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Laser treatments have one very important instruction which can be difficult to adhere to in the summer months: keep the treated skin away from the sun. November is a lot easier in that regard with the shorter days and cooler weather which naturally lead to much less incidental exposure and with the added benefit of clothing covering many of the areas that would otherwise be exposed.
Late fall is also good for the skin. A November start gives us the opportunity to space the appointments out, to take account of the visible healing and to allow the collagen remodelling to go on through the winter months. By spring, many patients will have finished the active treatment and will be into the maintenance phase.
Laser and light-based devices deliver a precise amount of energy to a specific target in the skin. That target can be pigment, a visible blood vessel, a hair follicle or water in the tissue. Resurfacing works by creating precisely controlled areas of injury, which in turn trigger the skin to heal and produce new collagen.
Freshly treated skin is more susceptible to UV damage. Recent tanning can also impact how the device interacts with melanin, and this may in turn affect the parameters that we can safely use. By November, many of our patients will have come back to a much closer approximation of their natural skin tone, which will give us a much better baseline.
The seasonal benefit is practical, really. With shorter days and fewer hours outdoors, it's much less of a disruption to avoid the sun. Sunscreen is still part of your daily routine as UV is still around in the winter.
At Marotta MedSpa, we pick the technology after looking at the skin. A rough texture requires a different approach than visible capillaries, and unwanted hair has its own timetable.
Laser skin resurfacing can improve fine lines, acne scars, roughness, and visible sun damage. The depth of treatment can vary from a fairly light resurfacing with a short recovery to a more intensive treatment which will result in more peeling and more redness. Collagen continues to rebuild after the skin has looked healed, so the full effect is achieved over time.
IPL photofacial is actually a light-based treatment rather than a true laser. It's used to target pigmentation and vascular issues (age spots, diffuse redness, broken capillaries, etc.). Brown spots will often go dark for a few days before flaking away, and that's something which is much easier to deal with if you don't have any outdoor plans.
ThreeForMe combines IPL with fractional resurfacing in the same treatment. It can deal with both discoloration and texture if both of these are playing a part in the skin's appearance.
Laser hair removal belongs in the winter conversation for a different reason, actually. Hair grows in cycles and only the follicles in the active growth phase will respond to a treatment session. Starting in November gives you time to do several appointments, and the areas you're treating are generally covered and therefore easier to keep out of the sun.
For patients who need a deeper level of resurfacing, there are also options beyond the MedSpa treatment room. Dr. Marotta can discuss more intensive resurfacing with the Sciton JOULE X laser when a more surgical approach would be better suited for you. That gives us room to match the depth of treatment to the degree of sun damage, texture change, or resurfacing needed rather than forcing every concern into the same type of laser plan.
Visible recovery and collagen remodelling occur on very different timescales. The redness will resolve quite quickly after a lighter treatment (within days). The changes below the surface, however, will take weeks or months. A treatment series needs to have sufficient time between appointments for the skin to respond.
This is particularly important if you're planning a wedding, a holiday or some other fixed date. We work backwards and build in a buffer rather than scheduling the final treatment right up to the event. A deeper treatment may require a longer lead time, whereas a more superficial laser or IPL series may be done over several visits during the season.
We look at your recent sun exposure, your pigmentation history, your current skincare regimen and any previous procedures. Skin tone and sensitivity will dictate the safest device, settings and schedule. The amount of downtime you're able to accommodate is also part of that decision.
Cold air and indoor heating will have already dried out the skin barrier prior to the laser even touching it. Irritated skin may require some time to settle, especially if you're looking at a more aggressive form of resurfacing.
After treatment, keep it as simple as possible. Stick to the cleanser, moisturiser and sun protection that your provider has recommended and simply wait for clearance before you go back to using retinoids, exfoliating acids or scrubs. The redness going down is a good thing, although the skin underneath may still be in the process of healing.
Holiday travel definitely warrants some planning. The cabin on a plane is dry, your skincare regimen will be different on the road, and a winter trip can end up with more UV exposure than you'd expect (particularly around the snow). Planning around those factors can make the recovery period a lot less of a pain.
November is a great month to do laser treatments, particularly if you're doing a series or you need time for the collagen to build up prior to spring. The window of opportunity is obviously going to be dictated by your own skin and your own schedule as well.
A consultation at Marotta MedSpa in Smithtown will give you a very clear recommendation based on what you're concerned about and what level of recovery you can reasonably accommodate. From there, we can put together a timeline that takes into account session spacing and the care your skin will require afterwards.
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Friday: 9am – 5pm
