Smooth, rejuvenate, and transform your skin with a single CO2RE Fractional Resurfacing treatment, available at Advanced Dermatology. If you’re looking for a nearby professional laser treatment, our offices serve patients throughout Chicago’s North Shore.

What is CO2 Fractional Laser Treatment?

CO2 fractional laser resurfacing is a technique in which carbon dioxide lasers precisely treat skin on the face, neck, or chest. Advanced Dermatology leverages the CO2RE (by Candela) Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Fractional Laser Resurfacing method. Unlike other laser treatments, this technique precisely targets small columns of skin with controlled damage, leaving surrounding areas untouched. This method stimulates your skin’s natural healing response to generate new, healthy cells and enhance collagen production.

Benefits of CO2RE Laser Resurfacing

For advanced skin damage and wrinkling, CO2RE is the optimal single treatment choice. One session equates to having multiple other non-invasive treatments at once. In 6-9 months, you can expect a significant and noticeable reduction in:

  • Age spots (sun freckles, liver spots, and lentigines)
  • Fine lines and wrinkles
  • Scarring
  • Uneven coloration
  • Skin laxity
  • Textural irregularities
  • Dull tone
  • Thinned collagen layer

CO2RE laser resurfacing is not recommended for pregnant women and those who have recently been treated with isotretinoin (or Accutane).

How Laser Skin Resurfacing Works

CO2RE treats layers of skin tissue in a fractionated method. The laser beam is divided (or fractionated) into several small beams, leaving tiny sections of untouched skin between treated areas.

The beams reach deep into the sub-dermal skin tissues and create controlled micro-wounds. Your body stimulates collagen as the wounds heal, rebuilding new and healthy skin in its place.

Laser Skin Resurfacing Methods

  • CO2 laser resurfacing: The original CO2 laser method involves directly treating an area of skin. Unlike fractionated laser resurfacing, there are no untouched areas between laser beams. Traditional CO2 methods are mostly used for skin cancer and medical treatments.
  • Fractionated laser methods: Fractionated CO2 divides a laser beam to reach your skin in precise columns. Each column is surrounded by untreated skin, which encourages faster healing.

Erbium laser resurfacing: These treatments are gentler than CO2 methods and do not reach deep into the skin. It could take 3 passes to fully ablate the epidermis and achieve the same results as CO2.

Is CO2RE Right for Me?

Before starting CO2RE treatment, it’s important to understand the associated risks, costs, and time it takes to achieve your final state. With reasonable expectations, anyone with the following would be a good fit for CORE:

  • Sun-damaged skin
  • Aging skin
  • Wrinkles
  • Sagging
  • Irregular texture

This treatment is not ideal for skin of color, as pigmented skin heals with hyperpigmentation upwards of 30% of the time. It can take months of topical treatments (and sometimes additional laser sessions) to correct. Instead, consider a series of gentler treatments.

This is also not a treatment for any woman who is pregnant or anyone who has been treated with isotretinoin (or Accutane) within the past 6 months.

If you have preexisting conditions, like herpes virus or cold sores, they can cause adverse reactions that can otherwise be avoided if your provider knows ahead of time.

What to Expect on the Day of Treatment

CO2RE is an in-office procedure that requires pre and post-treatment medications to ensure proper healing and comfort during the procedure. On the day of your treatment, you may be given a topical anesthetic, local anesthetic injections, and/or a tumescent anesthetic medication. Additionally, we may prescribe sedative medications to ease comfort during the process.

We will thoroughly cleanse your face and protect your eyes before starting. During the treatment, you may feel a mild burn or the sensation of a rubber band snapping against your skin. Some experience no pain at all.

At the end of the treatment, you will be given ice to reduce swelling and an antibacterial ointment to prevent infection. After the treatment most patients describe the post-procedure feeling as a bad sunburn for about 12 hours to 2 days. Your doctor will provide follow-up care instructions, including a strict skincare regimen and sun avoidance.