Resurfacing Lasers for Deep Wrinkles

Laser resurfacing reads like one treatment on a menu. The label covers more than one kind of laser, and that is where comparisons go wrong.

This guide lines up what one published source says about resurfacing lasers and wrinkles. Each point names its publisher, and each place where a common claim goes further than the source is marked.

Why one label hides two lasers

Clinic menus often print a laser name with no explanation beside it. Two pages can use the same words for devices that are not the same. The comparison only starts once you know which laser each page means.

The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery names carbon dioxide as one of the two most common types of resurfacing lasers, and describes it as a laser used to treat wrinkles, scars, warts and other conditions. That is the first point to hold on to. The category has two common types, and carbon dioxide is one of them.

The source, point by point

Take the sentence one point at a time. The first point is the name: carbon dioxide. The second is the count, since the publisher speaks of two common types and not one. The third is the range, since wrinkles sit in a list beside scars, warts and other conditions.

For the full wording behind these points, read the society's page on laser resurfacing and set it beside any clinic description you are weighing.

Where the usual claims go further

A common claim says resurfacing lasers erase deep wrinkles. That goes further than the sentence above. The sentence lists wrinkles among several conditions. It does not rank wrinkles by depth, promise a result or give a recovery time.

Treat any figure on a clinic page as that clinic's own claim until you can match it to a named publisher. The match is the footnote, and the footnote is the part worth reading first.

The plain verdict

By the source's own words, a carbon dioxide laser is one common option that is used to treat wrinkles. The source does not say carbon dioxide is better than the other common type. No verdict between the two can rest on it, and this guide will not invent one.

For a second published description, read the plastic surgeons' page on laser skin resurfacing and compare the two line by line.