagen and elastin fiber, giving the skin a more youthful and firm appearance.
The lasers transmit energy in waves that are absorbed by water in the skin. To minimize "collateral damage" to the skin surrounding the treatment area, pulses are delivered quickly -- by speeding up the pulses so that the second pulse hits while most of the energy from the first pulse is still concentrated in the target zone, the heat stays where it's needed.
While laser treatment is effective, it's not right for everybody -- some skin conditions or characteristics may make you a less-than-ideal candidate. Also, laser treatment can cause redness or discoloration that persists for several months, or may even be permanent. If you're considering laser treatment, remember that it can potentially cause more damage than it resolves
Microdermabrasion as an alternative
Working on your skin can sometimes sound like major construction, and so it goes with microdermabrasion. The aim of this procedure is to "resurface" your face, but fortunately, it's not as intensive as it sounds.
While dermabrasion uses a brush to sand away a thick layer of surface skin, its less invasive cousin helps reduce or even eliminate acne scars by essentially sandblasting the outermost layer of skin cells away. A small device bombards your facial skin with tiny particles of aluminum oxide while at the same time sucking the crystals off your face. It sounds horrible but is in fact an easy and painless procedure that usually lasts around a half-hour.
Microdermabrasion has been shown to stimulate new skin production, so you won't be losing anything that won't come back. Following treatment, the skin's surface will be smoother, and any natural or acne-caused discoloration in your face will be diminished.
It's not usually a one-time procedure, and you may need a dozen weekly treatments to get the results you want (the number of treatments will vary case to case). Shallow scars are easier to treat than larger ones.
There's a chance your skin will have some redness afterward, but any discoloration should go away on its own in a day or so.
