The short version Laser resurfacing removes or heats a fraction of the skin surface so the body replaces it with newer tissue. BBL The laser is set to treat the skin in tiny columns with untreated skin left between them. Those untreated bridges are what let the area heal. Turning the settings up treats more skin at once and asks more of the healing, which is the trade every plan has to balance.
Ablative lasers remove the treated tissue. Carbon dioxide and erbium systems both work this way, and both can be run fully across the surface or fractionally in columns. The difference matters.
Fully ablative treatment removes the whole surface of the treated area and produces the biggest single change, along with the longest and most demanding recovery: an open, weeping wound for several days, then redness that can last weeks or months. Fractional ablative treatment removes columns and leaves the skin between them intact, which shortens healing considerably while still working at depth. On the body this distinction carries more weight than it does on the face. Facial skin is dense with oil glands and hair follicles, and healing spreads outward from those structures. The chest, arms, back and legs have far fewer of them, so the same settings that a face tolerates can leave body skin healing slowly or scarring. Providers who treat the body well tend to work conservatively, in more sessions, at lower energy, and they say so up front.
Non-ablative lasers heat the tissue underneath without removing the surface. The skin stays intact, so recovery is measured in days of redness and swelling rather than weeks of wound care, and most people carry on with normal life throughout. The trade is that any single session does less. Non-ablative work builds through a series, usually spaced several weeks apart, and the change accumulates gradually rather than arriving at once. For body skin that trade is often the sensible one. Slower, gentler passes suit tissue that heals slowly, and a series is easier to fit around work than a long recovery. It is also generally the safer starting point for richer skin tones, where heat can trigger darkening that takes months to settle. Which route suits you depends on the concern, the area and your skin, and that is a consultation decision.
Your before and after photos appear here
Your before and after photos appear here
Your before and after photos appear here
No. laser skin resurfacingThe devices overlap, but the settings and the expectations do not. Body skin has fewer oil glands and hair follicles to heal from, so it repairs more slowly and tolerates less. A treatment that would be routine on a face is usually eased back on the chest or the arms, spread across more sessions, and given longer between them. Your provider should explain which setting they are using and why.
It depends entirely on depth. A light non-ablative session usually means a day or two of looking flushed, and most people work through it. A fractional ablative session on the body means several days of swelling and oozing, a week or more of peeling, and pinkness that can linger for a month or longer. Fully ablative work asks for more still. Your provider will give you a realistic range for the plan you actually choose.
In most cases yes, with a different plan. The risk in richer skin is not the laser itself but the pigment response afterwards, which can leave darker or lighter patches while it settles. Non-ablative devices at conservative settings, a preparation period, careful sun avoidance and a test patch are the standard precautions. A provider experienced in treating your skin type is the thing worth asking about. laser skin resurfacing.
There is no fixed number. Non-ablative plans commonly run a series spaced weeks apart. Ablative work may need fewer. The honest answer depends on the concern, the depth chosen and how your skin responds to the first session.
Treated skin is sensitive to sun for months, and sun exposure during healing is the most common cause of uneven pigment afterwards. Many people choose cooler months for that reason. It is a scheduling conversation.
A consultation looks at the area, your skin history and what you want changed, then sets out which depth makes sense, how long you would be healing, and what it costs. If waiting for a cooler season or a different treatment serves you better, we will say so. Book a consultation You can also call the practice during opening hours.
Lumen Skin & Aesthetics aesthetic center brings together injectables, lasers and dermal fillers, laser skin resurfacing, and skin treatments in a calm, unhurried setting built around consultation.
