Skin Laser Resurfacing

Over time, sun exposure, aging, and environmental factors can affect your skin’s texture, tone, and overall appearance. Fine lines, uneven pigmentation, and acne scars can become more noticeable—and may not respond to topical treatments alone.

Laser resurfacing offers a nonsurgical way to refresh and renew the skin. Our board-certified medical team has advanced training in the latest laser technologies, delivering natural-looking results while ensuring a safe and comfortable treatment experience.

What Is Laser Resurfacing?

Laser resurfacing is a nonsurgical treatment that uses focused beams of light to stimulate collagen production in the skin, which makes the skin smoother and firmer over time.

At Columbia, our experts are trained in the two primary categories of laser treatments:

• Ablative lasers use heat to remove the outer layer of skin, improving the appearance of advanced wrinkles and sun damage as the skin heals and tightens. This approach requires significant downtime but has more dramatic results from a single session.
• Non-ablative lasers heat deeper layers of the skin to stimulate collagen production while preserving the outer layer. This option is less invasive with minimal downtime, so multiple sessions are often recommended for the best results.

Laser resurfacing may be a good option if you want to address:

• Lines, wrinkles, or creases
• Sun damage, age spots, or uneven skin pigmentation
• Rough or dull skin texture or enlarged pores
• Acne scars or other types of scarring
• Rosacea
• Hemangiomas, port wine stains, or spider veins

Laser Resurfacing at Columbia

At Columbia, we only use FDA-approved, commercially available lasers. Your specialist will evaluate your skin type, concerns, lifestyle, and goals to determine the most appropriate laser and treatment approach. We offer the following options:

• Ablative laser treatments
  • Fractionated carbon dioxide laser skin resurfacing (FXCO₂): CO₂ lasers use intense heat to treat deep lines and wrinkles, sun damage, and other signs of aging. Fractionated CO₂ lasers can target smaller areas than traditional CO₂ lasers.
  • Erbium laser resurfacing (YAG): Erbium lasers use less heat and are more precise than CO₂ lasers, making them a better option to address superficial to moderate lines and wrinkles.
• Non-ablative laser treatments
  • Pulsed dye laser: Pulsed dye lasers use heat to destroy blood vessels while leaving the surrounding skin undamaged, effectively treating rosacea, hemangiomas, spider veins, and certain kinds of scars.

What to Expect From Laser Resurfacing

Laser resurfacing is performed in the office with topical or local anesthesia (FXCO₂ treatments may involve general anesthesia if treating the whole face) and can take 30 minutes to two hours. The healing process varies greatly depending on the condition treated, whether you receive ablative or non-ablative laser treatment, and the intensity of the laser settings.

• Ablative laser: A new layer of skin will form within seven to ten days after treatment. During this time, you will likely experience significant redness, itching, swelling, burning, and peeling, so you should plan to spend a minimum of seven days at home before returning to work. On average, results last around five years.
• Non-ablative laser: Your skin may look and feel sunburned for a few hours to a few days, but you can return to work immediately. Results generally last up to five years, depending on how many sessions are completed.

Your surgeon will provide detailed pre-treatment and aftercare instructions to support high-quality, long-lasting results.