How long does it take to heal from a laser resurfacing treatment?

It will depend on multiple factors. Fractional lasers have less down
time but do not give the same results as full resurfacing. The type of
laser used is also important. Erbium resurfacing tends to have less
downtime than CO2 resurfacing but the erbium laser does not give as
much tightening as the CO2. It also depends on the depth that is
required to give you the best results. The deeper the surgeon goes the
longer the downtime.

So as you can see it is difficult to answer without seeing you. As
a general rule you'll find the fractional lasers will give you 2 to 6
days of downtime before you can wear makeup all the way to 2 to 4
weeks of downtime with the full face CO2 resurfacing.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

The answer to this question depends on the type of laser resurfacing you undergo. Some laser resurfacing treatments have no downtime (non-ablative) and some treatments have as much as 2-4 weeks of recovery (CO2 laser resurfacing). There are also many options in between. Speak to an experienced laser practitioner about your options, and ask for before and after pictures to understand what the downtime looks like.

Published on Jul 11, 2012