During your initial consultation, your skin care specialist will give you a complete medical evaluation to see if this procedure is right for you. If they think you’re a suitable CO2 laser treatment candidate, they’ll schedule you for an appointment. Your specialist will also give recommendations to prepare for your session.

Before Your Session

Good preparation is crucial in preventing complications after the procedure. Your laser dermatologist may advise the following:

• Stop skin-sensitizing treatments that increase your risk of laser burns. They include hydroxy acids, oral isotretinoin (Accutane), and some acne antibiotics like minocycline.
• Avoid drugs and supplements that can interfere with the wound-healing process. They include blood thinners, ibuprofen and similar painkillers, steroids, vitamin E, and many others.
• Abstain from smoking and drinking, which can also disrupt the skin’s repair mechanisms.
• Start using sun protection regularly. Avoid tanning beds and sun exposure, which increase the risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH).
• Take a cold sore medication, as the procedure can trigger a relapse.
• A few weeks of topical tretinoin or hydroquinone pre-treatment to help speed up recovery and prevent PIH.

Cleanse your face and leave it makeup-free before coming in for your appointment.

During Your Session

At the start of your procedure, your specialist will ask you to change into a comfortable patient gown and wear eye protectors. Once you get settled down, they will use numbing medication in the treatment area. After about 30 minutes, they will apply the laser in pulses.

After Your Session

Once done, your specialist will clean up the treated skin and apply a thick layer of ointment to it. In some cases, they may use an airtight dressing to protect the area. The doctor will send you home with aftercare instructions. You may have a companion assist you when you leave the clinic.

The downtime depends on the procedure and the extent of the treatment area. Non-fractional CO2 laser treatments result in significant inflammation. The skin heals in one or two weeks, but some patients may experience redness lasting several weeks to months. By comparison, the recovery after fractional laser resurfacing ranges only from four to ten days due to less inflammation.

Aftercare

Post-treatment care regimens after CO2 laser treatments widely vary among practitioners. Yours may recommend the following:

• Remove any dressings after 24 hours. Replace as instructed.
• Cleanse the treated skin twice daily or as instructed. If you’re not advised to dress it, you must keep it moist with a thick layer of ointment throughout the day to prevent scabbing. Do this until the skin closes up.
• Some practitioners advise vinegar soaks several times a day while the skin has not healed over. Doing so protects the area from microbes. Others choose to prescribe an oral antimicrobial as an alternative.
• Protect the skin from trauma, pressure, and irritants while it’s actively healing. Skin under repair is highly irritable and may scar or develop pigmentation problems if without protection.
• For pain relief, you may apply ice packs throughout the day or take acetaminophen.
• Sleep with your head upright in the first few nights after your session. This prevents swelling, oozing and heavy pressure on the treated area.
• Use hats and other physical forms of sun protection in the first three or four weeks after the procedure. Once the skin heals fully, you may start applying a gentle sunscreen formulation.
• Avoid alcohol and cigarettes while the skin hasn’t completely closed up.
• You may start using mineral makeup a week after the skin heals or as advised by your specialist.

Follow your dermatologist’s aftercare instructions meticulously to avoid complications and speed up your recovery.