Question:
*Asked on RealSelf*
After Three Laser Facials, Still See Fine Lines Around my Mouth.
I have had a problem with some fine lines on my lower face, I have had a serious of three laser facials one month apart. My last was in November. The dematologist said it would take about 12 months to see the final results, however, that is a long time to be stuck with lines that I don’t like. What else can I do? I am only 33. Yes I use strong sunscreen everyday.

Dr. A’s Answer:
Superficial Laser Treatments Won’t fix Lines. Wrinkles are a property of the dermis. Any type of peel that you would be doing as a series is almost certainly not getting into your dermis at all. A peel such as that is taking off the top part of the epidermis, which grows back, then you peel it again, it grows back, and so on. As you can see, the only thing this type of peel affects is the epidermis over and over, but the wrinkle is in the dermis.

You need a single aggressive peel to address wrinkles. At age 33, you could consider a fractionated deep peel such as Matrix, DOT, Fraxel Repair or others that use a CO2 laser and go well into the dermis. While this isn’t as effective as a regular deep peel, the healing will be far less and 33 year old wrinkles should respond nicely. The non-ablative treatments such as Fraxel do even less than a superficial peel in that they usually affect neither complexion or wrinkles.

Web reference: Laser Skin Resurfacing