How does the Candela laser remove pigmented lesions? Energy from the Candela laser is very well absorbed by cells containing excessive concentrations of pigment – and not well absorbed by normal tissue – so the Candela ATV stimulates your body to eliminate the unwanted excessive pigment while having little or no effect on other tissues or on normal skin color.
If the area to be treated has a fresh sun tan or has been treated with self-tanning lotion, it is best to wait a couple of weeks for the tan to fade before having treatment, because the tan will absorb and waste some of the laser energy intended for the pigmented lesion. A fresh sun tan (or color from a recent application of self-tanning lotion) could also absorb enough laser energy to increase the risk of skin irritation or blistering.
Most people find that Candela laser is not particularly painful – each pulse of laser light is similar to the snap of a thin rubber band, or tiny specks of hot bacon grease on the skin. There may be less discomfort if a second treatment is needed, because as the freckles and age spots fade there is less pigment to absorb laser energy.
Most patients do not require anesthesia, but ice packs, anesthetic creams or local anesthetic can be used if necessary. If there is a large or sensitive area to be treated, a couple of plain Tylenol can be taken to raise your pain threshold somewhat before laser treatment. No other special preparation is needed. The high power of the Candela ATV allows large diameter, deeply penetrating laser beams to be used, and will help to speed up the resolution of your pigmented lesions.
3. What will happen after treatment?
For the first half-hour after laser treatment the treated area looks pale or white, and may swell slightly. The treated area may feel hot (like a sunburn) for a while after laser treatment, and it might be red and swollen for the rest of the day. The brown spots may become darker within a day, then will fade over about 7 to 14 days.
Occasionally (depending on the severity of your sun damage) the treated area may remain somewhat pink for two to four weeks, and there may be some flaking during this time. This is a normal process as the body works to eliminate the pigmented blemishes.
There may be some lightening or darkening of the treated for several months after laser treatment. This is usually not very obvious. Protect the treated area from sun exposure until the skin is completely healed and the skin color has returned to normal.
Gentle cleansing of the skin and application of an antibiotic ointment such as Polysporin ointment will help the treated area heal quickly after treatment. Watch for unusual redness, pain, or swelling which might be a sign of infection, and please call us right away if you think an infection is developing. Avoid picking at or irritating the skin after treatment.
4. How many treatments are required?
About 60%-80% of common freckles and age spots resolve after one treatment. Some need a second treatment, and a few need to be treated more than twice. Some blemishes do not disappear completely, but will be significantly lighter in color after treatment.
When Dr. Smith examines your freckles and age spots, he will be able to give you an estimate of the number of treatments which will be necessary to fade or remove them. Because there is a great deal of variability in the size, depth and darkness of freckles, age spots and pigmented nevi, and because there is some variability in people’s natural ability to clear away pigment after laser treatment, it is not possible to “promise” you that a certain result will happen after a fixed number of treatments. Dr. Smith will explain what is likely to happen, but he cannot precisely predict or guarantee what will happen in any particular case. Dr. Smith will show you photos illustrating the range of results, from fading through to complete disappearance of the pigmented lesions.
How well your lesions respond depends on several factors. Superficial lesions such as freckles and age spots tend to respond more quickly as compared to deeper, more complex lesions such as the nevus of Ota shown below.
Laser treatment will not prevent the development of new pigmented blemishes. You can reduce the rate at which new pigmented blemishes appear by using sunscreen and by protecting your skin from the sun.
5. How long should I wait between treatments?It is best to wait at least 8 weeks between treatments so that the maximum amount of fading can take place.
6. Will the freckles and age spots disappear completely?In many cases the freckles and age spots can be made to disappear or fade to the point where you are the only person who can find a trace of them, because you know where to look.
7. What are the risks of treatment?In most cases, the laser treatment leads to satisfactory fading or complete removal of the freckles and age spots without significant side effects.
The most common problem is incomplete removal of brown spots or pigmented nevi. Some spots are relatively resistant, although there is almost always a worthwhile amount of improvement.
Scarring is very rare. Infection is also very rare. Loss of pigment from normal skin is rare and usually minimal.
You can reduce the chance of irregular tanning – and reduce the chance that the freckles and age spots will come back — by protecting the treated area from sun exposure.
Hypopigmentation (lightening of the skin) or hyperpigmentation (darkening of the skin) are quite infrequent, and are almost always temporary.
