Reflections is proud to offer our patients one of the largest selections of lasers and rejuvenating technologies in the nation. We offer patients many options to choose from, including non-ablative, fractionated, sublative, and ablative lasers and rejuvenating technologies. CO2 Fractional Ablative Laser Resurfacing creates deeper change from a single treatment session than any other laser or rejuvenating technology on the market when it comes to the skin’s surface. CO2 laser skin resurfacing creates dramatic results, with the beauty of those results being highly dependent upon who administers the treatment. CO2 lasers are high-powered instruments that deserve respect. This makes CO2 Fractional Ablative Laser Rejuvenation the treatment of choice for patients wishing to achieve a large improvement in skin’s texture, tone, and evenness, and smooth out deep-set wrinkles and lines.
CO2 Laser Skin Resurfacing Quick Facts
- Rejuvenating, dramatic results
- Usable for a variety of skin concerns
- Essential anti-aging treatment
What Skin Resurfacing Do Fractional C02 Lasers Assist With?
CO2 Lasers work well to treat the following concerns:
Wrinkles & Fine Lines
Patients often ask us just how much of an improvement in wrinkles and fine lines they can expect from lasers. It does vary quite a bit, depending on how aggressive the treatment is. CO2 lasers are considered the “big guns” when it comes to smoothing out set-in wrinkles and lines.
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Crepey, Thin Skin, and Rough Or Uneven Texture
Rough, uneven skin is usually caused mostly by sun damage. However, it can be difficult to make real improvements, because lasting change comes only when those skin cells that are damaged are completely removed and new skin cells are formed. CO2 laser helps with textural issues like crepey, thin skin, and roughness by ablating, or removing the top layers, of the skin, encouraging new cell growth and collagen building.
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Dark Spots, Brown Spots, and Sun Damage
CO2 Lasers wipe the slate when it comes to photo-aging or brown age spots. There are very few other treatments that can come close to the results of a CO2 laser for removing dark spots and sun damage, simply because these surface pigments are easily targeted by the laser and removed completely.
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Acne Scars, Surgical Scars, or Scars From Accidents
CO2 Lasers make quick work of scars of all types. By breaking up scar tissue and stimulating new cell and collagen growth, these lasers offer big results in just 1 or 2 treatments.
Typically, we suggest Acne Scar Surgery to patients who are considering CO2 Laser Resurfacing for acne scars. This multi-therapy approach produces the most impressive improvements in a single procedure and allows you to reduce recovery time, as opposed to performing a variety of these treatments spaced out over time.
Learn MoreThe Types of Fractional C02 Lasers Available For Facial Resurfacing
Fraxel Re:Pair C02 Laser
Fraxel lasers are some of the most well-known lasers in the cosmetic medicine industry. They’ve been around for a long time and continue to enjoy a great reputation because they consistently produce solid technologies that create powerful results for patients. The CO2 laser from Fraxel (Fraxel Re:Pair Co2) offers the biggest results in a single treatment from the Fraxel family, which also includes Clear + Brilliant and Fraxel Re:Store Dual laser. This Fraxel powerhouse delivers transformative results in 1-2 treatments.
- Recovery & Downtime: 10-14+ days
- Numbing: Yes
- Cost: Discuss during free consultation
- Candidacy: Patients who desire to improve the look and feel of skin
- Duration: Long-term
- Why We Love It: Combats signs of aging such as fine lines and wrinkles and uneven skin tone and texture
Lutronic ECO2
The Lutronic eCO2 offers a versatile CO2 laser system that can switch quickly between settings, offering everything from surgical cutting to light micro peel. This process also helps stimulate growth of healthy skin and collagen fibers. This CO2 laser is the preferred choice for patients with dark, tan, or olive skin tones because it offers a special scanning system that keeps heat from building up in any one section of the skin, which can cause hyperpigmentation and scarring in these sensitive skin types. It’s designed as a low risk, high safety, rapid recovery laser with limited downtime.
- Recovery & Downtime: 14+ days
- Numbing: Comfort Calm Local Anesthesia
- Cost: Discuss during free consultation
- Candidacy: Patients of all skin tones and types
- Duration: Long-term
- Why We Love It: Provides Profound but Safe Results
View More CO2 Fractional Laser Before & After Results
More Before & Afters
Why Choose Reflections Center For Your Fractional C02 Laser Treatment?
