Chemical and laser peels administered by professionals represent some of the methods by which consumers as patients can dramatically improve the appearance of facial skin by literally wiping away decades of photodamage. However, these very invasive methods can cause such side effects such as disformation, hyper – and hypopigmentation, and surface appearance of burns, as well as significant downtime during the healing process from the controlled wounding. These negative attributes have helped fuel the development of less invasiveness methodologies that ideally could still deliver significant improvements in the photodamaged skin.
The starting premise for identifying less invasive technologies that are still effective is the fundamental understanding that chemical and laser ablation of the epidermis causes a robust wound repair response that restores the epidermis, but also leads to a significant turnover of the upper layers of the dermis via degradation of older collagen and newly synthesized collagen being deposited [39]. Below is a brief overview of some of the newer technologies available to the professional that can restore the skin to a younger looking state without the significant side effects associated with ablative procedures.