If you want to get rid of freckles and age spots, now is the time to take advantage of this new breakthrough in laser technology. Thanks to specialized laser technology, we can safely fade your freckles and age spots so there is little or no trace left.
If the area to be treated has a fresh sun tan or has been treated with self-tanning lotion, it is best to wait a couple of weeks for the tan to fade before having treatment, because the tan will absorb and waste some of the laser energy intended for the pigmented lesion. A fresh sun tan (or color from a recent application of self-tanning lotion) could also absorb enough laser energy to increase the risk of skin irritation or blistering.
Most people find that Candela laser is not particularly painful – each pulse of laser light is similar to the snap of a thin rubber band, or tiny specks of hot bacon grease on the skin. There may be less discomfort if a second treatment is needed, because as the freckles and age spots fade there is less pigment to absorb laser energy.
Most patients do not require anesthesia, but ice packs, anesthetic creams or local anesthetic can be used if necessary. If there is a large or sensitive area to be treated, a couple of plain Tylenol can be taken to raise your pain threshold somewhat before laser treatment. No other special preparation is needed. The high power of the Candela ATV allows large diameter, deeply penetrating laser beams to be used, and will help to speed up the resolution of your pigmented lesions.
3. What will happen after treatment?
For the first half-hour after laser treatment the treated area looks pale or white, and may swell slightly. The treated area may feel hot (like a sunburn) for a while after laser treatment, and it might be red and swollen for the rest of the day. The brown spots may become darker within a day, then will fade over about 7 to 14 days.
Occasionally (depending on the severity of your sun damage) the treated area may remain somewhat pink for two to four weeks, and there may be some flaking during this time. This is a normal process as the body works to eliminate the pigmented blemishes.
There may be some lightening or darkening of the treated for several months after laser treatment. This is usually not very obvious. Protect the treated area from sun exposure until the skin is completely healed and the skin color has returned to normal.
Gentle cleansing of the skin and application of an antibiotic ointment such as Polysporin ointment will help the treated area heal quickly after treatment. Watch for unusual redness, pain, or swelling which might be a sign of infection, and please call us right away if you think an infection is developing. Avoid picking at or irritating the skin after treatment.
4. How many treatments are required?
About 60%-80% of common freckles and age spots resolve after one treatment. Some need a second treatment, and a few need to be treated more than twice. Some blemishes do not disappear completely, but will be significantly lighter in color after treatment.
When Dr. Smith examines your freckles and age spots, he will be able to give you an estimate of the number of treatments which will be necessary to fade or remove them. Because there is a great deal of variability in the size, depth and darkness of freckles, age spots and pigmented nevi, and because there is some variability in people’s natural ability to clear away pigment after laser treatment, it is not possible to “promise” you that a certain result will happen after a fixed number of treatments. Dr. Smith will explain what is likely to happen, but he cannot precisely predict or guarantee what will happen in any particular case. Dr. Smith will show you photos illustrating the range of results, from fading through to complete disappearance of the pigmented lesions.
How well your lesions respond depends on several factors. Superficial lesions such as freckles and age spots tend to respond more quickly as compared to deeper, more complex lesions such as the nevus of Ota shown below.
Laser treatment will not prevent the development of new pigmented blemishes. You can reduce the rate at which new pigmented blemishes appear by using sunscreen and by protecting your skin from the sun.
5. How long should I wait between treatments?It is best to wait at least 8 weeks between treatments so that the maximum amount of fading can take place.
6. Will the freckles and age spots disappear completely?In many cases the freckles and age spots can be made to disappear or fade to the point where you are the only person who can find a trace of them, because you know where to look.
7. What are the risks of treatment?In most cases, the laser treatment leads to satisfactory fading or complete removal of the freckles and age spots without significant side effects.
The most common problem is incomplete removal of brown spots or pigmented nevi. Some spots are relatively resistant, although there is almost always a worthwhile amount of improvement.
Scarring is very rare. Infection is also very rare. Loss of pigment from normal skin is rare and usually minimal.
You can reduce the chance of irregular tanning – and reduce the chance that the freckles and age spots will come back — by protecting the treated area from sun exposure.
Hypopigmentation (lightening of the skin) or hyperpigmentation (darkening of the skin) are quite infrequent, and are almost always temporary.
If you want to get rid of freckles and age spots, now is the time to take advantage of this new breakthrough in laser technology. Thanks to specialized laser technology, we can safely fade your freckles and age spots so there is little or no trace left.
