February is here, and with it, the end of the winter season is finally on the near horizon. Thoughts of upcoming warmer weather may have you dreaming about spending more time outdoors — or taking stock of the sun damage you sustained last season.
The intense summer sun can be unforgiving on your skin, but its effects often aren’t fully noticeable until winter. As your summer tan fades, you may notice more fine lines and dark spots, crepey skin texture, and even areas of increased laxity (skin sag).
Luckily, now is the perfect time to start a skin-corrective laser treatment plan at Keehan Dermatology. Read on as board-certified dermatologist Dr. Patrick Keehan explains how the CoolPeel® laser erases sun damage and helps restore tighter, smoother skin and a brighter, more even complexion.
You know that too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light can increase your risk of skin cancer, but did you know it’s also the primary culprit behind premature skin aging?
Also known as “photoaging,” UV damage is responsible for up to 90% of the early signs of skin aging, including:
Daily sunscreen wear and other sun protection methods offer the best chance to both lower your skin cancer risk and prevent premature skin aging. But what about the cosmetic damage that’s already been inflicted by past exposure to UV light?
CoolPeel is a CO2 ablative laser resurfacing technique that can correct that damage — quickly, painlessly, and with minimal downtime. With CoolPeel, you can:
As the gold-standard treatment for skin revitalization and renewal, CO2 laser resurfacing restores epidermal strength, flexibility, and health on two levels:
The CoolPeel laser device directs short bursts of controlled, low-heat energy across the skin surface, effectively vaporizing damaged cells. By gently ablating away skin damage in the outermost epidermal layers, CoolPeel improves skin texture and tone from the outside in — so you can say good-bye to dark spots and crepey skin.
At the same time, the CoolPeel laser delivers thermal energy into the deeper foundational structures of your skin, where it stimulates renewed collagen and elastin production. As your skin’s protein matrix rebuilds itself in the weeks after your treatment, your complexion gets tighter and smoother — erasing fine lines and improving skin firmness.
If you like the idea of clearing away the photoaging effects of last summer’s sun damage, now’s a great time to get started. Why? It’s important to avoid sun exposure following each CoolPeel treatment — a task that’s much easier in the winter and early spring months.
Because CoolPeel is so gentle, it works best over a series of treatments. For sun-damaged skin correction on your face, neck, chest, or hands, we may recommend:
Each CoolPeel session lasts just 15-30 minutes. You can expect to see a noticeable “skin refresh” after just one treatment for sun damage, with comprehensive, lasting skin renewal results emerging about three months after you complete the full CoolPeel treatment series — as your fresh collagen and elastin structures reach peak form.
CoolPeel treatments are spaced four to six weeks apart to allow skin healing at the surface, along with continuing collagen and elastin regeneration at the deepest skin layers. Each successive CoolPeel treatment takes the damage-corrective process to the next level.
Compared to conventional CO2 ablative lasers, CoolPeel is gentle on your skin — you can expect one or two days of mild post-treatment redness, rather than the one or two weeks of downtime that come with more aggressive laser resurfacing treatments.
Are you ready to erase sun damage and renew the skin you’re in? We can help. Call or click online to schedule a consultation at Keehan Dermatology in Fort Worth, Texas, today.
