Skin Resurfacing Sydney

Chemical Peels

Chemical peels remove damaged outer layers of skin on the face to smooth texture, reduce scarring, and remove blemishes and pre-cancerous growths to produce healthy, glowing skin. Peel formulas and strengths are tailored to each patient. Peels can be combined with other procedures such as facelifts for a younger look. They may be covered by insurance if they are performed for medical rather than cosmetic reasons.

Chemical peels can be performed with compounds of varying strengths. The trichloroacetic acid peels are usually fairly mild to moderate and will take care of fine rhytids, improve skin discoloration and acne scarring but will not resolve the deeper ones. Phenol peels are useful for deeper wrinkles and can also be used to lighten the dark circles beneath the eyes in some cases. They take longer to heal and can sometimes lighten the skin.

There are many other different types of formulations for chemical peels including Jessner's peel, Baker-Gordon peel and Obagi blue peels just to name a few.

Dr. Pincock can assess your skin type and come up with a formulation that will work best for you. Most peels are done with light sedation and/or local anesthesia, deeper peels can be performed under a general anesthetic.

Most patients go out in public after 7-10 days with proper make-up coverage. Once new skin is formed a mild to moderate pink or redness can persist 1-3 months and occasionally longer, but always disappears. This is normal. Sun protection is always advised after any chemical peel.

 

Laser Resurfacing

Sun, aging, heredity, diet, stress and other factors all contribute to the development of wrinkles, lines, creases, and complexion problems associated with aging. Areas that are often most noticeable are the eyes and mouth, but not uncommonly the entire face needs to be treated.

Laser skin resurfacing is performed with a special C02 (carbon dioxide) laser which smoothly vaporizes the outer surface of skin with minimal effect on the deeper remaining skin. This precision control permits maximum effectiveness and minimizes the risk of complications. For wrinkling under the eyes a 90%-100% improvement can usually be seen, and for the remaining areas of the face 50%-80% is generally achieved. Laser resurfacing can be repeated after several months for even greater improvement if desired.

Dr. Pincock has performed many resurfacing procedures during his training in the United States including using the new fractionated CO2 lasers and the Rhytec plasma resurfacing system.

A full-face resurfacing procedure usually takes about one to two hours. Treatments of the eyes and mouth can be performed at the same time as a facelift. Resurfacing can also be used to treat acne scarring. Small areas can be laser resurfaced under local anesthetic and/or sedation, general anesthesia is usually recommended for more extensive laser resurfacing.

Most patients go out in public after 7-10 days with proper make-up coverage. Once new skin is formed a mild to moderate pink or redness can persist 1-3 months and occasionally longer, but always disappears. This is normal. A vigorous sun-protection program is vital after any resurfacing procedure.

Dermabrasion

Dermabrasion is a technique used to treat deep facial scars and wrinkles, raised scar tissue, and some severe cases of cystic acne. The top layers of skin are "sanded" with a rotating wire brush, diamond coated sanding wheel or abrasive block down to a layer of the skin that is able to make new rejuvenated skin without scarring.

Dermabrasion can be used as a standalone procedure or as an adjunctive procedure to other types of scar revision. Dermabrasion can be particularly useful in the treatment of the deep vertical rhytids or grooves that occur around the mouth with ageing that are very resistant to other forms of treatment.

Dermabrasion can be performed under local anesthesia or general anesthesia and takes about 10-14 days to heal. After the procedure, the skin feels as though it has been severely "carpet burned" for a few days, pain relief medications may be prescribed to alleviate any discomfort the patient may have.

The newly formed skin, which is pink at first, gradually develops a normal appearance. In most cases, the pinkness has largely faded by eight to 12 weeks. Make-up can be used as a cover-up as soon as the crusting has fallen off. Generally, most people can resume their normal occupation in seven to 10 days after dermabrasion. Patients are instructed to avoid unnecessary sun exposure for three to six months after the procedure and to use a sunscreen on a regular basis when outdoors.

 

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