Patients seeking treatments at The Wadorf Center naturally want results—but they also benefit from education as to how the treatments work to deliver those results. This is especially true of lasers for skin at our Portland-based practice, offering Sciton® HALO™ for patients who want nonsurgical skin rejuvenation with true customization.
Many people are most familiar with the way sunlight interacts with their skin, having experienced sunburns as a child, teen, or adult. Laser light can also make a noticeable physical impact, but in a much more focused—and beneficial—way.
Thanks to modern technological developments, there are two primary ways lasers impact the skin. Treatments tend to be divided into either ablative or non-ablative categories.
Ablative treatments involve the laser light rapidly heating water molecules to the point that they burst into steam, taking the surrounding tissue—and visible imperfections—with them. This process is known as vaporization.
Non-ablative treatments send the laser light through the surface of the skin, leaving everything intact. Once in the deeper layers, the light causes tissues to heat up and contract, resulting in a tightening effect. This energy can also target pigmented cells, as well as prompt more youthful cells to push their way to the surface, giving the treatment area an overall younger-looking appearance.
By using the Sciton® HALO™ device, The Waldorf Center team is able to create incredibly customized treatments for patients. Anyone who wants more dramatic results and is not as concerned about post-treatment down time can choose an ablative session. If you prefer more subtle results and would like a milder post-treatment recovery, non-ablative is the way to go. Intensities can be combined in unique ways to allow for further patient customization, whether that means ablative or non-ablative treatments on their own or some combination of approaches.
To learn more about how lasers and intense pulsed light devices work, contact The Waldorf Center. Reach out online or call 360.896.6000 to arrange a consultation. Come ready with your questions, and we will provide the answers—and a skin-rejuvenating laser session.