We all want to take the best care of our skin as we can, especially as we get older. If you already have wrinkles, sagging skin, or other skin problems, you might feel like it’s too late to care for your skin. But the skincare industry would beg to differ. In fact, they have come up with many ingenious and effective ways to treat skin problems over the years. Lasers, surgery, micro-needling, and other treatments are all available to the general public these days. It’s just up to you to decide which method is your best solution.
Surgery May Not be the Best Choice
Some people have a “go big or go home” attitude when it comes to skincare treatments. In other words, they think that they need to have face lifts or other surgeries to get the best and most immediate results. However, there are lots of reasons why surgery is not a great choice for everyone.
First of all, surgery can be very expensive. Elective procedures are not covered by most insurance companies. Surgery may also involve anesthesia and other risk factors, as well as a lengthy amount of time to recover afterwards. In addition to those concerns, which you should weigh carefully, you might not even be a good candidate for surgery. Most cosmetic surgeons won’t treat people with mild skin conditions that could be treated with skincare equipment or techniques, such as laser procedures or medicated creams.
Are Lasers a Better Alternative to Surgery?
That’s not to say that laser treatments are automatically a better alternative for you than surgery. They are great options for some people, but not for others. For example, laser treatments can often help to reduce the appearance of old acne scars, but they can actually irritate your skin and cause worse breakouts if you are still a current acne sufferer. If you do choose to have laser treatment, you also have to find the right kind of laser treatment. There are ablative and non-ablative lasers on today’s market, as well as Fraxel laser devices and other, similar machines. They all have different purposes and can have different impacts on your skin.
Ablative lasers, for instance, are often used in laser skin resurfacing, which is a process of removing dead skin cells and debris from the top layer of skin. In some cases, ablative procedures can even remove almost the entire top layer of your skin. That might be a good option if you have a lot of skin blemishes and surface wrinkles, but if your problems run deeper than your solutions should too.
Non-ablative lasers can treat the lower layers of your skin instead of just what you see on the surface. The goal of those treatments is to get your body to make more of its own natural healing materials, which will eventually freshen up your skin as a whole. Non-ablative treatment comes with fewer immediate risks and side effects, but it also doesn’t produce immediate results like ablative procedures do.
Other Non-Surgical Procedures That Don’t Involve Lasers
Of course, you should also be taking a good hard look at other procedures and products besides lasers as well. Some of the options available to you include medicated creams, LED light therapy, microdermabrasion, ultrasound treatments, and chemical peels. You can learn a lot more about all of them from your dermatologist or a local skincare clinic. Then, even if you think you know what you need and want, you should consult with an expert to get their informed option. That will help you to decide on the best course of action to restore your skin’s health.
And that pretty much concludes today’s post. I hope you enjoyed reading it and be sure to let me know if you’re familiar with any of these skincare methods and which one you’d prefer!
XOXO, Nicole.
€ – Disclaimer
Robert Fuller says
15/06/2017 at 6:08 AMI really appreciate this suggestion of different options against the lasers. Laser is kind of expensive one so not everyone can afford it. Thanks for sharing this options. I personally think ultrasound would a better option.
Vicky Excell says
03/09/2018 at 2:28 PMLaser 100% looks to be the least painful of the above. As long as you choose someone who knows what they are doing, all should be fine.