Life leaves its mark on our skin, from scarring and birthmarks, to discoloration, age marks and other skin conditions. Some of these are easy to accept as a natural part of living life – while others we try hard to cover up.
Medical technology has found a solution for these skin issues: laser skin resurfacing. It works by removing the top layers of skin in order to stimulate new skin cells to grow and encourage the body to produce collagen. This can greatly diminish (and often completely remove) visible scarring, birthmarks, sun damage, fine lines, and other skin conditions.
For many of my patients, laser treatment can completely transform how they lead their lives. For example, many women after giving birth develop melasma. This leads to brown patches on their faces. While this is not a medical issue that impacts their immediate health, it is yet another dramatic physical change they undergo.
“Port wine” marks are another skin condition we treat. These marks often start out looking pink at birth, and tend to become dark red as people age. While not usually physically debilitating, they can dramatically impact quality of life. Laser treatment is used to shrink the blood vessels in the mark and dramatically reduce its visibility. This requires several treatments with a “pulsed-dye” laser, and can be performed on patients of any age. While children see the greatest impact when undergoing treatment – often completely removing the marks – it also has a dramatic impact on adults with marks.
Change your quality of life
In Spain, for several years the access and availability of laser treatments were limited. As lasers resurface the skin, patients have a greater sensitivity to UV light – certainly an issue on the Costa del Sol! However, we now have new, broader-spectrum lasers that allow us to treat patients during the sunny time of the year. I still encourage patients to protect their skin with a strong (SPF 50+) sunblock and to stay out of the sun – but you should all be doing that already! Especially if you want to avoid the sun damage and signs of premature aging that can lead you back to getting laser treatments.
Another great advantage of laser treatments is their speed and recovery time. Treatments typically take just 30 minutes, though this varies with the size of the treated area. Recovery time also depends on the type of laser treatment, but for many procedures there is just light inflammation that fade in a matter of hours.
Laser treatments are often categorized as “aesthetic medicine” – which is true, but doesn’t tell the whole story. Scars, marks and other conditions impact how we think about ourselves and the may we interact with others. Treatment improves aesthetics, of course, but it also changes your quality of life.
Laser skin treatments at Clinica Sta. Cecilia
We offer a wide range of laser skin resurfacing treatments at our clinic in Nerja, Spain. We have a Harmony XL Laser, allowing us to treat over 65 FDA-cleared indications, with treatment methods that achieve outstanding results. New innovations include depth control capabilities allowing us to control the precise depth of treatment depending on the area being treated, skin type or indication.
Get in touch to book an appointment with our team, and develop a personalised treatment plan.
