Sciton Laser Skin Resurfacing in St. Louis, MO

The state of the art Sciton laser can treat a wide variety of skin conditions with laser skin resurfacing. St. Louis based, our skin center is staffed by Dr, Angela Hulsey and highly trained nursing staff who control the ablation and coagulation depth for either light or deep peels. As we age, the effects of sun damage and environmental pollutants take their toll on our skin, causing it to wrinkle, develop sunspots, and look tired. A Sciton skin resurfacing procedure can reverse these effects and restore a healthy look to the skin. 

There are two approaches to resurfacing: full field, and fractional.

In full field resurfacing, the entire surface area of the skin is treated. A laser beam is scanned across the treatment area and precisely removes a layer of skin. The body will naturally replace the old, damaged skin that was removed with a fresh, healthy layer. Treatments can range from shallow (which might be appropriate for eliminating fine lines, sun spots and tired-looking skin) to deep (which are often used to improve skin tone/texture and eliminate deep wrinkles).

In fractional laser resurfacing, the laser removes pinpoint columns of skin, leaving the surrounding tissue intact. This approach allows the laser to controllably ablate and coagulate tissue to variable depths, while the surrounding intact tissue promotes rapid healing after laser skin resurfacing.

The most commonly treated areas are the face and neck. Many other areas such as the chest and hands can also be treated. Sometimes laser resurfacing treatments are combined with traditional plastic surgery procedures to further improve results. Please discuss your needs with your physician. 

A MicroLaser Peel removes a very thin layer of skin to improve fine lines, pigmentation, tone and texture – restoring a more youthful appearance. Gently revitalizing the entire skin surface, a MicroLaser Peel is performed in your physician’s office, and you can return to normal activities quickly. 

Sciton ProFractional Therapy treats a fraction of the skin, stimulating new collagen growth and improving your skin’s tone, texture, fine lines, deeper wrinkles and the appearance of scars. Performed in office, ProFractional Therapy is quick, comfortable and requires little to moderate downtime. 

BBL BroadBand Light technology utilizes the power of pulsed light to deliver excellent phototherapy results. By selecting the appropriate wavelength or filter, the physician will be able to treat a broad range of skin conditions caused by skin aging and sun exposure. The light energy delivered by the BBL gently heats the upper layers of the skin. The heat absorbed by the targeted areas coagulates tissue to variable depth. This process helps restore the skin to its natural state. In addition, the photothermal energy targets and eliminates many of the fine vessels that cause redness and the unwanted melanin responsible for pigmented lesions. It can even provide a degree of skin tightening. Treated skin conditions include:

• age spots
• freckles
• redness
• small vessels
• acne
• unwanted hair

The comfort level of laser resurfacing treatments varies from patient to patient and depends largely on the depth and type of treatment. BBL requires no anesthetic. Patients will feel the thermal energy from the BBL treatment in the form of heat and a sting that is quite tolerable. For the Micropeel and ProFractional therapy, if shallow, they are well tolerated with the use of a topical anesthetic. For deeper treatments, your physician may administer a local anesthetic. 

This largely depends on the depth of treatment.

MicroLaser Peel and ProFractional Laser

• Immediately following the treatment, you may experience redness and a sensation resembling a sunburn. Swelling and some scabbing may also occur in the treated areas. Dr. Hulsey will advise you on specific after-treatment care recommendations, which may include analgesics and application of an ointment to keep the skin moist. 
• Complete healing will depend largely on the depth of treatment. Healing times for shallow treatments are typically 2-4 days before patients resume normal activities. For deeper treatments, you should discuss realistic expectations for recovery with Dr. Hulsey. Patients often stay red/pink for 3-7 days depending on depth of treatment.

BBL Photo Rejuvenation

• You may experience some mild redness in the treated area immediately after treatment and this should return to normal within minutes. Since the SkinTyte procedure in noninvasive there is no downtime so you can resume regular activities immediately following treatment. You can also apply makeup and sunscreen after each session. 

You may be given skin care products and instructions on how to use them. Your skin will be sensitive to ultra-violet light after the procedure, so you must avoid direct sun exposure until fully healed. It is recommended that you always use some level of sun protection to avoid sun damage and premature aging of your skin. 

Depending on your treatment, the top layer of skin will re-grow and can be covered with makeup in about one week, at which time you will see noticeable improvements in your skin’s texture, tone, and wrinkle appearance. Deeper laser treatments also stimulate the growth of new collagen over the next 4 to 6 months. During this time, the skin may show increasing improvements in tightness and resilience.