Ablative and Nonablative Laser Resurfacing

Ablative laser resurfacing is the more aggressive of the two methods, and results in the removal of outer layers of wrinkled or damaged skin by deep-burning them.

Because of the substantial damage, the down-time is much longer than that of non-ablative laser resurfacing and more risk is involved. Redness and weeping of the treated skin lasts for weeks, sometimes even up to months after the procedure.

Despite the potential post-treatment complications and lengthy recovery time, ablative laser resurfacing is very effective for improving severely aged or scarred skin conditions and results are very dramatic. Most of the time, a single deep treatment is sufficient for satisfactory results.

Nonablative laser resurfacing carries fewer risks because the laser does not burn off the top skin layer, but passes through to heat up the dermal cells and stimulate collagen growth. This type of laser resurfacing is gentler, hence you can expect a much shorter down-time. But the tradeoff is a slower and more gradual improvement. Usually a course of treatments is required to achieve the desired results.