The heat from the laser also creates more face-plumping collagen during healing. According to Dr. McBurney, the CO 2 is the gold standard of laser resurfacing and has been around the longest. It removes the top layer of the skin and also causes a controlled, delayed thermal necrosis or heat damage to skin tissue. The healing process generally occurs over a two-month period. The CO 2 laser is an effective solution for moderate to severe skin damage, producing dramatic results that improve significant wrinkles, freckles and age spots.
YAG laser is ablative but it has very little heat production.
The benefit is that the recovery time is much shorter about 5-7 days. This type of treatment is more like getting a nice peel and works best for mild to moderate skin damage. However, with less heat to the skin, results may not be as striking. They all work by bypassing the surface of the skin and treating the layers underneath. Because they are less intense than ablative lasers, non-ablative procedures pose minimal downtime and recovery.