The affects of the sun, wind, gravity and your age can have a dramatic affect on your skin and the outer layers of your skin can easily become damaged and wrinkled. One effective way to get rid of spots is to undergo a laser skin resurfacing procedure.

Laser skin resurfacing surgery works to improve skin texture by basically burning off the upper, damaged, layers of skin in the same way that a chemical peel procedure would work.

In recent years, however, laser skin surgery has come to the fore as a cheaper, more effective procedure that shortens recovery time and offers a greater degree of safety...

Early forms of surgical lasers used carbon dioxide to produce heat and used this as a cutting device. The benefits of using laser are that the amount of bleeding is minimised and you can also be very precise.

So what is involved in laser skin resurfacing surgery and is it the right option for you? To answer this question we pulled together this expert guide on the pros and cons of laser skin surgery...Once you ghave spoken with your acne dermatologist and he or she recommends the procedure....

How does Laser Skin Resurfacing Surgery Work?

Lasers vaporise the outer layers of skin, leaving the underlying skin cells to repopulate the affected area which creates a new, smoother, skin surface - almost like you have removed the old skin to replace it with the skin you had when you were a teenager again.

The Laser Skin Resurfacing Surgery Process:

The surgery begins with the pre-treatment of the area with something called Retin A or similar retinol. This works to quicken the turnover and reproduction of skin cells, leading to a quicker healing time. This product should be applied by the patient from six weeks before the surgery up to around two weeks before.

On the day the plastic surgeon or laser surgeon will blast the area with the laser, uncovering that new layer of skin, often while you sit in a dentist chair or while lying on a bed.

Immediately afterwards the skin will be raw, but will heal in ten to fourteen days with deeper resurfacing, and even quicker with lighter treatments.

Unfortunately the skin will remain red for some time, possibly for as long as several weeks before it turns pink. This colouration will then slowly fade over the next few months until you are left with a new, fresh layer of post laser skin surgery unwrinkled skin.

During this healing time you must be very careful to avoid the sun and you should be aware that occasionally the procedure creates pigmentation problems, which can result in an uneven darkening of the treated skin. It is a complication can require skin bleaching to fix it too so make sure you talk this over with your acne dermatologist or plastic surgeon.

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