Personally,
I have never been a fan of cosmetic procedures.
Recently, I ran into a laser engineer who specializes in cosmetic
lasers. The interesting conversation with
this engineer made me want to learn more about laser skin rejuvenation procedure. Here is what I have found out.
Laser
skin rejuvenation is a non-invasive treatment designed to remove skin blemishes
and stimulate production of collagen. These
treatments are generally considered safe and simple office visit procedures. But how does the laser work to rejuvenate the
skin? According to the research
published by Sussane Dams of the Eindhoven University of Technology in her Ph.D. thesis, laser
treatment introduces heat into the skin. Under the influence of heat shocks of
45°C, skin cells produce more collagen. This is the protein that gives the skin
its firmness and elasticity.
Dams first tested the effect of heat on cell cultures, by giving
them heat shocks of 45 and 60°C without a laser. This excluded possible effects
generated by the laser light. Subsequently, she conducted similar tests on
pieces of excised human skin, and at a later stage she heated pieces of skin
with a laser. The results of these tests were in line with the earlier tests.
She showed that the heat shocks led to increased production of
collagen, which is considered to be one of the important factors in skin
rejuvenation. The production of this protein by the human body declines after
the age of 25, causing wrinkles to form and making the skin sag. The best
effect was found to result from a heat shock of 45°C lasting eight to ten
seconds. It was also shown that higher temperatures cause damage to the skin
cells. Dams established in her tests that heating cells in culture for two
seconds at 60°C results in cell necrosis.
The question of how long the skin-rejuvenating effect of the
laser treatment lasts remains unanswered for the moment. Dams discovered that
after a heat shock the gene expression (the precursor to the formation of the
protein) returns to its normal level after 48 hours. However, the extra
collagen produced as a result of the increased gene expression contributes to
skin rejuvenation for a longer period.
This means that the effects of the laser treatment should last until the
breakdown of collage catches up again.
Then, it’s the time for the next laser treatment.
Thanks for reading.
Connie
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