Sun damage is serious skin damage. It can cause patchy discoloration, dark blotches, fine lines, and rough skin texture, but modern treatments can reverse these effects and revitalize your skin’s natural glow. 
Dr. Jonathan Grant, a double board-certified and fellowship-trained plastic surgeon in Mt Vernon, WA, leads our practice in offering the latest laser treatments, including erbium resurfacing, to Western Washington patients.
This advanced treatment offers a non-surgical path to skin rejuvenation with long-lasting results.
What Is the Erbium Resurfacing Laser?
The erbium resurfacing laser is a powerful treatment for sun damage and other common skin concerns. This laser delivers quick bursts of focused energy to the skin’s surface.
It targets water molecules within the skin cells there. This triggers a vaporization process that destroys damaged skin cells.
Simultaneously, the laser heats a deeper layer of skin (the epidermis), where your body produces crucial skin proteins (collagen and elastin).
The heat promotes fresh collagen and elastin production and new skin cell development (cellular turnover.)
What Types of Sun Damage Does Erbium Resurfacing Treat?
Erbium resurfacing can effectively remove the outermost skin layer, so it’s an excellent option for many types of sun damage and addresses many age-related concerns.
- Dark Spots (Hyperpigmentation)
- Uneven Tone
- Patchy Texture
- Fine Lines and Wrinkles
- Enlarged Pores
In addition, the erbium laser can improve the appearance of chronic skin concerns like acne scars.
How Does Erbium Laser Treatment Work?
Your experienced aesthetician performs the treatment in our comfortable Mt Vernon office. Steps in the treatment include:
- Preparation: Your aesthetician cleans your skin and applies a prep solution. This formula usually includes a topical anesthetic and other ingredients specific to your skin concern. These ingredients can help optimize laser effectiveness.
- Treatment: The laser pulses feel like a rubber band snapping. They’re very quick and well-tolerated by nearly all patients.
- Post-Treatment: Your specialist applies a soothing cream that promotes skin healing.
The treatment time is generally 30-60 minutes. We provide detailed guidelines to care for your skin afterward.
After Erbium Laser Treatments For Sun Damage
Skin sloughing usually starts a few days after your laser treatment. It’s a good sign: You’re shedding the old sun-damaged skin to make way for the new skin cells your body produces.
Most patients experience full healing within a week or less.
Alternatives to Laser Treatments For Sun Damage
Intense pulsed light (IPL) is a non-laser treatment, but it also uses light energy to promote the healing of sun-damaged skin.
It uses short pulses of light to target issues beneath the skin’s surface without affecting the outer layers. IPL may be a good option for people with milder sun damage.
Advanced Sun Damage Treatments in Mt Vernon, WA
If you’re ready to reverse the effects of sun damage and rejuvenate your skin, call Dr. Jonathan Grant at 360-336-1947 in Mt Vernon, WA, to schedule your consultation.
