What Types of Scars Can Laser Scar Removal Treat?
Get Smooth Skin with Laser Scar Removal
Scars hold a person’s attention long after the injury that caused them has healed. Patients cover them with clothing, work around them with makeup, and think about them in situations where nobody else would notice, sometimes for decades.
Laser scar removal has changed what can be done about them. Scars that once had to be lived with can be flattened, faded, and smoothed until they blend into the skin around them, and laser scar removal works just as well on scars that are years or even decades old.
The laser scar removal specialists at AMAE Med Spa in Oakland County use the Candela CO2RE laser, a fractional carbon dioxide system that treats a wide range of scars by prompting the skin to rebuild the tissue underneath. Which scars respond best to laser scar removal depends largely on what caused the scar in the first place.
How Laser Scar Removal Works
Scar tissue differs from normal skin in how its collagen is arranged. Healthy skin weaves collagen into a flexible basket-like pattern, while scar tissue lays it down in dense parallel bundles, which is why a scar looks and feels different from the skin around it.
Laser scar removal with the CO2RE delivers energy in a fractional pattern, creating thousands of microscopic treatment columns and leaving the skin between them untouched. Those intact areas supply the healing cells that repair the treated columns, which is what lets skin recover far faster than it would from full resurfacing.
As the treated columns heal, the body clears out old scar collagen and replaces it with new collagen in a more normal arrangement. Laser depth and intensity are adjusted to each individual scar, so a shallow acne scar and a thick surgical scar receive very different laser scar removal settings.
Not every scar can be erased completely, though most can be improved so substantially that they become difficult to notice. The laser scar removal specialists at AMAE Med Spa in Oakland County examine each scar and give you a clear picture of what laser scar removal will accomplish for it.
Laser Scar Removal for Injury & Accident Scars
Scars from cuts, burns, falls, road rash, and animal bites are among the most common reasons patients come in for laser scar removal. These scars are unplanned, so they rarely fall in a convenient place and often heal with irregular edges or uneven texture.
Burn scars respond especially well to laser scar removal because they tend to affect a broad area with both color and texture changes throughout. Fractional treatment softens the tightness burn scars develop and evens out the surface so it matches the surrounding skin far more closely.
Older scars remain very treatable, which is welcome news for anyone who assumed the window had closed. Collagen inside a scar can be remodeled years after it formed, and many laser scar removal patients treat scars they have carried since childhood.
Scars on the face, hands, and arms are the most frequent requests, since those are the hardest to cover. The laser scar removal specialists at AMAE Med Spa in Oakland County treat scars anywhere on the body, adjusting settings to the thickness of the skin in each area.
Laser Scar Removal for Surgical Scars
Surgical scars are more predictable than accident scars because the incision was planned, though they can still heal thicker or wider than a patient hoped. Laser scar removal is requested regularly for scars from cesarean sections, gallbladder surgery, joint replacements, and cardiac procedures.
How a surgical scar heals depends on where it sits, how much tension the skin was under, and how each body produces collagen. Scars across areas that move constantly, such as the shoulder, chest, or knee, tend to widen more than scars in areas that stay still, and laser scar removal helps considerably with both.
Timing works in your favor with surgical scars. Laser scar removal generally begins once the incision has fully closed, and starting within the first year often produces a better result than waiting until the scar has completely set.
Anyone treating a scar from recent surgery should confirm with their surgeon that healing is complete before beginning. The laser scar removal specialists at AMAE Med Spa in Oakland County coordinate timing so laser scar removal starts at the right point in the healing process.
Laser Scar Removal for Acne Scars
Acne scars are among the most requested laser scar removal treatments, and they come in several forms. Rolling scars create soft wavy depressions, boxcar scars have sharper edges, and ice pick scars are narrow and deep.
Fractional CO2 laser scar removal works well on rolling and boxcar scars, resurfacing the skin while stimulating collagen beneath the depressions so they lift toward the level of the surrounding skin. Deeper ice pick scars respond best when laser scar removal is paired with an additional technique.
Most patients need a series of laser scar removal sessions spaced several weeks apart, with improvement building over months as new collagen forms. The redness and peeling that follow each session typically last several days.
Getting active acne under control first protects your result, since calm skin heals more predictably. The laser scar removal specialists at AMAE Med Spa in Oakland County will confirm your skin is ready before beginning laser scar removal.
Who is a Good Candidate for Laser Scar Removal?
Good candidates for laser scar removal are in general good health, have a scar that has finished healing, and know what the treatment will accomplish for them. Patients who do not smoke heal considerably better, since nicotine restricts the blood flow that new collagen depends on.
Skin tone shapes the plan rather than limiting it. Patients with deeper skin tones do very well with laser scar removal when settings are chosen conservatively, with test spots and sometimes topical preparation beforehand, all of which keeps pigment even afterward.
A few situations call for scheduling laser scar removal a little later, including an active skin infection in the area or a recent course of isotretinoin. A history of cold sores near the treatment site is easily managed with preventive antiviral medication started before your session.
Skin should be untanned at the time of treatment, and diligent sun protection afterward protects your result. The laser scar removal specialists at AMAE Med Spa in Oakland County review all of this with you before scheduling laser scar removal.
Laser Scar Removal | Oakland County
Laser scar removal treats a remarkable range of scars, from acne scarring to surgical incisions to injuries from decades ago. The CO2RE laser allows depth and intensity to be matched to each individual scar rather than applying one approach to everything.
If you live in Oakland County and a scar has been on your mind longer than you care to admit, one visit will tell you what laser scar removal can do for it. Schedule an appointment with the laser scar removal specialists at AMAE Med Spa to have your scar evaluated.
