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Laser & Light Treatments of Scars & Pigmentation 2007-04-12 Dear Dr. Proskiw; I am now 54 years old and I’ve noticed some pigmentation on my cheeks. My husband and I went to Mexico for two weeks in January with our daughter, her husband and their two children. The weather was lovely and the family time was wonderful. My daughter and I had significant sun bathing time including snorkeling. This year I have noticed a lot of sunspots on my cheeks despite wearing a sun block faithfully. When I was a teenager I had acne and it seems that the scars and pores on my face now are more noticeable. Is there anything that I can do? Answer: Your concerns are a common complaint. The years of sun exposure and hormonal changes combined with ageing are responsible for the changes you now notice in your skin. Despite using a sun block and good skin care many women who are active begin to notice their skin tone appears dull with large pores and the skin pigmentation. As they examine their skin closer they also notice a loss of elasticity and old scars seem to be more noticeable. This is due to a loss of fluid retention by the skin combined with diminished collagen and hyaluronic acid in the skin tissue. There are several new innovative laser and light based therapies available that can help rejuvenate your skin. Question: I don’t want down time and full face resurfacing with a laser is too invasive for me. My girlfriend had dermabrasion several years ago and she was unable to go out for almost two weeks and said it was very painful. What else is there? Answer: There are several options for you to consider. Pigmentation is successfully treated with intense pulsed light (IPL or XPL) and microdermabrasion. There is no down time associated with this procedure and it will improve your skin’s tone and can usually remove the pigmentation in 1to 4 treatments spaced 3 weeks apart. The large pores and acne scars can now be successfully treated with fractional laser technology. This treatment is performed in office with no needed anaesthesia and takes approximately 20 minutes to perform. The process is also repeated every 2 to 3 weeks and only involves some skin flaking and redness that usually lasts from 24 – 48 hours. The procedure is a very exciting development since there is no down time and is virtually painless. The Affirm laser platform by Cynosure is anew combination treatment that includes a laser to treat loss of skin tone, loss of elasticity and scars. It also includes a light based device termed XPL. The XPL component treats pigmentation and stimulates collagen when combined with the laser treatment. Question: This treatment sounds right for me. Are there any other treatments I should look into? Answer: Fractional technology is called Fraxel by Reliant Technology, Pixel by Nexgen Lasers and Affirm CAP Technology by Cynosure lasers. There are many intense pulsed light technologies on the market but the best known are Quantum, Vasculight and Affirm XPL. I believe in these technologies because they are based on scientific evidence and they provide great colleague and company support. If you have further questions I suggest you see a physician who specializes in laser and light based skin rejuvenation procedures.

Our aesthetic and skin treatment clinic is located in Aesthetic Solutions Kelowna, BC 1-866-861-3070 or (250) 868-3070 Suite 200 Richter Place, 1626 Richter Street, Kelowna, B.C. V1Y 2M3 Aesthetic Solutions Penticton, BC 1-888-490-8590 or (250) 490-8590 140-1636 Main Street, Penticton, B.C. V2A 5G8 Aesthetic Solutions Red Deer, AB 1-403-346-3376 Suite 430, 3020-22nd Street, Red Deer, AB T4R 3J5