We have 2 CO2 Lasers at our practice, the eCo2 by Lutronic and the Fraxel CO2 Re:Pair. There are very specific reasons why we chose one over the other for specific patients. The eCo2 is safer for a wider variety of skin tones because it doesn’t have presets and because it has a few extra settings that the Fraxel doesn’t which allows it to treat certain more sensitive skin types in a more aggressive way without risk. In specific, the Fraxel scans the skin to ensure it’s not treating over the same areas, but it always lays down the same pattern of light treatment with each pass.
The eCo2 has a variety of laser scattering patterns and fractional percentage settings, making it a versatile tool. Often, we will use several different settings to address the individual patient’s needs. This allows us to be most aggressive in the treatment just where it’s needed, without over-treating other parts of the skin. One of the scattering patterns is a random pattern with each column of laser light being at least a minimum distance from the last. This allows the skin to cool before pulses of the laser, and cooler skin temperature creates far less risk of pigmentation changes for those more sensitive skin types.
One of the few possible risks of CO2 laser resurfacing is that the treatment, when done correctly, is so transformative that there can be a clear distinction between where has been treated, and where has not. Feathering the treatment strength out allows for smooth transitions. This is possible with both the eCO2 and Fraxel. It’s something the most skilled CO2 laser providers are very aware of and plan their treatments around.
Frequently Asked Questions About CO2 Laser Skin Resurfacing
- What is the cost for Fractional C02 Laser Resurfacing?
We price our Fractional CO2 Laser treatments based on the area treated. These prices range from around $1,500 for a small area, such as lip lines and perioral (around the mouth) to $4,500 for full face treatment. An individualized price quote is provided during your consultation.
- Are C02 Lasers safe for my skin tone?
Aggressive CO2 lasers have traditionally been considered “unsafe” for certain skin tones. Those with Middle Eastern, Asian, Hispanic, and African ancestry have been warned that CO2 lasers can scar their skin, creating dark spots (hyperpigmentation) and white spots (hypopigmentation). This was due to a build-up of heat in the skin, causing an immune response in these skin types. This is still a major concern for most CO2 lasers, which “stamp” several laser beams per pulse. The eCO2 laser works differently, firing 1 beam of the laser after another in a randomized pattern at set distances, to ensure laser beams after spaced sufficiently far enough apart to avoid heat build-up in the skin. This makes the eCO2 a safer choice for dark and olive skin tones. - What is fractional laser skin resurfacing? What does ablative mean?
Lasers used in cosmetic procedures can be fractional or non-fractional (sometimes called Traditional, since this was the first style of laser to come out for resurfacing) and ablative or non-ablative. Fractional lasers treat a percentage, or fraction, of the skin in the treatment area. This fraction can range from 10% to 85%, depending on the style and brand, as well as how many passes are made over the treated area. Ablative lasers remove the top layer of the skin and usually create an open column of damage, which the body will then fill in with new cells. Non-ablative lasers create damaged columns of cells but don’t remove the surface of the skin. Rather, with non-ablative lasers, the skin repairs and replaces those damaged cells over time. Ablative lasers can allow serums and skin boosters to deeply penetrate, but also increase the risk of infection following treatment. When a laser is not fractional and is ablative, it is called fully ablative, meaning it treats the entire skin, removing its top layers. Fully ablative laser treatments should not be performed on patients with dark, tan, or olive skin tones (Fitzpatrick Skin Types III, IV, V, and Vi) because there is an increased risk of pigmentation changes and scarring.
- Will I have a grid-like appearance to my skin after treatment?
Older laser technologies stamped the skin, using a grid of lasers that were manually aligned to fractionally treat the skin. Both the eCO2 and Fraxel Re:Pair use special technology that scans the skin as it fires the laser to prevent any discernable grids that might cause imperfections or inconsistencies in the skin as it heals.
Aggressive CO2 lasers have traditionally been considered “unsafe” for certain skin tones. Those with Middle Eastern, Asian, Hispanic, and African ancestry have been warned that CO2 lasers can scar their skin, creating dark spots (hyperpigmentation) and white spots (hypopigmentation). This was due to a build-up of heat in the skin, causing an immune response in these skin types. This is still a major concern for most CO2 lasers, which “stamp” several laser beams per pulse. The eCO2 laser works differently, firing 1 beam of the laser after another in a randomized pattern at set distances, to ensure laser beams after spaced sufficiently far enough apart to avoid heat build-up in the skin. This makes the eCO2 a safer choice for dark and olive skin tones.
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Dr. Mitchell Chasin is a Cosmetic & Laser Physician at Reflections Center. Dr. Chasin believes strongly that the best cosmetic physicians are those who are dedicated to mastering their craft through continuing education and collaboration with the industry’s top doctors.
